Top 12 Skills to be the Best Host or Hostess in Your Unit

Top 12 Skills to be the Best Host or Hostess

If you just got a job as a host or hostess and desire to develop the right skills and qualities that will help you to be the best in your industry, then this post is also for you.

So, don’t just read, try to work on developing any of the skills below that you think you are lacking.

Also, if you are running a restaurant or bar, or you are planning to organize an event, or just a party, the importance of having a good host/hostess to help you with it cannot be overemphasized. So, try to properly evaluate your applicants before hiring one.

The host or hostess is usually the first person that welcomes visitors or customers to an event or a restaurant. As such, an individual with excellent customer service and human relationship skills is best suited for this position.

The duties of a host or hostess usually hover around greeting visitors on arrival, directing them to the appropriate tables, providing them with menus, and ensuring that they are comfortable while waiting for servers, as well as making sure that their requests are attended to promptly.

To perform their tasks effectively and be the best on the job, a good host or hostess should possess most of the following skills and qualities:

1. Friendliness: The host is usually the first person/employee that guests come in contact with when they enter a restaurant or attend an event. As such, he/she should possess a friendly disposition. A good host should have the ability to make guests feel at home and important.

2. Personable: A pleasing appearance is paramount to succeeding as a host or hostess. Being friendly is good, but being attractive and smart are also important qualities to have as a host or hostess.

3. Well Spoken: A good host or hostess should be proficient in the language in which they render their services, including a local dialect if necessary. Most importantly, they should be out spoken as some customers may frown at mumbling.

4. Listening Skills: A good host or hostess should also be a good listener. The ability to speak well is a necessary skill; however, being able to listen attentively to guests is more important. This allows you to understand customers’ inquiries easily without having to make them repeat what they have said before.

5. Compassionate: To be a good host/hostess, you should be able to connect with people’s emotions. This allows you detect when your guests are worried. At this point, being able to talk them out of their worries could also be well appreciated by some guests. But, you must do this courteously and avoid being too inquisitive.

6. Multitasking Skills: The job of a host/hostess may sometimes go beyond the functions earlier mentioned. Sometimes, a host/hostess may be called upon to perform other tasks like serving guests, bussing tables, and bartending. The ability to tend to different guests simultaneously is a skill you must have to be the best host or hostess around.

Therefore, to be a good host/hostess, you must be versatile and must be able to multitask.

7. Team Player: Aside being friendly to guests, a good host should possess excellent relationship skills. He/she should be able to maintain a cordial relationship with co-workers, and should have a team spirit. He/she ought to render assistance to other employees like the servers and bartenders when orders are much.

8. Confident: A good host or hostess must be very confident of him/herself. He/she must be able to speak confidently to guests about the services and benefits they stand to gain by visiting the restaurant regularly. And most importantly, he/she should be very confident of his abilities.

9. Composure and Patience: Composure and patience are also very important qualities a host/hostess must have. Some guests are irate and unbearably annoying, so, it requires a great deal of composure and patience to accommodate such guests.

10. Organizational Skills: Great hosts and hostesses often possess excellent organizational skills. They are able to stay focused all the time and make sure that the servers, bartenders, and the kitchen staff, as well as equipment, are functioning well.

Also, they make sure that guests are well served and the tables bussed quickly. So, it requires a great deal of organization and carefulness to be the best host or hostess in your restaurant.

11. Being Proactive: Good hosts are often proactive. They have the ability to anticipate what a customer’s reaction might be, or what might happen next, and work to make the situation better.

A good host or hostess does not wait to be told to do the right thing. He/she easily detect things that need to be done and either take care of it or direct the right people to do it.

12. Perceptiveness and Intelligence: hosts and hostesses are supposed to exhibit a great level of situational awareness and intelligence all the time. They are supposed to have a complete knowledge of happenings in the restaurant or event. They should be aware of things like reservations and orders.

There you have them, 12 skills and qualities to develop that will help you to be highly effective on the job, as well as to become the best host or hostess in your unit.

And if you are hiring someone for this role, make sure you consider these qualities before making your hiring decision.