It is the primary responsibility of the Host Person to greet and seat guests and assist Food Servers, Bus Persons, and Food Service Runners related to guest contact and table information. All duties are to be performed in accordance with departmental and property policies, practices, and procedures, as well as operational service standards.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:
Maintains positive guest relations at all times, including greeting guests with eye contact and a smile and wishing guests a fond farewell as guests depart, and offers excellent service to ensure a memorable guest experience. Utilizes guests’ names throughout interactions, if known.
- Resolves guest complaints, ensuring guest satisfaction.
- Seats guests, following proper rotation and accommodating all guest requests when possible
- Oversees daily restaurant reservations and pre-assigning seating
- Maintains a comprehensive knowledge of the restaurant’s sequence of service to assess table turns and accurately quote wait times and book reservations.
- Delivers guest beverages from the lounge/bar to the table when required.
- Oversees daily restaurant reservations using the reservation book and/or Table Management system(s), and manages the wait list to ensure seat times are timely and accurate.
- Communicates with restaurant management and Restaurant Reservations regarding special orders, cake orders, and special requests.
- Sets up Host Person station with necessary supplies, maintains cleanliness at all times, and answers restaurant telephone courteously and efficiently. Shuts down podium, and forwards phones to voice-loop at end of shift.
- Maintains complete knowledge of scheduled daily activities and in-house groups, daily house count, table/seat/station numbers, proper table set ups, room capacity, hours of operation, price range, and dress code of the restaurant.
- Maintains a comprehensive knowledge of menu and guest offerings, and accurately answers guest questions regarding all aspects of the restaurant.
- Recognizes repeat and VIP customers, and anticipates their needs to provide an excellent guest experience. Assists Management with approvals on VIP checks as needed.
- Presents menus, and extends congenialities (non-alcohol and alcohol beverages), according to department guidelines.
- Monitors and maintains cleanliness, sanitation, and organization of assigned work areas, abiding by State sanitation/Health regulations and Hotel requirements.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:
Required:
High school diploma or equivalent.- Minimum of one year of host person experience in a high-volume, guest service environment.
Preferred:
- Six (6) months of gourmet host person experience.
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:
Certification in food handling, alcohol awareness, gaming, etc., as mandated by local law.
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Seating Guests: Knowledge of procedures for seating guests in F&B outlets. This may include greeting guests; escorting, seating, and handing menus to guests; knowledge of table numbers; and using table/station rotation procedures.- Interpersonal Skills: The ability to develop and maintain professional, trusting, and positive working relationships with managers, supervisors, staff, coworkers, guests, and vendors. This includes being cooperative, approachable, and taking time to listen to and address others’ questions or concerns; treating others with kindness, respect, and dignity; and expressing empathy and compassion when dealing with the needs and problems of others.
- Team Work: The ability to participate as a committed member of a team. This includes cooperating and working well with other team members to accomplish goals and meet guest needs, being supportive of others, willingly helping others, objectively considering others’ ideas and opinions, sharing information with others, adhering to team expectations and guidelines, giving proper credit to others, and fulfilling team responsibilities.
- Customer Service Orientation: The ability to provide excellent service to guests and ensure their complete satisfaction. This includes greeting and interacting with guests in a friendly and enthusiastic manner, building trust and delighting guests, anticipating and meeting guest needs and preferences, remaining calm and professional when dealing with guests that are difficult or upset, taking ownership of guest issues or problems and taking action to quickly resolve them, and caring about and valuing guests.
- Communication: The ability to communicate information clearly and politely to coworkers, supervisors, and guests when speaking. This includes targeting the amount, style, and content of the information to the needs of the receiver.
- Adaptability/Flexibility: The ability to work in ambiguous situations and change one's style or approach in response to differing circumstances. This includes being open to change and new information; adapting behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; and adjusting rapidly to new situations warranting attention and resolution.
- Company Polices Knowledge: The ability and willingness to learn and understand the company’s policies, procedures, and regulations related to operations, guest relations, human resources, safety, security, and loss prevention.
- Property Features/Services: Knowledge of services, amenities, hours of operation, property layout, and activities offered by property.
- Host/Hostess Station Procedures: The ability to manage a hostess station, including creating and using a floor plan to divide restaurant into sections, using station rotation charts to seat guests. This also includes the knowledge of how and when to use chalkboards for marketing daily specials and promotional items.
- Local Area: Knowledge of local area activities, events, restaurants, entertainment venues, and houses of worship. This includes the ability to provide directions using maps or mapping software.
- Dining Environment: The ability to monitor an indoor or outdoor dining environment to ensure the room is running smoothly and guests are receiving assistance as requested. This includes demonstrating an appropriate awareness of atmosphere and maintaining correct settings for music, room temperature (including fireplace use), curtains, ceiling fans, lighting, and lamps for the time of day and/or year.
