Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
Hospitality and TourismO*NET 35-9031.00United States
Welcome patrons, seat them at tables or in lounge, and help ensure quality of facilities and service.
- Median annual earnings
- $31,182
- Projected change
- +2.6%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 438.29K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
71.2% of the workforce
Growing to 449.75K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Provide guests with menus.
- Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.
- Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.
- Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings.
- Speak with patrons to ensure satisfaction with food and service, to respond to complaints, or to make conversation.
- Inspect dining and serving areas to ensure cleanliness and proper setup.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service.
- Answer telephone calls and respond to inquiries or transfer calls.
- Assist other restaurant workers by serving food and beverages, or by bussing tables.
- Inspect restrooms for cleanliness and availability of supplies, and clean restrooms when necessary.
- Take and prepare to-go orders.
- Inform patrons of establishment specialties and features.
- Receive and record patrons' dining reservations.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $22,120
- 25th percentile
- $27,338
- 50th percentile
- $31,182
- 75th percentile
- $36,408
- 90th percentile
- $44,450
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $31,182 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+2.6%average or slower
2025438,288 jobs
2035 projected449,750 jobs
11,462 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 71.2%
- Some college
- 15.7%
- Bachelor's degree
- 13.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Hosts/Hostesses37,569 postings
- 02Restaurant Hosts/Hostesses3,505 postings
- 03Hosts/Hostesses/Cashiers2,825 postings
- 04Party Hosts/Hostesses1,684 postings
- 05Cast Members1,458 postings
- 06Event Hosts/Hostesses859 postings
- 07Managers/Hosts/Hostesses737 postings
- 08Breakfast Hosts/Hostesses651 postings
- 09Hosts/Hostesses/Bussers639 postings
- 10Front Desk Hosts/Hostesses637 postings
- 11Lead Hosts/Hostesses545 postings
- 12Guest Experience Hosts/Hostesses542 postings
- 13Fine Dining Hosts/Hostesses493 postings
- 14To Go Hosts/Hostesses461 postings
- 15Casino Hosts431 postings
- 16Dining Room Hosts/Hostesses427 postings
- 17Trivia Hosts419 postings
- 18Host Home Providers400 postings
- 19Hosts/Hostesses/Greeters392 postings
- 20Sales Hosts/Hostesses303 postings
Top employers
- 01Chili's Grill & Bar2,817 postings
- 02CEC Entertainment1,567 postings
- 03Applebee's1,507 postings
- 04Waffle House1,042 postings
- 05Michaels963 postings
- 06Marriott International862 postings
- 07Bob Evans Restaurants712 postings
- 08Outback Steakhouse705 postings
- 09Hyatt611 postings
- 10Cheesecake Factory554 postings
- 11Red Lobster544 postings
- 12Landry's488 postings
- 13Red Robin450 postings
- 14Hilton447 postings
- 15Caesars Entertainment392 postings
- 16French Lick Resort366 postings
- 17IHOP322 postings
- 18Flynn Restaurant Group312 postings
- 19Sodexo276 postings
- 20Denny's273 postings
Keep looking