Hospitality in the News | How Many Hosts Does a Restaurant Need?

Every week we comb through the news to find employment trends affecting the hospitality industry so you don’t have to. This week’s Hospitality in the News topic: how many hosts does a restaurant need? 

Does your restaurant employ hosts? If so, then you know the importance of having someone reliable and personable to greet and direct guests as they enter the building. Unfortunately, retaining hosts can be difficult. One restaurant manager we spoke with says hosts are the most challenging position to retain. He often experiences last minute call offs and no call no shows with hosts, leaving him to take on the role himself. Why is staffing this position such a challenge, and how many hosts does a restaurant really need to be successful? 

In terms of requirements, hosting tends to be more of an entry level position. Which means that this position is generally filled by younger, less experienced job seekers. Less experience in the workforce may play a part in their lack of reliability.  

It may also come down to what the position requires of the worker. Hosts are customer facing and interact directly with guests. There may be periods of time without much to do depending on the shift. Lack of engagement in this position may be responsible for workers not being committed to the job. 

We also know that throughout the pandemic, some food service employees were facing more harassment from customers who didn’t want to abide by COVID-19 related health and safety requirements. This concern may be a thing of the past but working directly with guests can be harder than it seems, which may explain the challenge with retaining hosts.  

How many hosts does a restaurant need? 

Now that we know why staffing this position can be difficult, we can answer the question how many hosts does a restaurant need? 

This answer will depend on the size and location of the restaurant, seasonality, employees’ availability, etc. Taking all this into consideration, it’s safe to say that to be fully staffed with backups in place it would require a team of at least 12-15 hosts for a medium-sized establishment in a busy location. And with standard turnover rates in mind – which hover around 75% in the hospitality industry – you’ll likely need a bigger team than that.  

For most restaurants, having this many hosts isn’t realistic. For reasons like available talent pool and cost. What options do you have that allow you to be fully staffed without breaking the bank? 

That’s where a trusted staffing partner like LGC comes in. Our staffing solutions help ensure you have the workers you need while saving time and money. Because with LGC as the employer of record, we cover many of the costs related to hiring such as recruiting, unemployment insurance, payroll taxes, and more. Here are the staffing solutions that would work well for building up your team of hosts: 

• Temporary. Staff up for events, adapt to seasonal demand, manage unexpected absences. Call us any time and we will quickly deploy the trained, reliable people you need. You can even put an order in right from your smart phone with our staffing software, LGC Now! 
• Temp to Hire. Need to make sure a candidate meets your standards before making an offer? Our temp-to-hire option takes the risk out of hiring long-term employees. 
• Permanent Placement. Want to grow your team on a permanent basis? LGC can source and screen top prospects for you, allowing you to choose from the very best. This solution (along with temp to hire) are great options for finding staff with the right soft skills so they fit well with your culture and current teams. 

Now that you’re able to answer the question, “how many hosts does a restaurant need?” the more important question is, how would you go about finding and hiring those hosts? With LGC by your side, we’ll remove the stress of hiring and help you build the team you need. Reach out to us today with questions or to learn more about our services.