Restaurant host screening questions: wait quotes, seating rotation, reservations and the door at rush
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Restaurant host screening questions should test the three things a host does all night: quoting honest wait times, seating tables in a fair rotation so no server is buried, and keeping the door calm when every table is full. Then confirm the schedule (evenings, weekends, holidays), which reservation or waitlist system they have used, and that they know the rules a host meets at the door, such as the two questions staff may ask about a service animal. The phone screen is itself a work sample: a host's job is talking to guests, so listen to how they talk to you.
This page covers hosts, hostesses, greeters and reservationists in full-service restaurants and hotel outlets. For the servers they seat, see restaurant server screening questions; for the manager running the floor, restaurant general manager screening questions. Many host skills (greeting, queue management, keeping a log) overlap with hotel front desk screening questions.
Which host role are you filling?
| Restaurant type | What changes for the host | Ask the candidate |
|---|---|---|
| High-volume casual dining | Long walk-in waits, a waitlist app, fast table turns, large parties | "What was your longest wait on a Saturday, and how did you manage the list?" |
| Fine dining | Reservations booked weeks out, regulars, VIP notes, coat check, a slower and more formal door | "How did you prepare for a night with 120 reservations?" |
| Hotel restaurant | Breakfast rush, room charges, hotel guests mixed with locals | "How did you handle a guest charging to a room?" |
| Event-heavy venue | Pre-theater or game-day rushes, private dining, deposits | "What happened at your door when the show let out?" |
| Phone and reservations lead | Booking, confirming, managing no-shows and the online book | "How did you decide whether to overbook a slot?" |
Rules that touch the host stand
As of October 2026, not legal advice. These are the federal rules; states and cities often add stricter youth employment, wage and accessibility rules. Confirm the rules for the restaurant's location.
Youth hours
Host is a common first job. For 14- and 15-year-olds, 29 CFR 570.35 allows work only outside school hours, no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week (8 hours a day and 40 a week when school is out), and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. The Department of Labor's restaurant fact sheet sets out what younger workers may do in a restaurant. A dinner host shift to closing does not fit those limits, so if the schedule runs late, "Are you 16 or older?" is a lawful, job-related question. Do not ask for a date of birth.
Service animals
The host is usually the first person to meet a guest with a dog. The Justice Department's ADA service animal guidance says that when it is not obvious the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two questions: is the dog required because of a disability, and what work or task has it been trained to perform. Staff may not ask for documentation or about the disability. A restaurant may exclude a dog that is out of control when the handler does not control it, or is not housebroken, and it does not have to let the animal sit or be fed at the table. Emotional support animals are not service animals under the ADA, although some state and local laws differ.
Pay and tips
Hosts are paid in very different ways: hourly only, hourly plus a tip share, or a tip credit wage plus tips. Under 29 CFR 531.54, an employer that takes a tip credit may require pooling only among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips; one that pays the full minimum wage may include back-of-house staff; managers and supervisors may not share either way. Get the restaurant's answer before the call so you can quote pay accurately; host candidates leave quickly when the tip share is not what they were told.
Knockout questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| Shifts are [days], [start] to close, including Friday and Saturday nights and [holidays]. Can you work that every week? | Yes, or a specific conflict stated now. | "No weekends," for a dinner host. |
| The pay is [hourly rate] plus [tip share or none]. Does that work for you? | Yes, or a clear number they need. | Expects server tips at a host stand with no tip share. |
| (If the shift runs past 7 p.m.) The shift ends at [time]. Are you 16 or older? | Yes. | Hesitation. Ask only about the minimum, not exact age. |
| The job means standing at the door for the full shift and walking guests to tables, sometimes carrying high chairs or menus. Can you do that, with or without reasonable accommodation? | Yes. | None from the answer. No medical follow-ups. |
| How will you get home after a close at [time]? | A realistic plan for late finishes. | Transit that stops before close, no backup. |
Door, rotation and wait-time questions
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"It is Saturday at 7:15, every table is full, and a party of six walks in with no reservation. What do you tell them?"
- Strong answer: checks the floor (tables on dessert, checks dropped, which six-top turns next) before quoting, gives an honest range, offers the bar or a text, writes the party on the list, and checks back if the wait runs long.
- Red flags: "Fifteen minutes," every time, to keep them from leaving.
-
"How did you decide which server got the next table?"
- Strong answer: a rotation by section, adjusted for how many tables each server just received, large parties spread out, and a word with the manager when a section is buried.
- Red flags: "Whoever I like," or seats the closest open table every time.
-
"Your 8:00 reservation for four arrives at 8:25 and their table is gone. What do you do?"
- Strong answer: knows the restaurant's grace period, apologizes without blame, offers the next table with an honest estimate, tells the manager.
- Red flags: argues about who was late.
-
"How do you seat a party of twelve on a busy night?"
- Strong answer: plans ahead with the manager, pushes tables at a planned time, chooses a server who can take a big table, and holds other seating to avoid slamming the kitchen.
- Red flags: seats them the moment they arrive, then seats three more tables in the same section.
Checking a wait quote (invented example)
A candidate says their restaurant quoted 40 minutes all night with 30 tables. Ask how long a table usually took from seating to leaving. If a typical turn was 75 minutes, the floor frees about 30 ÷ 75 = 0.4 tables a minute, or about 16 tables in 40 minutes. A party twenty-fifth on the list would wait closer to an hour (25 ÷ 0.4 ≈ 62 minutes), before allowing for party sizes. Good hosts reason this way in their own words: they read the floor and the list, not the clock.
Guest scenarios
| Scenario | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| A guest arrives with a dog that is not obviously a service animal. | Asks the two permitted questions politely, seats them, and calls the manager only if the dog is out of control. | Asks for papers, or turns them away. |
| A guest who uses a wheelchair is shown to a booth. | Offers an accessible table with space to approach, asks the guest's preference, removes a chair if needed. | Talks to the companion instead of the guest. |
| A regular demands their usual table, which is taken. | Apologizes, offers the best alternative or a short wait for that table, tells the manager. | Moves another seated party. |
| A guest on the wait list is shouting that others were seated first. | Stays calm, explains party sizes and reservations without arguing, offers a realistic update, gets the manager if it continues. | Shouts back, or seats them out of turn to make it stop. |
| A guest mentions a severe allergy at the door. | Notes it on the ticket or reservation and tells the server, without promising anything about the food. | "Just tell your server" and nothing else. |
Reservation and waitlist systems
Ask which system they used (many restaurants use platforms such as OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms or the waitlist in their point-of-sale system) and what they did in it: building the floor plan, adding notes, texting parties, marking no-shows, managing turn times. A candidate who has only used paper can learn a system in a shift; one who says they "used OpenTable" but cannot describe marking a table as seated probably watched someone else do it.
A 10-minute phone-screen flow
- Minute 0 to 1: the restaurant, the format, pay and tip structure, the schedule.
- Minutes 1 to 3: the knockout questions.
- Minutes 3 to 6: the wait-quote question and the rotation question.
- Minutes 6 to 8: two guest scenarios, including the service animal.
- Minutes 8 to 10: systems, then next steps: a meeting with the manager and a paid trial shift (see how to run a job trial day).
Throughout, note how they greet you, whether they speak clearly, and whether they listen before answering. That is the job.
How host experience gets overstated
- Counter service as hosting. Taking orders at a register is not managing a wait list. Ask how they seated guests.
- "Ran the door" as the second host who handed out menus. Ask who quoted the waits.
- System names without tasks. Ask what they did in the system on their last shift.
- Fine dining that was a casual restaurant with reservations. Ask about VIP notes and pacing.
Scoring the screen
Pass or fail: can work the schedule; accepts the pay structure; meets the minimum age the shift requires under federal and state law; can do the job with or without accommodation.
Scored 0 to 2 each (10 possible):
- Wait quotes: honest, based on reading the floor.
- Rotation: fair to servers and the kitchen.
- Guest recovery: calm, apologizes without blame, involves the manager at the right time.
- Rules at the door: service animals and accessibility handled correctly.
- Phone presence: clear, warm and organized on this call.
Legal cautions
Restaurants have a long history of hiring hosts for "look". Do not screen on appearance, age beyond a legal minimum, gender, race, national origin or accent, and keep any dress code the same for everyone. Ask about availability, not childcare or religion. Criminal history questions are restricted in many places; see ban-the-box interview questions. The full list is in illegal interview questions, and hospitality hiring more broadly is covered in the interview guide for hospitality roles. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Can a 15-year-old work as a restaurant host?
Federal child labor rules allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in many restaurant jobs, but only outside school hours, up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day) under 29 CFR 570.35. A host shift that runs to 10 p.m. is off-limits for them under federal law, and many states set stricter rules (as of October 2026).
What can a restaurant host ask a guest who arrives with a dog?
Under the ADA, when it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only whether the dog is required because of a disability and what work or task it has been trained to perform. They may not ask for documentation, ask about the disability, or require a demonstration. Emotional support animals are not service animals under the ADA, although some state or local laws treat them differently.
Do restaurant hosts share in the tip pool?
It depends on how the restaurant pays. Under 29 CFR 531.54, an employer that takes a tip credit may require tip pooling only among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, while an employer that pays the full minimum wage with no tip credit may include employees such as cooks and dishwashers. Managers and supervisors may not take part either way. Confirm the arrangement with the restaurant before you quote pay.
What is the best question to ask in a host phone screen?
Ask them to quote you a wait: 'It is Saturday at 7:15, every table is full, and a party of six walks in without a reservation. What do you tell them?' Good hosts give a specific, honest range, offer the bar or a text when the table is ready, and explain how they would check the floor before quoting.