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Human services · Helping & Teaching

Host or hostess: what the job actually is

The first person a guest meets at a restaurant: greeting, seating and managing the wait, a common first job.

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Host or hostess: quick facts

Host or hostess salary in Ontario: the median pay is $17.95 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is limited. The job usually needs a high school diploma, or several weeks of on-the-job training.

Median pay in Ontario
$17.95 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$17.95 to $25.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Limited
People working in it in Ontario
21,000
Usually needs
Usually a high school diploma, or several weeks of on-the-job training

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 64300. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Greeting people at the door, finding them a table, handing out menus, keeping track of which tables are free and telling people honestly how long the wait is.
  • You are the first thing a guest sees and the person who takes the blame for the wait. The kitchen and the servers set the pace, but you tell people about it.
  • Job Bank's group here is "Maitres d'hotel and hosts/hostesses". Maitre d'hotel is the senior version of the job, and Job Bank says it usually asks for experience as a waiter or waitress or other food service experience.
  • For hosts, Job Bank's requirements page says completion of secondary school is usually required, along with several weeks of on-the-job training. It says the group is not regulated in Canada, so no licence applies.
  • It is a short ladder. Many people use it as a way into restaurant work and move to serving, bartending or kitchen work.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 16:00 — In before the dinner shift. Check the reservation book against the floor plan and who is expected.
  2. 16:30 — Wipe down menus, check the stand, set the tables near the door.
  3. 17:00 — Doors open. You greet everyone at the same warmth, whether they have a booking or not.
  4. 17:45 — A group of six arrives without a booking and the only table that works is not ready. You tell them the truth about the wait.
  5. 18:30 — The rush. People are queuing, the phone is ringing, and a regular wants his usual table.
  6. 19:15 — Someone is upset about the wait. You listen, apologise and offer what you can, which is not much.
  7. 20:00 — Servers want their sections evened out. You are quietly arguing with three people about whose turn it is.
  8. 21:00 — It slows. You answer calls, take reservations, clear the stand.
  9. 22:00 — Close up. Your feet hurt from standing, and you smiled for most of five hours.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You are comfortable greeting strangers and making them feel noticed.
  • You can be honest and kind at once about a wait nobody wants.
  • You like watching a room and keeping track of many things quietly.
  • You want a low-barrier first job in a restaurant that can lead to other roles.
You may hate this if
  • Smiling at strangers while you are tired is hard for you. It is the whole job.
  • You do not want to stand for hours. You will, with little chance to sit.
  • Evenings, weekends and holidays are a problem. Those are the busy times.
  • You dislike being blamed for things you did not decide, like a wait caused by the kitchen.
  • Job Bank rates the outlook for this group as limited, so you will probably not find this work easy to keep for years.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Finish secondary school or be on your way

    Job Bank says completion of secondary school is usually required.

  2. Check the minimum age

    Ontario's minimum age for work page lists restaurant serving areas at one age and restaurant kitchens at another. Read it before you apply anywhere.

  3. Apply and be trained on the job

    Job Bank says several weeks of on-the-job training are usually required. There is no licence or certificate to get first.

  4. Move sideways or up

    Maitre d'hotel roles ask for experience as a waiter or waitress or other food service experience, per Job Bank. A host job is the first step many people take toward serving or management.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Maitres d'hotel and hosts/hostesses requirements (Ontario) · Ontario — Minimum age for work · Ontario — Employment Standards Act guide: young workers' rights

The money

Host or hostess salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95
Low (hourly)
$17.95
Median (hourly)
$25.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 64300. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Host or hostess wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Limited2 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
  • High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

21,000
people work in this job in Ontario
89%
are women (48% across all jobs)
5%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts/hostesses job prospects in Ontario (NOC 64300). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Look at Ontario's minimum age page and see which restaurant roles you are old enough for.
  • Practise greeting people: be the one who welcomes visitors at a school open house or event.
  • Eat at a restaurant when it is busy and watch the host for a few minutes. Notice what they say, and what they do when it goes wrong.
  • Take a part-time job in any customer-facing role first. It is the same skill.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Watch a host work for twenty minutes

About 45 minutes
  1. Go to a restaurant at a busy time, as a customer or just to wait near the entrance, and watch the host stand for twenty minutes.
  2. Write down how many different kinds of people they deal with, and what they say to someone who has to wait.
  3. Afterwards, write what you would say to a waiting group in two sentences, and say it out loud to a mirror.
  4. Ask yourself honestly: could you do that for five hours without a break?

What it tells you. If you found yourself wanting to be the one at the stand, and the waiting-group script felt natural, this could suit you as a first job. If you found it tiring just watching, or you kept thinking about how rude people were, then you have learned something useful for free.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What do you say to a group when the wait is longer than you told them?”
  2. “What is the hardest part of the shift?”
  3. “How did you get this job, and what training did they give you?”
  4. “What would you tell someone who wants to move up from hosting?”
  5. “How do you handle a regular who wants a table you do not have?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

No, not as a host. It is a position inside a restaurant. But people who go on to own restaurants often began at the front door, and learned what guests expect there.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a host or hostess make in Ontario?

The median pay for a host or hostess in Ontario is $17.95 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $25.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a host or hostess in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as limited for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. Not many positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a host or hostess in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a high school diploma, or several weeks of on-the-job training. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Finish secondary school or be on your way; Check the minimum age; Apply and be trained on the job.

How many people work as a host or hostess in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 21,000 people working in this job in Ontario. 89% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.