Resume Keywords Guide

Host / Hostess Resume Keywords and Skills That Get Interviews

Host postings screen for guest-facing polish and reservation systems, so restaurants search for OpenTable, Resy and waitlist skills. The terms that carry the most weight on a Host / Hostess resume are Guest Greeting, Reservations and Waitlist Management, plus OpenTable, and each needs a bullet that shows it in use.

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Quick wins

  • Match the posting's exact spelling for Guest Experience, including acronyms.
  • Remove keywords you cannot defend in an interview.
  • Pull 8–12 terms from the posting and highlight Host first.

Why Keywords Matter for Host / Hostess Resumes

Host postings screen for guest-facing polish and reservation systems, so restaurants search for OpenTable, Resy and waitlist skills. Host roles filter on reservation tools, restaurant type and availability, so list all three. You do not need every term on this page. Read the posting, mark the requirements that appear more than once, and make sure each of them shows up in your summary and in at least one bullet with a result attached. The rest of the list is there for the secondary terms a recruiter might add to a search.

Key takeaways for Host / Hostess keywords

Key takeaway: Match the job description—then prove each term in a bullet.

  • Lead with Guest Greeting, Reservations and Waitlist Management. Those appear in most Host / Hostess postings and are what recruiters type into candidate search.
  • Name tools and credentials exactly as the posting does: OpenTable, Resy and Toast.
  • Soft skills such as warmth and composure only count when a bullet shows them in action.
  • Put "Host / Hostess" (or the exact title in the posting) in your headline so title searches find you.

Host / Hostess keyword placement table

Key takeaway: Put must-have skills in summary, skills, and recent bullets.

KeywordWhere to useTip
Guest GreetingExperience bulletsShow Guest Greeting in a sentence about what you did and what changed, not just as a standalone label.
ReservationsSkills section and a bulletUse the posting's exact wording for Reservations; synonyms are often missed by literal matching.
Waitlist ManagementSummary and most recent roleWaitlist Management is a term screeners type directly. Put it in your opening lines and prove it in a bullet with a number.
OpenTableTools line and most recent roleInclude the version or module if the posting does (for example the specific edition of OpenTable).
ResySkills / tools line and one bulletWrite Resy exactly as the posting does, then name the task you used it for in a bullet.
SeatingSkills section and a bulletUse the posting's exact wording for Seating; synonyms are often missed by literal matching.

Resist the urge to list every tool you have ever opened. Recruiters hiring a Host / Hostess search for a few specific terms (Guest Greeting, Reservations) and then read for proof. A long unfocused list buries the terms that matter.

Core Resume Keywords for Host / Hostess

Start by making sure the most important skills and tools for Host / Hostess roles appear at least once in your resume, ideally in your summary and in 2–3 experience bullets. Here are strong starting points:

Guest GreetingReservationsWaitlist ManagementSeatingPhone EtiquetteFloor ManagementCustomer ServiceCommunicationOpenTableResy

Once the core skills are covered, layer in secondary keywords where they are genuinely relevant to your experience:

Large PartiesTakeoutMultitaskingHospitalityToastTockYelp WaitlistPOSPhone SystemsWarmthComposureOrganisation

Where to Place Keywords in a Host / Hostess Resume

ATS systems give extra weight to keywords that appear in specific sections. Use this simple placement strategy:

  1. Headline / title line: Host / Hostess, plus your strongest one or two of Guest Greeting and Reservations.
  2. Summary: Two or three lines: years of experience, your specialty, and Guest Greeting, Reservations and Waitlist Management if they are genuinely yours.
  3. Experience bullets: Prove each core term with an action and a result. Tools go next to the task they were used for (OpenTable, Resy).
  4. Skills / certifications: Exact-match tool and credential names for coverage: OpenTable, Resy, Toast and Tock.
  5. Use both spelled-out terms and acronyms when the Host Hostess posting mixes both.
  6. Weave keywords into achievement bullets. Never dump them in a keyword cloud.

Host / Hostess keywords by category

Core Host / Hostess skills

The hard skills and domain terms that show up repeatedly in Host / Hostess job postings.

  • Guest Greeting
  • Reservations
  • Waitlist Management
  • Seating
  • Phone Etiquette
  • Floor Management
  • Customer Service
  • Communication
  • Large Parties
  • Takeout
  • Multitasking
  • Hospitality

Tools, systems and credentials

Name them exactly. Matching is literal, so "OpenTable" and a shortened version of it are different searches.

  • OpenTable
  • Resy
  • Toast
  • Tock
  • Yelp Waitlist
  • POS
  • Phone Systems

Soft skills worth proving

Keep these in your bullets, not in a skills list.

  • Warmth
  • Composure
  • Organisation

Soft skills for a Host / Hostess resume, and how to prove them

Soft skills are rarely searched. They earn their place when a bullet shows them in action.

Nobody filters candidates on "teamwork". For a Host / Hostess, these are the soft skills that matter, and the kind of bullet that proves each one:

  • Warmth: first impressions that set the tone
  • Composure: long waits handled calmly
  • Organisation: floor and reservations balanced

Before and After: Host / Hostess Bullets That Carry the Keyword

A keyword sitting in a skills list is a claim. The same keyword inside a bullet with a number attached is evidence.

Host / Hostess bullet rewrite 1

Before

Seated guests

After

Seated 300 guests on weekend nights while holding waits under 20 minutes

Host / Hostess bullet rewrite 2

Before

Took reservations

After

Managed reservations in OpenTable with a 4% no-show rate

Host / Hostess bullet rewrite 3

Before

Handled waitlist

After

Cut walk-away guests 25% by quoting accurate waits

How to Pull Host / Hostess Keywords From a Job Posting

  1. Open three current Host / Hostess postings for the kind of employer you want and paste them into one document.
  2. Highlight every skill, tool and credential that appears in at least two of them. Terms like Guest Greeting or OpenTable that repeat are the real requirements.
  3. Check each highlighted term against your own work. Keep the ones you can prove, and note the exact spelling the postings use.
  4. Add those terms to your headline, summary and recent bullets, then scan the finished resume against one posting to see what still does not match.

What Applicant Tracking Systems Do With Your Keywords

Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS
These systems extract the plain text of your file and match it against the recruiter's search. For a Host / Hostess resume that means OpenTable and Guest Greeting must appear as readable text, not inside images, headers or tables.
How this applies to Host / Hostess roles
Host roles filter on reservation tools, restaurant type and availability, so list all three.

What Keywords Cannot Do for You

  • Listing Guest Greeting shows that you know the term. The bullet and its numbers show how well you do the work.
  • Keywords get a Host / Hostess resume read; they do not replace relevant experience, and no ATS can rescue a resume aimed at the wrong level.
  • If the posting asks for something you have not done (for example Seating), say what you have done that is closest instead of claiming it.

Keyword mistakes Host / Hostess candidates make

  • No guest or cover volumes.
  • No reservation tools named.
  • No restaurant type stated.
  • Copying a whole job description into the resume instead of choosing the terms that are true for you.

What Recruiters Look for in a Host / Hostess Resume

  • Evidence you have used Guest Greeting and Reservations in real work, with results rather than duties
  • The tools the team already uses (OpenTable, Resy and Toast), named as the posting names them
  • Warmth and composure shown through specific situations
  • A recent, clearly titled Host / Hostess role (or the closest equivalent) with dates that make sense

Frequently Asked Questions

Is host experience needed?

Entry level is fine. Show reliability and guest-service examples.

Which tools should I list?

OpenTable, Resy, Tock and the POS system you used.

How many keywords should a Host / Hostess resume include?

Cover the eight to fifteen terms that repeat across the postings you are applying to. For a Host / Hostess that usually means the core skills (Guest Greeting, Reservations and Waitlist Management) plus the named tools. Coverage and proof matter more than raw count.

Where should I put Guest Greeting on my resume?

Put Guest Greeting in your summary and in at least one recent bullet that shows what you did with it and the result. Add it to the skills section only as a supporting mention.

Next steps

Check whether your Host Hostess resume includes the right keywords with HireFlow’s free ATS resume checker, or build a fresh version with the free resume builder.

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