Casual Host - The Promenade

The Dorchester; Greater London; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 18,000; Part time

Job summary

The Dorchester in London is seeking a Casual Host to join our renowned team. You will manage reservations and seating, greet guests, and ensure a seamless dining experience across The Promenade and The Grill.

This role offers opportunities to learn from our award-winning learning academy and grow your craft in hospitality leadership. Essential skills include a welcoming personality, clear communication, attention to detail, teamwork, and the ability to stay calm during busy shifts.

Qualifications

• Welcoming personality
• Good communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Teamwork
• Basic Organisational skills
• Able to stay calm under pressure
• Professional appearance

Responsibilities

• Manage reservations and table allocations during shifts, greeting guests, seating guests, and bidding them farewell to ensure excellent guest experience.
• Fulfil guests' special requests including dietary requirements, food and drink preferences, and special occasions.
• Communicate with other departments to ensure smooth operation and alignment across hotel teams.

Skills

Welcoming personality

Good communication skills

Attention to detail

Teamwork

Basic Organisational skills

Stay calm under pressure

Professional appearance

Job description

Join us as a Casual Host for The Promenade and The Grill at The Dorchester, recently recognised as one of 'The Sunday Times Top 10 Best Places to Work for' in 2024-2026 and 'Hotel of the year - London' at the 2024 AA Hospitality Awards. We continually strive to build and nurture a culture where inclusiveness is part of our DNA, reflected in our values of passion, personality, respect, working together, and creativity. We believe that a variety of perspectives enriches our culture and drives our success.

We care about your career and are proud to have the absolute best people in the industry. When you join us as a Casual Host at The Dorchester, you will have a unique opportunity to excel in your field. You will learn from your fellow Legends and our award-winning learning academy to achieve the highest standards in craft, service, and leadership.

What You'll Do

As a Casual Host, you'll enjoy your work and take pride in delighting our guests:

• You will be responsible for managing reservations and table allocations during your shift which will include meeting and greeting guests, seating guests to allocated tables and bidding them farewell on departure all to ensure our guests receives nothing but the best.
• You will be responsible for fulfilling our gests special requests including dietary requirements, food and drink preferences and special occasions.
• You will communicate with other departments and extended hotel team in order to ensure the alignment remains.

The items shared are the essence of a day in the life of a Casual Host, but we'll make sure you are provided with specifics on how we care for our hotel.

The operational hours of work are shift-based and may be subjected to change.

What You'll Bring

Essential Skills and Experience

• Welcoming personality - You enjoy greeting people and making them feel comfortable.
• Good communication skills - You can talk and listen to people clearly and politely.
• Attention to detail - You can notice small things, like checking if a table is ready or if guests need help.
• Teamwork - You enjoy working with others and helping your teammates.
• Basic Organisational skills - You can keep track of reservations and guide guests to their tables.
• Able to stay calm under pressure - You can handle busy times and stay relaxed.
• Professional appearance - You look after your personal appearance and wear the provided uniform properly.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working in a restaurant or similar environment - If you've worked in a café, hotel, or restaurant before, that's a plus.
• Knowledge of reservation systems - If you've used tools or systems for booking tables, that's helpful.
• Good time management - You know how to manage your time well to make sure guests are seated on time.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. If you need us to do anything to support you during the recruitment process (such as adjustments to how you apply, alternative formats of information, or adjustments to the assessment process itself), please do call People & Culture team on 02073197011 or email [e-mail] so that we can discuss how we can support you through this process.