Host - Southampton

Second Nature; Southampton; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 18,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company benefits

Volunteer days

Sick pay

Pension contributions

Wellbeing support

Cycle to Work

Gym access

Friends and family rates

One free stay

Job summary

Second Nature is seeking a warm, multi-skilled Host to greet guests, manage check-ins, and support bar and food service across shifts.

You’ll move between front desk and bar, remember guest preferences, and help create a welcoming atmosphere with genuine care. No hotel background needed; full training provided, with opportunities to grow within Lamington Group.

Qualifications

• Experience in guest-facing roles and delivering warm, friendly service.
• Ability to work across front desk and food & beverage duties.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Welcome every guest on arrival and during departure, setting a warm, professional tone.
• Handle check-in procedures smoothly and efficiently.
• Take food and drink orders, serve at the bar, and prepare drinks including cocktails.
• Move between front desk and bar/FOH duties as needed to support the team.
• Answer questions about local area, events, and the building with enthusiasm.
• Notice guest needs and preferences, and act to enhance their stay.
• Report maintenance or cleaning issues promptly and keep areas tidy.
• Share guest information with the team to ensure seamless service.
• Manage guest concerns calmly and know when to involve a supervisor.
• Assist with phones, mail, parcels, and support busy check-ins or events.

Skills

Front of house

Hospitality

Customer service

Memorability

Bar service

Job description

What's the role about?

You are a Host at Second Nature. You're the first face, the warm welcome, the person every guest sees when they arrive, and you set the tone for their whole stay.

This is a multi-skilled role. One minute you're behind the desk sorting a check-in or check-out, the next you're behind the bar taking a food order, serving a table, or making a drink, cocktails included. You move easily between front desk and food and beverage across a shift, bringing the same warmth and attention to both.

You greet guests warmly, stay calm and helpful, and give them what they need, when they need it. You notice things before you're asked: the tired traveller who needs a quiet check-in, the returning guest whose name you remember, the small thing that makes someone feel like a person, not just a task.

How you welcome a guest shapes how they feel about Second Nature, full stop. You're reliable, curious about people, and you genuinely want to make someone's stay easier.

WHO YOU ARE

Five things we hire for.

These are the Second Nature values. We use them across every role in the Group, from Maintenance to Front of House to the kitchens. If three or more of these sound like you on a good day, this is your kind of place.

Use Instinct. A guest arrives tired from travel. You see it in their face and change how you act, warmer, slower. You work out what they'll need next, like the key, the WiFi, or a local restaurant tip, before they ask.

Own It. You own the guest's first moment. You don't make excuses about late arrivals or system problems. You make sure they feel welcomed and cared for, no matter what happened before they arrived.

Include All. You remember faces and names. You make guests from every background feel like they belong at Second Nature. You're genuine, not scripted, and guests can tell.

Stay Curious. You learn the neighbourhood, the local events, the hidden gems. You help guests discover them without slowing them down. You're warm, and you keep it brief.

Think Big. You're not just checking people in. You're creating the first part of someone's Second Nature story. What you do shapes whether they come back or forget us by next month.

We don't hire for a hotel-industry background. We can teach you the systems. We can't teach you how to read a room.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

On a good day, you might...

• Welcome every guest when they arrive and leave, setting a warm, professional tone from the start.
• Handle check-in smoothly, doing the paperwork while making sure the guest doesn't feel like paperwork.
• Work behind the bar when the shift needs you: taking food and drink orders, serving guests, and making drinks, including cocktails.
• Move easily between front desk and food and beverage duties across a shift, wherever you're needed most.
• Answer questions about the local area, events, and the building with real enthusiasm, not a script.
• Spot what a guest needs before they ask, and act on it: remembering a preference, flagging a concern, quietly sorting a problem.
• Report maintenance or cleaning issues straight away, and keep the front office and bar area tidy and welcoming.
• Pass guest information to the team, like special requests, feedback and issues, so nothing gets missed between shifts.
• Handle guest concerns calmly, take ownership, and know when to bring in your manager.
• Help with phones, mail, and parcels, and support events or busy check-ins when the team needs an extra pair of hands.
• Experience looking after people day-to-day, whether that's in hospitality, retail, care work, or anywhere else you deal with the public face to face. No hotel background needed, we'll teach you the rest.
• Comfortable picking up bar and food service skills, from taking orders to making drinks and cocktails, even if it's new to you.
• A track record of giving people a genuinely good experience, not just a polite one.
• Comfortable with basic admin and using the phone.
• Warm and naturally friendly, with a good memory for names and preferences.
• Calm under pressure, even with a difficult guest, and happy to act without being told.

Second Nature is part of Lamington Group. Hometel is a word Lamington Group created and owns. We design and run hometels, places that are practical but still feel good to stay in, built around how people actually travel and live. Feeling properly looked after matters too, so our teams pay attention to what guests actually need, not what a script tells them to do.

We’re looking for people who care about the work in front of them and the people around them. If that sounds like you, keep reading.

Team that means it. You’ll work with people who see a warm welcome as everyone’s job, not just yours. Leaders are hands‑on, with regular check‑ins on how you’re doing and where you want to go.

Growth that’s real. We promote from within. Your path might go from Host to Senior Host, to Front of House Supervisor, or into other roles across the business.

Learning, built in. Proper training from day one, including bar and food service skills, plus skills that will help you wherever you go next.

Time off that respects you.

• More annual leave the longer you stay
• Company benefits
• Two paid volunteer days a year
• Company Sick Pay Scheme

Stay with us, on us.

• Friends‑and‑family rates across our hometels and the wider group
• One free stay on us

The day‑to‑day.

• Pension contributions
• Wellbeing support
• A Cycle to Work scheme
• Gym access at our properties