What does the host role cover day to day?
The host leads service-day operations, approving bookings, managing tables, and coordinating guest communication. Host accounts cannot open settings menus; that boundary is intentional for security.
Through the shift they approve, decline, or suggest alternative times on the approval queue. On the live floor map they seat guests and mark tables clear after service. They add waitlist entries and watch countdowns when auto-offers fire.
They read allergy and VIP notes on guest profiles and can add short internal notes when needed. Those notes are team-only and never shown to guests.
How do you decide quickly on the approval queue?
During peak hours the approval queue needs fast reading. Sort by date and party size, large parties affect kitchen and dining capacity more.
Do not ignore capacity warnings, ask the manager or suggest another time. Decline reasons should stay short and polite; the guest receives an automatic message.
Keep mobile push enabled. A phone alert for new requests beats refreshing the panel all evening.
How do I use the live floor map?
The live floor screen uses color codes for table status. Green tables are free for walk-ins. Blue tables are booked, mark Seated when guests arrive.
Red means occupied or service in progress. Orange flags late bookings; calling after fifteen minutes is a good habit.
Enter the correct party size when seating walk-ins; the system blocks over-capacity and preserves waitlist order when enabled.
What should I watch on waitlist offers?
When an automatic table offer goes out, a countdown starts on the panel. Do not seat walk-ins at that table until the guest responds, seating early is the most common mistake.
If the guest declines or time expires, the system moves to the next eligible person. Adding walk-ins to the list instead of seating directly keeps the queue fair.
When an offer is accepted, open the reservation card and check notes; pass allergy or VIP details to the floor team.
How do I know training worked?
Finish training with a test booking: the host should approve it, mark Seated on arrival, and see the table status update on the map.
They should complete a waitlist offer simulation, countdown, accept, and decline once in practice.
They should know no-show vs cancel: cancel happens before service by guest or system; no-show is marked after the service window when the guest did not arrive. Confirm together that VIP notes appear on the reservation card.