How many types of Hostesses are there?

It’s easy to say ‘I want to be a Hostess,‘ but what kind of Hostess?

You may not know that there are more than ten different types of Hostesses, or more than ten different ways of understanding this profession.

What the Hostess does

In general, the Hostess is a female figure of nice and pleasant appearance that has duties of representation and reception in areas mainly fairs and conferences.

Over the years, however, this profession has developed and enriched with new skills that require some specialization.

Types of Hostesses

Let’s take a detailed look at all the types of Hostesses available in the job market.

Hostesses for fairs

The Hostess at the fair usually works inside the stand of the company she represents. Has duties of:

• image
• customer reception
• distribution of information leaflets

is a good-looking (not necessarily a model), easygoing and courteous. Since many trade shows are international in scope, an English-speaking hostess may be required. But the knowledge of foreign language is not a fundamental requirement because, for this type of hostess for trade fairs, it is not expected the dialogue with the public.

Congressional Hostess or Events Hostess

The convention hostess, also known as an event hostess, is required to look neat and sober. These types of hostesses must work alongside the conference operators during the course of the event, in particular they must:

• Receive guests and accredit them to the event
• distribute information material
• Provide information about the current event (e.g., conference schedules, location of various rooms and services, etc.).
• be attentive to the needs of guests and speakers and be able to solve small problems of a practical-organizational nature that may arise

The conference hostess is required to have a good knowledge of English, must have organizational skills and be affable and friendly with the public. We usually prefer girls with a high school or university degree to ensure a good level of general culture required for this role.

Hostess Promoter

He usually works inside shopping malls, perfumeries or more generally inside a commercial activity.

His job description is:

• Promote products or services with the specific aim of boosting sales

Also in this type of Hostess the physical appearance must be pleasant and well-groomed, but attractiveness is not the most important requirement. What a Hostess Promoter must have is: ease and dialectics. Essential skills when it comes to direct contact with the public.

Hostess CME (Continuing Medical Education)

They are hostesses whowork in training and refresher courses reserved for health professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, etc.. Professionalism, seriousness and accuracy are essential. The CME hostess must perform several tasks, all of which are very important:

• record incoming attendance
• distribute training materials
• deliver questionnaires and event evaluation form
• compile and distribute certificates of participation
• record outgoing attendance (physicians must attend the entire event to receive credits)
• record credits

Nothing too complicated, but it takes a lot of precision. Usually a pre-event briefing with the organizers is enough to get a clear understanding of the tasks.

The CME hostess must have an orderly, neat and very sober appearance; a good general education is a must, while knowledge of English is not always required.

Hostess Reception

The hostess receptionist works primarily at conventions, trade shows, promotional events. As you can guess from the name, it is a figure that deals with the reception. It is the first impact that guests have with the event and with the company/body that organizes it, so it is essential that the hostess is prepared, friendly and with a ready smile. Specifically, here are the main tasks of these girls:

• welcome guests/speakers
• if required accreditation registration
• brochure distribution
• logistic information about the event
• problem solving

The hostess receptionist’s appearance should be neat and elegant, yet understated. Again, you need to be easygoing and friendly to visitors. English language skills are required depending on the type of event.

Room Hostess or Restaurant Hostess

A hostess is a receptionist in the restaurant industry. Works in hotels or restaurants in the following capacities:

• manages reservations
• welcomes guests and seats them at their assigned table
• Brings menus and makes sure the table is perfect, but doesn’t take orders

It is necessary to look neat and tidy with sober clothing ranging from the classic suit with a skirt below the knee to the little black dress for the most elegant locations.

The hostess must be friendly to customers and elegant in her movements. If the restaurant or hotel has an international clientele, English language proficiency is required.

Hostess Image or Girl Image

Usually this type of hostess, also known by the name of ‘girl image‘, works in discos, sporting events (type ‘umbrella‘ to be clear), but also in fairs such as the Motorshow or the Auto Show.

• The most important requirement for the hostess who makes the image is the beautiful presence, because, just through his physical appearance, must represent the local or the sponsor who hires her.

Physical appearance aside, the image girl is usually not required to have any specific skills. The main purpose is to ‘appear’.

In addition to beauty, in this type of work you need to be predisposed to smile and know how to move with ease in often skimpy clothes. Consider that cameras and even many male eyes are on you, it’s definitely not a job for shy girls!

Hostesses for dinners

Dinner hostesses are well-paid girls to act as escorts at dinners, parties, events.

They are usually hired by companies for business dinners with their clients but also by businessmen who want to have a good impression with themat the table of the best restaurants in town.

In fact, the clients who require this service are high-spending, so the locations where the girls are invited, are generally of a good standard.

The role of this type of Hostess is very unique and could lead to misunderstandings about the nature of the relationship between girl and client.

In reality there is no ambiguity of relationship, the service consists exclusively in accompanying the person or persons to dinner, eating together, conversing amiably in the utmost respect.

There is no such thing as an ‘after dinner’ contract, unless there is a fatal attraction, as there is in all contexts of life.

To be a hostess for dinners you definitely need to have an open mind, beautiful presence, elegance, strong skills in relating to other people (almost always unknown), a good general culture to be able to support conversations in an interesting and intelligent way.

Compared to other types of hostesses, the dinner hostess escort normally receives higher fees. The rate can be hourly or flat rate and generally much higher than hostesses doing trade shows or promoters.

Needless to say, dinner is paid for by the client, as are any other travel or accommodation expenses.

Perfumery Hostess or Fragrance Consultant

The perfumery hostess is perhaps the most specialized category in the landscape of hostess promoter types. Not surprisingly, they are also known as ‘fragrance consultants’.

These are girls who promote in-store fragrances.

The peculiarity is that these professionals do not just spray the fragrance on the mouillettes.

Perfumery hostesses are contractually required to be familiar with the product they are promoting. So the expertise required varies based on the brand being advertised:

• Fragrance consultants explain the world of that particular fragrance, they know the olfactory pyramid and they know how to convey it to customers using the right terminology.

Of course, this knowledge can’t be improvised.

Girls interested in becoming perfumery hostesses must attend short courses that companies take. The training takes place in a few hours, a maximum of half a day, where you learn all about the product and brand to be promoted and, above all, you learn sales techniques.

Hostesses on cruise ships

Becoming a cruise hostess requires specific training. Usually it is the shipping companies that organize training courses for these types of hostesses: Cruise Hostess or Guest Service.

• This professional works in the area of reception, guest assistance and front desk. Perfect knowledge of the English language is imperative, as well as very often is required the Knowledge of at least one other foreign language in addition to English.

The basic training to become a cruise hostess includes the acquisition of technical and relational skills, as well as the acquisition of patents ‘Basic Safety Trainig’ and ‘Safety on board’.

Hostess Wingwoman

Abroad there are agencies that specialize only in types of hostess Wingwoman, however in Italy this particular type of hostess is not yet well known, but it represents a growing niche.

• Literally, the Wingwoman is the one who acts as a sidekick to the man in public to help him socialize with other women or to conquer the desired girl.

Let’s face it, a single man approaching a girl in a club is often seen as a loser. Usually, women are not interested in being approached by a man who wanders around the club alone or points at them like a sniper from a table.

So, if the same man is in the company of a beautiful girl (the Wingwoman), he is seen with different eyes and starting a conversation is easier. This is not a ‘pretend girlfriend’ role, although, it may be required if needed. It is more the role of the friend who acts as a ‘pathfinder’ to socialization with the opposite sex.

The Wingwoman must be good-looking, but above all she must be able to interpret well the role assigned to her by the client: therefore it is necessary to have a lot of confidence, spirit of improvisation, sympathy and strong ability to relate with men and especially with other women.

Conclusions

Here we explain all the types of Hostesses required in the market. As you can see the demand is considerable and the types of Hostesses are so varied that for sure you will find the best placement for you.

What do you think is the best type of Hostess for you? While you’re thinking about it, create your profile on Wing and join the community that offers you a wide variety of job opportunities at no cost.