Difference between Hostess and Server

The hostess and the server are both active members of the hospitality business.  Although they have been used in different circumstances their common element remains the same and that is to help and serve others.

The host or hostess, if you wish to be gender correct, attends to the overall service provided at the restaurant or hotel.  He or she makes sure everything runs smoothly for guests and that the servers are performing their tasks effectively. 

The host is responsible for checking the table setting, managing the reception table and bookings, greeting guests and answering the phone. The host or hostess in the hospitality environment does not serve the meal to the guests.  The hospitality and entertainments industry also uses the word host to describe an individual or company that provides services to others who may be attending a conference or gathering of some sort, at sports competitions or conventions.  A host invites people to his home and treats them as guests, looking after their overall needs.   In our natural environment a plant or animal supporting another plant or animal is also described as a host.  Once again the host is looking after the overall well- being of the plant, animal or guest in its care.   Many angels gathered together are described as a ‘host of angels.’ Hosts are more holistic in their approach to their services.

The server is part and parcel of the services offered to customers and guests.  The server, as the name implies, does the serving.  It is the server’s job to deliver the meal and take the orders for drinks and serve them at the table.  The server is directly involved with providing the consumables.  A server, as an object, can refer to a dish or platter that food is served on and the large spoon or spatula for dishing up the meal is also referred to as a server.  Serving a ball in tennis is the action taken to start the game and deliver the ball to the opposite player. In many traditional churches a server assists the priest at the altar and helps attend to his needs during the service.

Computers also provide consumers with a server and a host. The host in very general terms communicates with other hosts on the network of clients.   Servers send and receive data.    The server is able to share resources with other machines and services other clients by giving them information.  This means that both the server and the host give assistance to customers known as clients in the computer world.

Society in general uses the services of the host, hostess and the server in different walks of life.   Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona compared his understanding of service to the humble ice-cream:

“Serving ice-cream isn’t exactly like serving in state government but what I learnt guides me today.” Perhaps the cone could be considered to be the host as it served the ice-cream and enlightened the governor at that time.

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