Banquet Captain Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a banquet captain. Feel free to use our banquet captain job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a banquet captain.
Who is a Banquet Captain?
A banquet captain is an individual in charge of the administration and supervision of all activities that occurs during a banquet. They are professionals in event planning, coordination, and management of both human and financial resources made available for the banquet activities.
It is also their work to direct and supervise staff on their various duties to ensure an enjoyable and successful banquet event at any given banquet location which could be at home, a restaurant, or a bar. They conduct meetings to keep the staff informed on changes in the services or policy of their job and as well manage staff problems and proffering solutions immediately. They also organize banquet setup, preserve the stock supply, and makes sure that all the policies guiding the company and environmental regulations are strictly adhered to. In addition, they ensure that all staff member handles the foods with safety measures to avoid contamination of the guests’ meals. Furthermore, they play a vital role in observing the guests and finding out when they need the banquet members’ attention for complaints, requests, or assistance as this enables them the opportunity to serve the host’s guests adequately.
Banquet Captain is answerable for the cleanliness of the event venue, therefore they ensure that the venue is properly cleaned before and after the banquet. The success of the event lies solely on the shoulders of the banquet captains and this explains the need to host training for the new staff, ensuring they pass through all the course requirements for a reputable banquet officer. Also, they are responsible for checking the facilities to be used during the banquet to ensure they are in order, before the start of the event. The Banquet Captain oversees the dress code of the banquet members. They ensure that staff is properly groomed. It is pertinent that a banquet captain has good leadership skills and the ability to multitask, being able to communicate effectively with both the event host and the banquet staff on the progress of the event to ensure that the banquet runs smoothly. They also ensure that all valuable items left behind by guests are turned in for proper retrieval on the following day.
Banquet Captain Job Description
Below are the banquet captain job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a banquet captain job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a banquet captain include the following:
- Ensuring that the questions, requests, and complaints of the guests are duly attended to.
- Managing the stock supplies and processing premises
- Receiving guests on arrival and also showing them their appropriate seating arrangements
- Guiding banquet staff and ensuring they are well trained on the services and policies of the company
- Maintaining good communication with the kitchen staff to aid effective food and drinks distribution to guests
- Observing the guests and finding out if they need something or have a query
- Assisting the facility maintenance officers to ensure proper maintenance, cleaning, or even repair of the facilities for the banquet experience
- Organizing staff training and ensuring they pass through all the courses required to become proficient in their duties
- Ensuring that every staff maintains good hygiene standards
- Getting all requirements for the banquet ready at least thirty minutes before the occasion begins
- Training and coordinating the staff on how to share foods and drinks according to the plan of the event
- Maintaining all standard operating procedures and policies of the banquet process
- Keeping the banquet members informed of impromptu changes to avoid work conflicts
- Orchestrating the event plans in due time with a good sense of coordination
- Managing the setup of the event and performance activities to ensure orderliness in the banquet
- Ensuring that the guests are well treated by encouraging good customer relationships amongst the banquet members
- Carrying the host of the event along with all the plans of the banquet members to ward off avoidable dramas or disagreements during the event
- Visiting the venue ahead of time to ascertain the state of facilities to be used for the event, makes the planning process easier
- Ensuring proper and effective communication with other banquet officials from the start of event planning to the completion of the program
- Compelling the staff to strictly adhere to safety procedures while making use of facilities
- Liaising with the security to ensure all guests are properly checked in and their dues receipts endorsed by the host accordingly if that was in the plan of the event
- Encouraging their subordinates to be friendly with the guests whilst maintaining their work ethics
- Seeing the cleaning of the event premises before and after the completion of the banquet. If while the event is ongoing a guest mistakenly spills his drink, the Banquet Captain calls on the attention of the appropriate body responsible for cleaning to do so immediately depending on the event venue as this is also a way of adhering to safety measures
- Assigning duties to the banquet staff
- Maintaining an effective relationship with the event chef to deduce which food should be served at a given time
- Adhering to the choice of service the hosts for all their guest
- Creating a conducive and guest friendly environment for the banquet
- Offering assistance and guidance to their subordinates if the need arises
- Communicating with the banquet host at intervals to make sure they are satisfied with the event progresses
- Adhering to the operating procedures of the event premises to avoid management conflicts
- Ensuring the availability of sufficient stock supplies for the event
- Training and supervising staff in the set up of banquet premises
- Monitoring all event personnel as they perform their duties
- Minimizing wastage of supplies by monitoring the profitability of activities to ensure quality service delivery
- Setting the standard of performance for subordinates and observing their performances
- Maintaining and updating banquet working sheets or logbooks
- Responding quickly and precisely to the requests of the guest
- Obtaining any license required by the government or company authorities for example liquor consumption and sales licenses
- Following the manager’s instructions duly in assigning rooms to guest
- Ensuring that everything the guests may need as the event progresses has been kept ready for them ahead of time
- Encouraging good relations skills amongst the banquet staff as it helps them render their services at their best
- Liaising with the sales director, the banquet manager, and the kitchen head to meet or even exceed the guests’ expectations for the best interest of the company
- Ensuring that the food unit properly sets their counters with the appropriate meals required by the hosts for their guests and also seeing to the sharing of meals at the appropriate time
- Training the staff responsible for meal sharing on the right service etiquettes and ensuring they uphold a high level of hygiene
- Seeing to the clearing of all tables of glasses, plates, and trays and the removal of all linens
- Rearranging all the chairs around tables appropriately
- Storing and preserving all stock with due procedures
- Requesting microphones, projectors, and other useful gadgets from the Media or Engineering department and ensuring to keep them safe after use
- Looking out for valuable items left by any guest
- Checking restroom and reception areas to secure lost items and further turning them in for possible retrieval by the owners
- Requesting that the Media department turns off the HVAC system once it’s not in use
- Ensuring that all doors are properly locked up and handing over the keys to the appropriate authorities
- Notifying the maintenance unit of any maintenance issues that requires attention
- Reporting to the appropriate authorities of any unmet complaints from the guests and also of serious staff interpersonal conflict
Qualifications
- A banquet Captain must be fluent in speaking, reading, and writing and also able to understand the primary language used in the work environment
- Possess a High school certificate
- Have the required degree in hospitality, culinary arts, catering or any similar course considered
- A minimum of about three years of working experience as a banquet captain or anything related to the banquet experience
- Must have excellent leadership skills and also capable of organizing for other staff
- Have a great multitasking ability and good time management
- Capable of maintaining the standards for good customer service, even in stress inciting conditions
- High level of organizational and maintenance skill
- Healthy and physically ready, possessing strength for physical activities such as lifting and moving and being able to stand for a long period without collapsing
- Willingness to be called upon for work during holidays or when on shift and the ability to work for long hours
- Experience in record keeping can be an added advantage
- A good sense of creativity would be an added advantage because banquet captains have the responsibility of helping the host in making decisions for banquet rooms arrangements and choosing colors for the day if need be
- Exceptional personal grooming and fashion sense which is seen in their physical appearances
Essential Skills
- Great communication skills: A banquet captain must be able to communicate fluently in writing and speaking as their work exposes them to the general public. There is a need to understand and communicate in the primary language used in their work premises to enhance a successful banquet experience
- Hospitality: This skill is vital in performing the roles of a banquet captain adequately as they are required to be cordial and generous in receiving and attending to the guests from the start to the end of the banquet. Assigning the appropriate banquet rooms to guests according to the host’s directive.
- Detail Oriented: The ability to pay attention to every detail concerning the planning and progress of the event and being thoughtful with the next possible means to execute their services accurately is a skill used by banquet captains to ensure that their guests and host are well satisfied with their services by the end of the event
- Service-Oriented: This skill is particularly essential in the work of banquet captains. The willingness to serve is the primary motivation they need to carry out their duties accordingly at all times even in stressful conditions. Banquet captains are expected to be tactful and accurate in their choice of actions, therefore knowing what service to render at a given time is a big plus to their administration
- Customer Service: Attending to the needs of the customer(host and guests) in the recommended professional manner
- Catering Experience: Banquet Captains use their experience in food services to oversee the activities of the kitchen and the food sharing staff to get get the meals properly prepared, apportioned, and well served to the guests
- Manufacturing Sanitation: Having knowledge of the processes involved in keeping the food and drink preparation premises, equipment, and raw materials neat to ensure the production of healthy meals is an important skill for banquet captains. This helps them checkmate the adherence of staff or subordinates to the standard operating procedures of the company
How to Become a Banquet Captain
- Get an accredited certificate or diploma in catering services, hospitality, culinary arts, or any other certificate considered by the company
- A Bachelor’s Degree in culinary arts or hospitality could be an added advantage
- A minimum of 3 years experience in event management or rendering a similar service for the said number of years
- Skilled in accessing and using catering management like Caterease and Betercater
- Exceptional skill in banquet planning, budget management, and time management
- Experience in assigning duties to and supervising banquet staff
- Ability to cooperate with other Banquet managers such as the cashiers and kitchen head
- High knowledge of catering materials, furniture, and the requirements for the venue
- Extensive knowledge of the standard practices of the hospitality industry
- Excellent communication and a great interpersonal relation ability
Where to Work as a Banquet Captain
- Restaurants, Hotels, and Private functions like weddings or any kind of ceremony that requires the expertise of a banquet captain
- Event Planning Companies
- Food and beverage management companies
- Catering services establishment
Banquet Captain Salary Scale
The salary scale of banquet captains may vary from the kind of banquet to the location and sometimes the budget of the event but as of now the average salary for a banquet captain in the United States is $18.01 per hour