Hostess wages at exhibitions & Events in Europe - InStaff

Hostesses earn relatively high wages in comparison to other student or accommodation jobs. But actually how much does a hostess get paid? And which factors determine a hostess’ salary? In this article we would like to disclose our knowledge on this subject to achieve clarity and transparence. If you want to learn more about the job(s) of a host or hostess, read our article Become a hostess, which aims at further informing you.

Average Hostess Salary

Based on our research, hostesses in Germany earn minimum 13.50 EUR, closely followed by France (~10 €/h). It is already quite a gap to the UK, where hostesses averagely earn 7,75 €/h and living costs are higher. In Italy, hosts and hostesses can expect an average hourly wage of approx. 6,38 €. With a minimum wage of 5,13 €/h, in Spain hostesses will earn roughly 5,70 €/h. In Portugal, it’s even less (3,17 €/h), and if you are looking for hostess jobs in Poland, you can expect an hourly wage of merely 2€.

Hourly wages of hostesses at InStaff

The range of hourly wages of promoters and hostesses who are mediated through InStaff.

In the diagram you can see how much hostesses and promoters earn at InStaff:

• The average wage of a host / a hostess was 17.16 €/hour in 2023.
• every fifth hostess earns up to 14 € per hour
• every second person receives an hourly wage of 15-18 €
• almost every third earns at least 19 € per hour
• The lowest hourly wage was 12,50 € ( min wage in Germany) at this time
• The highest hourly wage was 37 €

Hostess wage is dependant on qualifications

The above mentioned wages are average values based on our experience and data. Wages can vary extremely and are essentially dependant on individual experience and qualifications. Language skills are especially important. If there is a lot of client contact, experience in sales conversations is naturally regarded and one can expect a higher salary. With some companies, you might be able to talk about success-related commissions adding to the regular pay.

A lot of agencies and also we at Instaff especially appreciate relevant hostess experience. If you have already worked as a hostess on a fair, you can prepare yourself accordingly and briefing will not be as intensive. Experienced hosts and hostesses can expect 14 €/hour. It gets really interesting when you can work as chef hostess, meaning you have gained so much experience that you can coordinate other hostesses. The job of a hostess includes the process of continually incorporating new hostesses. If a hostess is experienced in this process, we will really cherish this. Here and then, a highly qualified chef hostess can expect 20 €/h, summing up to a daily rate of 200 €.

Learn how to increase your hostess earnings

Your wage as hostess is mainly dependant on these three factors: 1.) Your area of application, 2.) Your qualification und 3.) Your deployment location. Here, we will give you a few recommendations on how to get paid more as a hostess.

• Learn languages: Fluent English skills are as of now mandatory for every hostess. If you know more languages, you can easily distinguish yourself from other hostesses with your special skills. For example, you can expect and negotiate higher wages if you fluently speak Spanish, French or Italian as certain events and clients specifically look for language talents.
• Work on fairs: On fairs, hostesses mostly earn rather high wages in comparison to hostesses on parties, congresses or other events. Furthermore, you typically will work 9 hours on a fair. Although this can be exhausting, you can easily earn several hundred €os.
• Experience in customer dialog: Information desk and catering hostesses are sough after. An even higher wage is achievable if companies can also apply your skills in sales and client customer dialog. This means that prior to the fair, you will be briefed on the company’s product catalog, enabling you to inform potential clients on the benefits of the given products and redirect them to the on-site sales-person.
• Model-hostess: The job of a model-hostess is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, yet, especially on car fairs, they are in great demand, not seldom earning wages in the range of 20 €/h or 150 €/day.
• Become a chef hostess: If there are several hostesses deployed at a fair booth or event, often times a chef hostess is hired, who is involved in the prior planning and responsible for coordinating the other hostesses. Also we at InStaff pay chef hostesses surcharges of 3 €/h and of course compensate her expenses while planning and organizing.

State realistic hostess wage

If you enlist at Instaff as hostess or promoter, you will receive daily job offers. You will state your preferred wage upon which the client can book you. You can follow these guidelines, which are also summarized in the video below.

Realistic wage depending on your experience:
9-10 €: No experience in hosting, promotion or events, no ratings at InStaff
13-14 €: Completed 2-3 jobs at InStaff as hostess or similar
15 €: More than 5 jobs as hostess / host, fluent in at least two languages
16-18 €: Special skills which justify such a high wage
Mind the briefing: If it is really short or in a small, poorly connected town, you can also state high wages (up to 50 €) and might get booked nonetheless.
Higher wages at special jobs: If a job requires special skills or sounds especially exhausting, you also have very good chances with a few €os more per hour.
No renegotiation: Mind all costs when calculating your wage. We never include travel or accommodation costs or renegotiate your wage.

Get hostess jobs at InStaff

If you are interested in becoming a host/-ess, you can easily create an online profile on our website. Once you are added to our platform, you will get job offers from our clients all over Germany. Our jobs will averagely earn you minimum 13.50 EUR per hour. Jobs for chef or model hostesses or that require special skills can earn you approx.. 20 €/hour.