Dozens of San Francisco restaurants, including Burma Love, Teakwood, Nisei, China Live, Harborview, Fiorella, and Tacolicious, have adopted an Artificial Intelligence-powered phone bot called Hostie to manage incoming calls. Hostie can answer questions about opening hours and allergens, make or update reservations, and direct callers to takeout links or even process to-go orders in some cases. The system´s voice sounds natural and can handle interruptions, though it will transfer calls to a human worker if it cannot answer a query—a rare occurrence according to restaurant managers.
The startup behind Hostie was founded by pizzeria owner Randall Hom and has quickly grown since launching in early 2024. Inspired by the constant influx of repetitive phone inquiries at his restaurant Back to Back, Hom developed a prototype with co-founder Brendan Wood. The solution proved so effective that it was soon adopted by other local establishments, including Flour + Water and Trick Dog, leading to major investor interest. Google’s Gradient Ventures, impressed by a firsthand encounter with the bot, invested in Hostie along with former OpenTable and Yelp executives, helping the company secure a substantial seed round and fueling plans for expansion and hiring.
Restaurants report that Hostie relieves staff from having to continually answer phones, allows them to focus on customer service, and boosts reservation rates—especially during closed hours. The bot now serves over 100 restaurant clients in both the Bay Area and New York City. Hostie offers a tiered subscription model and has begun deploying unique features, such as different voice personalities for added character. The company faced a legal compliance challenge related to California rules on call transcription disclosure, prompting it to update protocols so that callers are informed that the bot is ´taking notes.´ While some callers still seek a human operator or ask if they are speaking to a robot, most inquiries are efficiently resolved. Interestingly, Hostie often interacts with other automated systems, such as those used by Google, indicating a broader trend toward automation in hospitality communications.
