Hostess clubs are a common feature in the night-time entertainment industry of East Asian countries. They employ primarily female staff and cater to men seeking drinks and attentive conversation. The modern host clubs are similar establishments where primarily male staff attend to women. Hostesses light cigarettes, provide beverages for men, offer flirtatious conversation, and sing karaoke to entertain customers. Hostesses can be seen as the modern counterpart of geishas , providing entertainment to groups of salarymen after work.
A club will often also employ a female bartender, who is usually well-trained in mixology , and may also be the manager or mamasan. Hostess clubs are distinguished from strip clubs in that there is no dancing, prostitution, or nudity. Hostesses often drink with customers each night, and alcohol problems are fairly common. Most bars use a commission system by which hostesses receive a percentage of sales. The light or no alcohol content of the drinks maximizes profits and ensures that the hostess does not become intoxicated after only a short time at work.
Businesses may pay for tabs on company expense with the aim of promoting trust among male co-workers or clients. Patrons are generally greeted comfortably at the door and seated as far away from other customers as possible.
In some instances, a customer is able to choose with whom he spends time, while most often that is decided by the house. In either case, the hostess will leave after a certain amount of time or number of drinks, offering the customer a chance to see a fresh face. While most establishments have male touts outside to bring in customers, it may also fall upon a usually new hostess to do so.
While hostess clubs are clearly gendered in the way that women serve men, research has also revealed the complexity of intra-gender dynamics and sometimes tension among hostesses as well, and the ways that male customers often work to mitigate problems among hostesses as well as between hostesses and Mama-san. Hostess clubs have a strict "no touching" policy and patrons will be removed for trying to initiate private or sexual conversation topics.
