What Does it Take to Be a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk?
Job Description: Accommodate hotel, motel, and resort patrons by registering and assigning rooms to guests, issuing room keys or cards, transmitting and receiving messages, keeping records of occupied rooms and guests’ accounts, making and confirming reservations, and presenting statements to and collecting payments from departing guests.
Desk Clerk Responsibilities
- Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
- Record guest comments or complaints, referring customers to managers as necessary.
- Plan, schedule or supervise the work of other employees.
- Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
- Perform bookkeeping activities, such as balancing accounts and conducting nightly audits.
- Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
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Desk Clerk Required Skills
When polled, Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Types of Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk
- Hotel Clerk
- Hall Clerk
- Hotel Registration Clerk
- Motel Front Desk Clerk
- Front Desk Representative
Job Outlook for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
There were about 252,600 jobs for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 4.4% which is below the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 11,200 new jobs for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 40,900 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Desk Clerk are Idaho, Utah, and Oklahoma. Watch out if you plan on working in Missouri, Kansas, or Wisconsin. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Desk Clerk Salary
The typical yearly salary for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks is somewhere between $18,090 and $34,040.
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks who work in Hawaii, District of Columbia, or Nevada, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks in different U.S. states.
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $20,690 |
| Alaska | $30,320 |
| Arizona | $25,210 |
| Arkansas | $20,830 |
| California | $29,880 |
| Colorado | $28,000 |
| Connecticut | $26,700 |
| Delaware | $25,660 |
| District of Columbia | $35,950 |
| Florida | $24,890 |
| Georgia | $21,100 |
| Hawaii | $44,250 |
| Idaho | $22,710 |
| Illinois | $24,690 |
| Indiana | $21,670 |
| Iowa | $22,180 |
| Kansas | $21,120 |
| Kentucky | $20,190 |
| Louisiana | $20,900 |
| Maine | $25,440 |
| Maryland | $26,360 |
| Massachusetts | $30,770 |
| Michigan | $23,710 |
| Minnesota | $25,160 |
| Mississippi | $20,950 |
| Missouri | $23,300 |
| Montana | $23,650 |
| Nebraska | $24,010 |
| Nevada | $30,360 |
| New Hampshire | $25,360 |
| New Jersey | $25,390 |
| New Mexico | $22,740 |
| New York | $33,860 |
| North Carolina | $22,920 |
| North Dakota | $26,120 |
| Ohio | $21,990 |
| Oklahoma | $20,570 |
| Oregon | $26,410 |
| Pennsylvania | $22,960 |
| Rhode Island | $25,470 |
| South Carolina | $22,060 |
| South Dakota | $23,310 |
| Tennessee | $21,860 |
| Texas | $22,570 |
| Utah | $24,250 |
| Vermont | $28,320 |
| Virginia | $22,300 |
| Washington | $28,400 |
| West Virginia | $21,550 |
| Wisconsin | $23,010 |
| Wyoming | $26,090 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Publisher
- Delphi Technology
- Yardi
- Incident tracking software
How do I Become a Desk Clerk?
Education needed to be a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk:
What work experience do I need to become a Desk Clerk?
Where do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Work?
Below are examples of industries where Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks work:
Similar Careers
Career changers with experience as a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
- Self-Enrichment Education Teachers
- Data Entry Keyers
- Singers
- Slot Supervisors
- Teacher Assistants
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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