Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks: 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.
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What Tasks Do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Take On?
The core tasks performed by hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks include:
- Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
- Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
- Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.
- Make and confirm reservations.
- Verify customers' credit, and establish how the customer will pay for the accommodation.
- Keep records of room availability and guests' accounts, manually or using computers.
- Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers, manually or by using computers.
- Review accounts and charges with guests during the check out process.
What Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Need to Know
Effective hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Other Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Desk Clerk
- Floor Clerk
- Front Desk Agent
- Front Desk Associate
- Front Desk Attendant
- Front Desk Auditor
- Front Desk Clerk
- Front Desk Concierge
Job Outlook
There are roughly 1,114,121 hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -0.7% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $29,045 |
| Hourly median | $13.96 |
| 10th percentile | $20,000 |
| 25th percentile | $23,109 |
| 75th percentile | $34,981 |
| 90th percentile | $40,918 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Hawaii | $58,740 |
| District of Columbia | $44,640 |
| California | $39,200 |
| Washington | $38,930 |
| New York | $38,870 |
| Vermont | $38,820 |
| Massachusetts | $38,490 |
| Nevada | $37,960 |
| Maine | $37,760 |
| Rhode Island | $37,500 |
| New Jersey | $37,260 |
| Colorado | $36,370 |
| Oregon | $36,270 |
| New Hampshire | $36,230 |
| Connecticut | $36,150 |
| Minnesota | $35,990 |
| Alaska | $35,940 |
| Arizona | $35,570 |
| Delaware | $35,420 |
| Montana | $35,160 |
| Maryland | $34,810 |
| Illinois | $34,280 |
| Utah | $34,270 |
| Idaho | $34,100 |
| Florida | $33,940 |
| Wisconsin | $33,850 |
| North Dakota | $33,840 |
| Michigan | $33,290 |
| Missouri | $33,070 |
| Virgin Islands | $32,190 |
| Pennsylvania | $30,850 |
| Wyoming | $30,800 |
| Virginia | $30,770 |
| Indiana | $30,490 |
| Nebraska | $30,280 |
| Iowa | $30,250 |
| North Carolina | $30,050 |
| South Dakota | $29,790 |
| Ohio | $29,760 |
| Kansas | $29,360 |
| South Carolina | $29,250 |
| Texas | $29,230 |
| Tennessee | $29,200 |
| New Mexico | $28,770 |
| Alabama | $28,260 |
| Georgia | $28,170 |
| Kentucky | $27,930 |
| Arkansas | $27,790 |
| Oklahoma | $27,370 |
| Louisiana | $27,240 |
| Mississippi | $26,720 |
| West Virginia | $26,590 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,570 |
| Guam | $21,060 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Earnings for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks shift depending on where you work. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $39,919 | 17.5% | 1.18 |
| New England | $37,712 | 3.6% | 0.86 |
| Middle Atlantic | $36,024 | 10.9% | 0.74 |
| Rocky Mountains | $34,900 | 5.4% | 1.55 |
| Plains States | $32,446 | 7.5% | 1.21 |
| Great Lakes | $32,420 | 10.9% | 0.79 |
| Southeast | $30,225 | 29.9% | 1.23 |
| Southwest | $30,079 | 13.5% | 1.10 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban Honolulu, HI | HI | $61,010 | 1,390 |
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | HI | $58,790 | 770 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $44,630 | 3,400 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $44,520 | 1,300 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $44,020 | 2,650 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $43,540 | 370 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $42,720 | 7,820 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $42,110 | 8,310 |
Top Industries Employing Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
Most hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 249,430 | $34,170 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 4,070 | $37,030 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 2,840 | $34,720 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,840 | $37,140 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,280 | $36,750 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 590 | $33,850 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 350 | $45,250 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 250 | $39,770 |
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks work in the following industries:
Software Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Use
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Yardi software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Property management system PMS software (in demand)
Work Environment
The on-the-job environment of hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks reflects the following characteristics:
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
How to Become Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
Most hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Lodging Managers (Primary-Short)
- Waiters and Waitresses (Supplemental)
- Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (Supplemental)
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers (Supplemental)
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop (Primary-Long)
- First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers (Supplemental)
- Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (Supplemental)
- Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers (Supplemental)
Sources
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-4081.00 (Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks).
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