All About Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
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.
What Do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Do On a Daily Basis?
- Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
- Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
- Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers, manually or by using computers.
- Prepare for basic food service, such as setting up continental breakfast or coffee and tea supplies.
- Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
- Perform bookkeeping activities, such as balancing accounts and conducting nightly audits.
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What a Desk Clerk Should Know
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
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.
Related Job Titles
- Front Desk Manager
- Hotel Associate
- Guest Service Representative
- Floor Clerk
- Hall Clerk
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. The BLS estimates 40,900 yearly job openings in this field.

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.
Average Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks 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.
How much do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks make 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 |
What Tools & Technology do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks may use on a daily basis:
- 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?
What education or degrees do I need to become a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk?

What work experience do I need to become a Desk Clerk?

Who Employs Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks?

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field 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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