Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
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.
Also called: Desk Clerk · Front Desk Agent · Front Desk Associate · Front Desk Clerk · Front Office Agent · Guest Service Agent
Median pay (national)
$34,270
$26,600–$44,720 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
261,430
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+3.7%
~43,600 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $44,720 versus $26,600 at the bottom 10% — 1.7x. The median of $34,270 leaves roughly 30% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +3.7% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 43,600 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 54 states with released data, Hawaii pays the most for this role (median $58,740, +71% vs the national median), while Guam sits lowest at $21,060 — a 179% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Microsoft Office software, Property management system PMS software as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clean and maintain lobby and common areas, such as restocking supplies and watering plants.
- Arrange tours, taxis, or restaurant reservations for customers.
- Keep records of room availability and guests' accounts, manually or using computers.
- Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
Tools & technology
- Microsoft Office software
- Property management system PMS software
- Yardi software
- ASI FrontDesk
- Blink
- Delphi Technology
- Incident tracking software
- InnQuest roomMaster
- Microsoft Publisher
- Ramesys Hospitality
- Resort Data Processing
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing