Life As a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk
Position 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.
A Day in the Life of a Desk Clerk
- Date-stamp, sort, and rack incoming mail and messages.
- Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
- Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers, manually or by using computers.
- Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
- Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
- Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
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Desk Clerk Skills
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.
Types of Desk Clerk Jobs
- Hotel Clerk
- Hotel Associate
- Hotel Registration Clerk
- Hall Clerk
- Front Desk Agent
What Kind of Desk Clerk Job Opportunities Are There?
In the United States, there were 252,600 jobs for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk in 2016. 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. There will be an estimated 40,900 positions for Desk Clerk per 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.
Average Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks make between $18,090 and $34,040 a year.

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 |
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
Becoming a Desk Clerk
What kind of Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk requirements are there?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Desk Clerk?

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Sector

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks work in the following industries:

You May Also Be Interested In…
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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