Information and Record Clerks

How to become a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk

Official title: Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

Also called: Desk Clerk, Front Desk Agent, Front Desk Associate, Front Desk Attendant, Front Desk Clerk, Front Desk Receptionist, Guest Service Representative (GSR), Guest Services Agent (GSA), Hotel Desk Clerk, Reservationist

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.

Main tasks

Make and confirm reservations.
Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
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.
Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.
Advise housekeeping staff when rooms have been vacated and are ready for cleaning.
Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
Record guest comments or complaints, referring customers to managers as necessary.

How to become one

Information clerks typically need a high school diploma and learn their skills on the job. Some employers may prefer to hire candidates with some college education or an associate's degree, depending on the occupation.

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Hotel Associate.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $35,070 a year The middle half earn $29,810 to $38,100.
About 264,600 people work in this job now, and about 269,500 are projected by 2035. (+1.8%)
People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk?

How much does a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $35,070 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $29,810 to $38,100.

Is a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 264,600 people now and 269,500 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk?

Usually not. Only 23% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Hotel Associate.

Will AI change the work of a Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerk?

People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.