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.
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 presenti. The role reports a median annual salary of $34,270 in the US and is projected to grow 4% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Entry typically requires a High school diploma or equivalent, and shows high AI exposure (0.73 on a 0-1 scale) — significant portions of core tasks are already being automated. The most in-demand skills for the role include Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Coordination.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £24,678 a year for Receptionists (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £22,124 to £28,730 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 4216). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Clerical support workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 4. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
How to get here in India
The usual route into this career in India. Each step links to the official page it comes from.
- 1 · Qualification 1.5-year Diploma in Front Office Operation at an IHM, or the 3-year B.Sc Hospitality and Hotel Administration[1][2]
- 2 · Entrance exam NCHM JEE (NTA) for the B.Sc; diploma seats are filled by each institute's own selection[3][2][1]
- 3 · First role Guest relations executive in a hotel[2]
Rules change: check the exam body's and regulator's current notice before you apply.
- NCHMCT — Diploma in Front Office Operation (read on 2026-09-27)
- NCHMCT — B.Sc. in Hospitality and Hotel Administration (read on 2026-09-27)
- NTA — NCHM Joint Entrance Examination (read on 2026-09-27)
Entrance exams on this route — Dates, eligibility and cut-offs for the exams on the way to this career:
1 open listing on our jobs board → Recent listings whose job title matches this career. Some jobs in this career are advertised under other titles.
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing
A day in the life
You start your shift at the front desk by reading the handover notes and checking which guests are arriving, leaving or have special requests. Through the morning you check out departing guests, go over their bills and post any last charges for meals or minibar items. You answer phone calls and emails, make new reservations and confirm upcoming bookings. When a guest reports that the air conditioning is not working, you call maintenance and offer them a drink while they wait. In the afternoon the arrivals start: you greet each guest, confirm their details and how they will pay, assign rooms and hand over keys, pointing out the lift and breakfast times. Between check-ins you update room availability in the booking system. Repeating the same explanations all day can get tiring, and difficult guests test your patience. But turning a stressed, late-night traveller into a smiling guest with a comfortable room is quietly rewarding.
Illustrative: one typical day, written from the O*NET task statements for this occupation. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- 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.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks do?
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 does a typical day look like in Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks?
You start your shift at the front desk by reading the handover notes and checking which guests are arriving, leaving or have special requests. Through the morning you check out departing guests, go over their bills and post any last charges for meals or minibar items. You answer phone calls and emails, make new reservations and confirm upcoming bookings. When a guest reports that the air conditioning is not working, you call maintenance and offer them a drink while they wait.
How much does Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks earn?
The median annual salary for Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks in the US is $34,270.
What is the job outlook for Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks?
The role is projected to grow 4% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Current US employment is approximately 264,200 workers.
How do I become hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks?
The typical entry education is a High school diploma or equivalent. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Coordination, Reading Comprehension. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks?
Our AI-durability model gives Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks a score of 0.73 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at high AI risk — many core tasks are already being automated by generative AI and workflow tools. Focus on AI-adjacent skills or plan a pivot to an AI-durable adjacent role.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.