Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Career, Salary and Skills
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $35,070 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 261,420. Wage data is published for 420 locations.
Occupation 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.
O*NET code
43-4081.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$35,070
Hourly median
$16.86
Employment
261,420
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.75 | 3.25 |
| Speaking | 3.75 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Active Listening | 3.38 | 3.25 |
| Coordination | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Monitoring | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.00 | 2.75 |
| Time Management | 3.00 | 3.00 |
Typical 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.
- Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
Technology
- ASI FrontDesk
- Blink
- Delphi Technology
- Incident tracking software
- InnQuest roomMaster
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft Word
- Property management system PMS software
- Ramesys Hospitality
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in CAMedian $39,360 · Employment 27,810
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in TXMedian $29,630 · Employment 23,690
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in FLMedian $35,030 · Employment 23,580
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in NYMedian $38,590 · Employment 10,130
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in GAMedian $29,130 · Employment 9,490
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in New York, NYMedian $43,490 · Employment 8,470
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in PAMedian $31,330 · Employment 7,880
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $39,620 · Employment 7,830
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in NCMedian $29,900 · Employment 7,530
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in TNMedian $30,160 · Employment 6,930
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in Miami, FLMedian $35,500 · Employment 6,860
- Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Salary in VAMedian $33,270 · Employment 6,560
Related careers
- Office Clerks, GeneralNational median $45,010
- Waiters and WaitressesNational median $35,230
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender HelpersNational median $33,980
- Parking AttendantsNational median $35,150
- First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial WorkersNational median $49,100
- Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket TakersNational median $32,910
- Maids and Housekeeping CleanersNational median $35,510
- Food Servers, NonrestaurantNational median $35,360
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.