Change a guest's booking
When a guest wants a different stay, check which rooms are open and edit the reservation to match.
Career profile
Hotel Front Desk Clerk
Hotel desk clerks greet guests, match bookings to rooms and keep each stay's details accurate.
One short stretch at the desk can mean explaining charges, changing a booking, then greeting a newcomer, a mix of conversation and exact record keeping.
A day in the life
Check in an arriving guest
Pull up the reservation, confirm how the guest will pay, pick a room, then hand over the key.
Tell housekeeping a room is free
Update the room's record after a guest checks out, and tell housekeeping it's empty and ready to clean.
Handle a broken air conditioner
Log a guest's report of a broken air conditioner, contact maintenance and pass unsettled complaints to the manager.
Settle a departing guest's bill
Go through each charge on the bill, look into any the guest questions, then take payment.
Quick facts
High school + workplace training
United States · 2025
$16.86/hour median
United States · May 2025
1.8% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + workplace trainingTypical preparation is a high school diploma or equivalent, followed by short-term on-the-job training.
Pay
$16.86/hour median$35,070 annually for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks combined.
Outlook
1.8% projected growthHotel, motel, and resort desk-clerk employment is projected to grow modestly from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy explaining things to people you have just met.
- You notice when a date or charge does not match the record.
- You can return to a computer task after answering someone's question.
Things to weigh
- Evenings, weekends, and holidays can be regular workdays.
- You have to stay courteous when a guest is dissatisfied.
- You may spend much of your shift on your feet.
Where AI may help
At participating Hilton hotels, guests can check in and choose a room through an app; a phone can also serve as the room key.
What people still lead
Clerks still handle complaints and coordinate help. Even mobile arrivals may need an identification check or help replacing a digital key.
What we can’t predict yet
How much routine check-in shifts away from the desk will depend on hotel systems and guest use. The balance between processing arrivals and solving exceptions may change.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use these national figures as a reference for lodging desk work. They include hotels, motels, and resorts.
The middle of the pay range
The median was $16.86 an hour, or $35,070 annually. Half earned more and half less; this is not a starting-pay promise.
The national spread
The 10th and 90th percentiles were $13.04 and $21.86 an hour—$27,120 and $45,470 annually. These describe the wage distribution, not beginner and experienced pay grades.
Openings exceed net growth
About 35,500 openings a year are projected across hotel, motel, and resort desk work during 2025–2035. Openings include replacement needs, not just newly created positions.
Seasonal resort pay
At Beaver Creek in Colorado, winter 2026–2027 front desk work lists $20–$23 an hour, with full-time and part-time schedules. This is a specific seasonal rate, not a resort-wide average; compare the season length and hours as well as the hourly rate.
Getting started
Join a front desk and learn the system
Paid
- What the route involves
- Apply with a high school diploma or equivalent, then learn the hotel's computer system and procedures with workplace training.
- What it can lead to
- A direct route into desk work; related work experience is not typically required.
Train in hotel and lodging skills
- What the route involves
- In Job Corps' Hotel and Lodging program, practice check-in, reservations, payments, and guest communication.
- What it can lead to
- Preparation for hotel or motel work before applying for a front desk position.
- What to check
- Job Corps generally serves eligible low-income people ages 16–24 and checks residency or work authorization and other admissions requirements. Minors need consent. Training requires a diploma or equivalent, which can be earned there, plus preparatory coursework, tests, and academic requirements.
A college degree is not the typical entry requirement. You can learn on the job or build lodging skills through a training program first.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the reservation screens and hotel policies until you can handle routine arrivals and departures reliably.
Build accuracy with accounts
Learn to balance guest accounts. Some desk jobs include checking the day's transactions during a night audit.
Move toward front-desk management
With experience, you could pursue a role training desk staff, coordinating room assignments, and resolving difficult guest problems. Some lodging employees qualify for assistant manager roles after several years and demonstrated leadership.
Where you can work
Hotels with mobile arrival
Some guests go straight to their rooms. At Hilton hotels offering these features, desk staff still help with identification checks, physical keys, and digital-key changes when guests replace phones.
- Indoors
- Shift work
Seasonal ski-resort hotels
A desk position can run for the winter season, with either full-time or part-time hours. At a resort such as Beaver Creek, the season's end is part of planning your work year.
- Indoors
- Shift work
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Make a paper room list with six rooms: two occupied, two ready, and two awaiting cleaning. Invent three reservations with different arrival dates. Assign rooms, then have a friend change one booking. Explain the updated plan aloud. Notice whether you enjoy keeping the records accurate while answering questions.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine. Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Job Corps. Hotel and Lodging. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Job Corps. Questions. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Hilton. Digital Check-in. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Hilton. How to use your Digital Key. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Vail Resorts. Front Desk Agent — Beaver Creek, Winter Seasonal 2026/2027. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lodging Managers. Accessed 2026-10-03.