Hotel and Motel Desk Clerk

When new guests arrive, desk clerks:

• welcome and register them
• assign rooms and rates, and issue room keys or cards
• provide information about services available in the hotel and in the community
• verify customers' credit and establish how the customer will pay for the accommodation
• promote and sell guest rooms
• respond to special requests.

When guests check out, desk clerks:

• review accounts with them
• inquire about satisfaction with their stay
• receive payment for accounts
• balance cash accounts
• advise housekeeping which rooms have been vacated and are ready for cleaning.

Desk clerks also may:

• keep an inventory of room reservations
• respond to reservation inquiries
• answer telephones and take messages
• handle guest mail
• record guest comments
• deal with customer complaints or refer dissatisfied customers to a manager.

In small hotels, desk clerks may have administrative responsibilities (for more information, see the Administrative Assistant profile). On night shifts, desk clerks may assume the duties of assistant manager, night cashier, concierge (manager of guest services) or night auditor.

In large hotels, front desk duties may be divided among several desk clerks.

Desk clerks work shifts that include nights, weekends and holidays. They must remain standing for most of their working hours.

Desk clerks provide one of the first impressions of a hotel or motel, so they must be:

• pleasant, tactful and patient
• able to communicate well with a wide variety of people
• able to sell the services of their establishment
• committed to providing good service.

They should enjoy dealing with people, taking a methodical approach to compiling information, and operating computerized and manual systems.

Above-average occupational growth is expected in Alberta for 2016 to 2020. Job openings are a result of employment turnover and newly created positions.

In large hotels, employees who do not have related post-secondary education generally start in positions such as telephone operator, guest services attendant or cashier, and advance to desk clerk positions when they become available. Employment for desk clerks is steady and year-round except in summer hotels and resort operations. In some establishments, hours may be reduced during slower periods.

Desk clerks may advance to assistant front office and front office manager positions, particularly if they have related post-secondary education, or are willing to pursue it.

Hotel and motel desk clerks are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 6525: Hotel front desk clerks. In Alberta, people employed in this classification work in the Accommodation and Food Services (PDF) industry.

The employment outlook (PDF) in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

• time of year (for seasonal jobs)
• trends and events affecting overall employment (especially in the Accommodation and Food Services industry)
• location in Alberta
• employment turnover (work opportunities generated by people leaving existing positions)
• occupational growth (work opportunities resulting from the creation of new positions)
• size of the occupation.

Over 3,600 Albertans are employed in the Hotel front desk clerks occupational group. This group is expected to have an above-average annual growth of 2.1% from 2016 to 2020. As a result, 76 new positions are forecast to be created each year, in addition to job openings created by employment turnover. Note: As hotel and motel desk clerks form only a part of this larger occupational group, only some of these newly created positions will be for hotel and motel desk clerks.

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.

Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association website: www.ahla.ca

American Hotel and Lodging Association, Educational Institute website: www.ahlei.org

emerit website: www.emerit.ca

Tourism HR Canada website: tourismhr.ca

For more information on career planning, education and jobs, visit the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS) website, call the Alberta Career Information Hotline toll-free at 1-800-661-3753 or 780-422-4266 in Edmonton, or visit an Alberta Works Centre near you.