Hot Job: Hotel, motel and resort desk clerks

October 4, 2011

Hot Job: Hotel, motel and resort desk clerks

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Chelsea Hitch, a desk clerk at Seattle’s Pan Pacific Hotel, says that her job challenges her with new situations every day, enhances her interpersonal communication skills and provides schedule flexibility while she’s finishing her degree. (Courtesy of Pan Pacific Hotel)

The job: Desk clerks are the first line of customer service at hotels, motels and resorts. Desk clerks register and check out guests, assign rooms and answer guests’ questions on hotel services and other matters.

A Seattleite at work: Chelsea Hitch of Seattle’s Pan Pacific Hotel likes that no two days at her desk-clerk job are the same, and that she gets to meet people from all over the world. “I like that my job is essentially the art of making people feel taken care of and happy,” Hitch says.

Outlook: Employment of hotel, motel and resort desk clerks is expected to increase by 14 percent over the 2008-18 decade, faster than average for all occupations.

Pay: The 2,740 hotel, motel and resort desk clerks in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area earned a median wage of $23,930 in 2009.

Training: Most desk clerks learn on the job through employer training. Employers look for people who are friendly, customer-service oriented and well-groomed.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, NWjobs staff

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