Hotel and motel desk clerks perform a variety of services for guests of hotels, motels, and other lodging establishments. They may register guests and assign rooms, using personal computers. They answer questions about services, checkout times, the local community, and other matters in their public relations capacity. In assigning rooms, they consider their guests' preferences while trying to maximize the establishment's revenues. They keep records of room assignments so they can advise housekeepers, telephone operators, and maintenance workers that rooms are occupied, and they collect payment. Desk clerks are always in the public eye and, through their attitude and behavior, greatly influence the public's impressions and the establishment's reputation.
Hotel and motel desk clerks often are the first employees that guests encounter.
Because most smaller hotels and motels have minimal staffs, the clerk also may function as a bookkeeper, advance reservation agent, cashier, and/or telephone switchboard operator. Large establishments usually have specialized employees to perform these various services.
Hotel and motel desk clerks held about 122,000 jobs in 1992. This occupation is well suited to flexible work schedules, with over 1 in 5 clerks working part time. Hotels and motels are found in all parts of the country, and so are these jobs.
Job opportunities for hotel and motel desk clerks should be relatively good because turnover is very high. Each year thousands of workers transfer to other occupations that offer better pay and advancement opportunities, and many more leave work altogether to assume family responsibilities, Return to school, or for other reasons. Opportunities for part-time work should continue to be plentiful since the front desk must be staffed 24 hours a day.
Employment of hotel and motel desk clerks is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005 as more hotels, motels, and other lodging establishments are built and as occupancy rates rise.
Several factors should favorably affect employment of hotel and motel desk clerks. Business travel will likely remain strong. Pleasure travel also is expected to increase in the coming years. The number of international travelers to the United States should continue to grow steadily because of increased promotion abroad of the domestic tourist industry. Increases in the number of two-income families, as well as smaller families and delayed childbearing, should raise discretionary income. This will, in turn, increase the demand for vacation accommodations. Shifts in travel preference away from long vacations and toward long weekends and other, more frequent, short trips also should increase demand.
Employment of hotel and motel desk clerks is sensitive to cyclical swings in the economy. During recessions, vacation and business travel declines, so persons seeking these positions have a harder time finding jobs.
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Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor