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Hotel/Motel Clerk  What They Do

Just the Facts


Accommodates 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.

This career is part of the Hospitality & Tourism cluster Lodging pathway.


A person in this career:

  • Greets, registers, and assigns rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
  • Verifies customers' credit, and establishes how the customer will pay for the accommodation.
  • Contacts housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
  • Makes and confirms reservations.
  • Issues room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.
  • Keeps records of room availability and guests' accounts, manually or using computers.
  • Performs bookkeeping activities, such as balancing accounts and conducting nightly audits.
  • Posts charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers, manually or by using computers.
  • Computes bills, collects payments, and makes change for guests.
  • Reviews accounts and charges with guests during the check out process.

Insider Info

Dig into the details and check out what people in this job have to say about their work.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
  • Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Seeing clearly up close
  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

  • Rotating shift work
  • Weekend work

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Concierge -- Assists patrons at hotel, apartment, or office building with personal services, such as taking messages, arranging or giving advice on transportation, business services or entertainment, or monitoring guest requests for housekeeping and maintenance.
  • Front Desk Clerk -- Greets and monitors visitors to a building.
  • Guest Service Representative -- Checks guests in and out, answers general questions and takes and modifies reservations.
  • Hotel Reservation Agent -- Responds to communications from guests, travel agents, and referral networks concerning reservations arriving by mail, telephone, telex, cable, fax, or through a central reservation system.