Front desk representative vs desk clerk

The differences between front desk representatives and desk clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a front desk representative has an average salary of $29,224, which is higher than the $29,096 average annual salary of a desk clerk.

The top three skills for a front desk representative include reservations, customer service and excellent guest. The most important skills for a desk clerk are reservations, front desk, and customer service.

Front desk representative vs desk clerk overview

	Front Desk Representative	Desk Clerk
Yearly salary	$29,224	$29,096
Hourly rate	$14.05	$13.99
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	140,332	113,183
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

What does a front desk representative do?

A front desk representative is responsible for welcoming guests, processing their reservations, and responding to their inquiries and concerns. Front desk representatives perform various administrative and clerical duties as needed, ensuring customer satisfaction to generate revenues and increase profitability, as well as keeping the company's good reputation for clients' loyalty. They organize and maintain the cleanliness of the front desk area at all times and lead guests to the appropriate department. A front desk representative must have excellent customer service and organizational skills to handle different visiting purposes of the guests.

What does a desk clerk do?

The desk clerk or general office clerk is an employee who works with little supervision from the manager. The duties and responsibilities of desk clerks vary depending on the industry they belong to. These may include but are not limited to answering phone calls, electronic correspondence, filing paperwork, taking and maintaining inventory levels, and setting calendars and schedules. They are expected to always offer excellent customer service. In hotels, they check-in and check-out their guests.

Front desk representative vs desk clerk salary

Front desk representatives and desk clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Desk Representative	Desk Clerk
Average salary	$29,224	$29,096
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $23,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Southampton, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Eye Consultants of Atlanta	Deborah's Place
Best paying industry	Retail	Manufacturing

Differences between front desk representative and desk clerk education

There are a few differences between a front desk representative and a desk clerk in terms of educational background:

	Front Desk Representative	Desk Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Front desk representative vs desk clerk demographics

Here are the differences between front desk representatives' and desk clerks' demographics:

	Front Desk Representative	Desk Clerk
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 27.2% Female, 72.8%	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 10.0% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.0% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between front desk representative and desk clerk duties and responsibilities

Front desk representative example responsibilities.

Control all guestroom allocations, ensuring that reservations are accurately record and monitor to ensure optimum occupancy and revenue is achieved.
Anticipate sold-out situations and obtain satisfactory alternative accommodations when the property cannot accommodate guests with reservations.
Control all guestroom allocations, ensuring that reservations are accurately record and monitor to ensure optimum occupancy and revenue is achieved.
Enter new and existing student information into MindBody.
Assist customers with setting up classes through MINDBODY.
Provide problem resolution services for guests and act as a professional representative for Simon while following myriad corporate policies and procedures.

Desk clerk example responsibilities.

Manage customer service issues with ease and charm and train other co workers in daily operations.
Assist with setting up meetings using PowerPoint presentations.
Book keeping, check ins, paperwork, PowerPoint, enter information into database.
Communicate with previous shift, organize shift and review reservations and update contingency
Position require guest reservations to be coordinate with housekeeping and maintenance needs.
Register new patients and updates existing patient demographics by collecting patient detail patient information including personal and financial information.

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Front desk representative vs desk clerk skills

Common front desk representative skills

Reservations, 25%
Customer Service, 10%
Excellent Guest, 7%
Computer System, 5%
Patients, 5%
Cash Handling, 5%

Common desk clerk skills

Reservations, 22%
Front Desk, 14%
Customer Service, 12%
Room Availability, 11%
Direct Calls, 6%
Telephone Calls, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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