Front desk representative vs receptionist

The differences between front desk representatives and receptionists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a receptionist has an average salary of $30,571, which is higher than the $29,224 average annual salary of a front desk representative.

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

Front desk representative vs receptionist overview

	Front Desk Representative	Receptionist
Yearly salary	$29,224	$30,571
Hourly rate	$14.05	$14.70
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	140,332	65,671
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	37	42
Years of experience	-	2

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 receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

Front desk representative vs receptionist salary

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

	Front Desk Representative	Receptionist
Average salary	$29,224	$30,571
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Southampton, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Eye Consultants of Atlanta	Gensler
Best paying industry	Retail	Finance

Differences between front desk representative and receptionist education

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

	Front Desk Representative	Receptionist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Front desk representative vs receptionist demographics

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

	Front Desk Representative	Receptionist
Average age	37	42
Gender ratio	Male, 27.2% Female, 72.8%	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%
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, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	13%	6%

Differences between front desk representative and receptionist 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.

Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

Front desk representative vs receptionist skills

Common front desk representative skills

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

Common receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

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Front Desk Representative
Front Desk Representative vs Receptionist

Updated January 8, 2025

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