Front office agent vs desk assistant

The differences between front office agents and desk assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a front office agent has an average salary of $34,773, which is higher than the $27,353 average annual salary of a desk assistant.

The top three skills for a front office agent include reservations, hotel services and excellent guest. The most important skills for a desk assistant are customer service, residential life, and phone calls.

Front office agent vs desk assistant overview

	Front Office Agent	Desk Assistant
Yearly salary	$34,773	$27,353
Hourly rate	$16.72	$13.15
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	106,130	25,019
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

What does a front office agent do?

Front office agents are a part of a corporation that comes in touch with clients like the marketing, sales, and repair departments. In general offices, the agents can discover more information about the customer by asking them questions, also helping the purchasers out. Agents working within the front office can also affect simple tasks, like checking out emails and printing and typing works. Front office agents used different technologies, too, like using printers, fax machines, and phones.

What does a desk assistant do?

A desk assistant is primarily responsible for providing customer service support through calls or desk appointments, ensuring client satisfaction. Typically, they are responsible for answering inquiries and correspondence, addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, and providing corrective measures or advice when necessary. Should the problems be challenging to handle, one can elevate the matter to a supervising manager. Moreover, a desk assistant may have clerical duties such as processing paperwork, maintaining documentation and a database, managing schedules, and updating systems.

Front office agent vs desk assistant salary

Front office agents and desk assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Office Agent	Desk Assistant
Average salary	$34,773	$27,353
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $42,000	Between $12,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between front office agent and desk assistant education

There are a few differences between a front office agent and a desk assistant in terms of educational background:

	Front Office Agent	Desk Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	-	-

Front office agent vs desk assistant demographics

Here are the differences between front office agents' and desk assistants' demographics:

	Front Office Agent	Desk Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8%	Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 11.7% White, 46.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 11.7% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between front office agent and desk assistant duties and responsibilities

Front office agent example responsibilities.

Used EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Accommodate special requests whenever possible including making same day reservations and future reservations when necessary.
Adhere to all cashiering procedures and act as PBX operator at designate times.
Enter in and record wake up call requests then deliver it to the PBX.
Detail group resumes insuring that all VIP's are blocked and special requests and amenities are in place.
Facilitate VIP treatment for frequent guests with information supply to department management.

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Desk assistant example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
Fulfill front desk duties such as: customer service, operating cash register, scheduling reservations, answering phone calls and housekeeping
Check ids, close the weight room, put weights away, answer phones
Check in/out guests and operate hotel booking software.
Answer calls, complete paperwork, and ensure the hall run smoothly
Check in residents after midnight, and run check out of dorm equipment.

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Front office agent vs desk assistant skills

Common front office agent skills

Reservations, 24%
Hotel Services, 14%
Excellent Guest, 6%
Cleanliness, 5%
Hotel Reservations, 4%
Guest Service, 4%

Common desk assistant skills

Customer Service, 22%
Residential Life, 18%
Phone Calls, 16%
Front Desk Coverage, 8%
Administrative Tasks, 7%
Emergency Situations, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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