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What is a hotel associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

A hotel associate is the first point of contact in a hotel. They attend to guests throughout their stay in the hotel and assist in registering guests and assigning them rooms. As a hotel associate, you must know how long a guest is planning to stay and their reservation status. You must also verify how a client wants to make payment for services and adhere to the hotel's payment policies and procedures. The hotel associate orders guest and room information in their appropriate racks and relay it to hotel management.

All you need when seeking employment into a position as a hotel associate is a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must also have prior experience in a related role. You must possess communication skills, interpersonal skills, and management skills to succeed as a hotel associate. The hotel associate earns an average annual salary of $17,398, equivalent to $8 per hour.

ScoreHotel AssociateUS Average
Salary
2.5

Avg. Salary $32,062

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity
4.2
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.29%

Asian 10.82%

Black or African American 8.98%

Hispanic or Latino 20.98%

Unknown 6.51%

White 51.41%

Gender

female 63.51%

male 36.49%

Age - 34
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34
Stress level
8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
4.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance
9.3

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hotel associate

  1. Explore hotel associate education requirements

    Most common hotel associate degrees

    Bachelor's

    44.6 %

    High School Diploma

    28.9 %

    Associate

    15.2 %
  2. Start to develop specific hotel associate skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Taking Care51.15%
    PET47.57%
    Customer Service0.24%
    Reservations0.24%
    Guest Satisfaction0.23%
  3. Complete relevant hotel associate training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hotel associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hotel associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hotel associate resumes.
  4. Research hotel associate duties and responsibilities

    • Operate hotel switchboard, take calls and provide information and transfer calls and manage accurate accounting of all rooms.
    • Track future room availability on the basis of reservations, and helps develop forecasts for room revenue and occupancy.
    • Cater to the needs of the pets which include but are not limit to feeding, bathing and cleaning of pet facilities
    • Verify hotel room availability, enter hotel reservations.
  5. Prepare your hotel associate resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hotel associate resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hotel associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable hotel associate resume templates

    Build a professional hotel associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hotel associate resume.
    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
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    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
    Hotel Associate Resume
  6. Apply for hotel associate jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a hotel associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first hotel associate job

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Average hotel associate salary

The average hotel associate salary in the United States is $32,062 per year or $15 per hour. Hotel associate salaries range between $23,000 and $43,000 per year.

Average hotel associate salary
$32,062 Yearly
$15.41 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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