Hotel associate vs front desk attendant

The differences between hotel associates and front desk attendants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a hotel associate has an average salary of $32,062, which is higher than the $26,874 average annual salary of a front desk attendant.

The top three skills for a hotel associate include taking care, PET and customer service. The most important skills for a front desk attendant are reservations, customer service, and cleanliness.

Hotel associate vs front desk attendant overview

	Hotel Associate	Front Desk Attendant
Yearly salary	$32,062	$26,874
Hourly rate	$15.41	$12.92
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	4,387	107,058
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

What does a hotel associate do?

A hotel associate takes care of hotel patrons by registering them and assigning them to rooms. They are expected to give keys and cards to guests, transmit and receive messages, and keep a record of occupied rooms. They may also be in charge of making reservations. Different hotels may assign their associates a variety of other small tasks. However, the associate's primary duty is to ensure that the best services are provided to clients.

What does a front desk attendant do?

A front desk attendant serves as the primary point of contact in a building or establishment, ensuring customer satisfaction. Their duties mainly revolve around greeting visitors, responding to inquiries, handling calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, and coordinating with various building offices and departments. Moreover, a front desk attendant's responsibilities will vary on the line of work or one's industry of employment. There are instances in a hotel setting where they must handle check-in and check-out processes, make reservations, and offer amenities.

Hotel associate vs front desk attendant salary

Hotel associates and front desk attendants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Hotel Associate	Front Desk Attendant
Average salary	$32,062	$26,874
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $43,000	Between $20,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	-	Anaheim, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Lone Star Circle of Care
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between hotel associate and front desk attendant education

There are a few differences between a hotel associate and a front desk attendant in terms of educational background:

	Hotel Associate	Front Desk Attendant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Hotel associate vs front desk attendant demographics

Here are the differences between hotel associates' and front desk attendants' demographics:

	Hotel Associate	Front Desk Attendant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%	Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 10.8% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 9.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between hotel associate and front desk attendant duties and responsibilities

Hotel associate example 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.
Operate the switchboard and PBX.
Undertake general office duties, including correspondence, emails, filing and switchboard to ensure the smooth running of the hotel.

Front desk attendant example responsibilities.

Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
Perform extensive customer service, including communicating with members, scheduling reservations, and fielding complaints.
Count and identify clothing to charge correctly on POS system, rack clothing in order on conveyor belt.
Serve guests in a timely and professional manner, handle money/make change, and work with a POS system.
Monitor cleanliness and organization of yoga studio and lobby areas.
Assist on special projects consisting of transferring reservations to new internal booking system and balancing advance deposits

Hotel associate vs front desk attendant skills

Common hotel associate skills

Taking Care, 51%
PET, 48%
Customer Service, 0%
Reservations, 0%
Guest Satisfaction, 0%
Front Desk, 0%

Common front desk attendant skills

Reservations, 17%
Customer Service, 10%
Cleanliness, 10%
Phone Calls, 9%
Work Ethic, 8%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Hotel Associate
Hotel Associate vs Front Desk Attendant

Updated January 8, 2025

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