What does a Front Desk Associate do?
Front-Desk Associates are the face of a hotel. Their duties are focused on assisting guests and attaining customer satisfaction. Aside from great communication skills, Front-Desk Associates must also have a pleasing personality and great presence of mind as guests will come to them first should there be any issues on the services provided. Moreover, among the duties of Front-Desk Associates include performing room check-ins and check-outs, accepting and arranging reservations, assigning rooms, maintain booking and payments, and communicate with the entire hotel staff to ensure quality service.
Front desk associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real front desk associate resumes:
- Manage customer service issues with ease and charm and train other co workers in daily operations.
- Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
- Manage patients records by keeping all medical history, insurance and personal information update and verify abiding by HIPAA protocols.
- Process reservations for business groups via opera system.
- Process guest reservations, assess needs and ensure appropriate accommodations and assist guests with concierge-relate services.
- Contact patients regarding unpaid and underpay accounts, verification of insurance, accounting, customer service, computer and telephone operations.
- Perform simple retail math and hold operational duties
- Receive the recognition letter from Ettore's for perfect attendance and punctuality
- Assist guests in making, extending, modifying, canceling reservations using the OnQ system.
- Handle patient check-in, schedule appointments, assist in preparation of staff training manual and training new employees.
- Handle Cash/Credit transactions and payments, sell memberships, clean entire gym after every shift, work with POS systems.
- Assist guests with check in / out, recommend activities base upon their interests, balance cash drawer / POS transactions.
- Process and verify payroll activity.
- Receive in-bound calls, complete reservations and operate switchboard.
- Receive CPR certification and training in triage/assessing certain possible life-threatening situations.
Front desk associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Front Desk Associates are proficient in Phone Calls, Math, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Integrity, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Front Desk Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Phone Calls, 21%
Received and directed telephone calls to appropriate departmental personnel.
- Math, 13%
Ease and particular when running with math and money.
- Customer Service, 13%
Provided each customer with friendly and personalized customer service Greeted and provide invaluable information to all incoming potential and current customers
- Basic Math, 11%
Possess basic mathematics and computer skills and the ability to effectively communicate verbally.
- Strong Customer Service, 10%
Develop strong customer service relationships.
- Cash Handling, 8%
Cash Handling and management- Responsible for calculating opening and projected sales- Oversaw opening shifts
"phone calls," "math," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that front desk associates use at work. You can find even more front desk associate responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a front desk associate to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what front desk associates do because "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Additionally, a front desk associate resume shows how front desk associates use communication skills: "manage client relations including scheduling, customer service, and client communications including tours of the facility. "
Integrity. Many front desk associate duties rely on integrity. "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information," so a front desk associate will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways front desk associate responsibilities rely on integrity: "managed reliable and trustworthy customer engagement assisted in managing establishment cleanliness provided special air brushing to clients per request"
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for front desk associates to perform their duties. For an example of how front desk associate responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a front desk associate: "maintained excellent interpersonal, communication and customer service skills. ".
Organizational skills. For certain front desk associate responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a front desk associate rely on this skill, as "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what front desk associates do: "maintain the highest level of cleanliness and organizational skills. "
The three companies that hire the most front desk associates are:
- Planet Fitness357 front desk associates jobs
- Massage Envy274 front desk associates jobs
- Blink Fitness98 front desk associates jobs
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Compare different front desk associates
Front desk associate vs. Guest services agent
Guest services agents are the ones who communicate with hotel guests who want to reserve or cancel bookings. Their job includes welcoming guests upon arrival, assigning them their rooms and suites, issuing their room keys, and collecting payment information. They organize housekeeping, transport providers, porters, and kitchen staff to meet the requirements of guests. They also resolve issues and deal with disappointed guests' complaints and coordinate third party services, including taxis, rental cars, tour guides, and airport transfers.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a front desk associate are more likely to require skills like "math," "basic math," "strong customer service," and "booking." On the other hand, a job as a guest services agent requires skills like "exceptional guest," "relay messages," "guest inquiries," and "dependability." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Guest services agents really shine in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $28,914. Comparatively, front desk associates tend to make the most money in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $28,963.The education levels that guest services agents earn slightly differ from front desk associates. In particular, guest services agents are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a front desk associate. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Front desk associate vs. Night auditor
A Night Auditor is responsible for handling late-night front-desk operations, mostly at hotels or other lodging establishments. Among the primary duties involve greeting guests and handling check-in and check-outs, responding to reservations, process and collect payments, preparing reports and necessary documentation, and attending to the guests' inquiries, requests, and concerns. Furthermore, Night Auditors must also coordinate with day-shift workers to be aware of the daily reports, and as well as oversee the entire establishment's operation to ensure the guest's welfare.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, front desk associate responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "math," "basic math," "strong customer service," and "booking." Meanwhile, a night auditor has duties that require skills in areas such as "check-in," "guest service," "check guests," and "hotel operations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, night auditors earn a higher salary than front desk associates. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, night auditors earn the most pay in the real estate industry with an average salary of $31,410. Whereas front desk associates have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $28,963.night auditors earn similar levels of education than front desk associates in general. They're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Front desk associate vs. Guest service representative
A guest service representative is responsible for supporting the front desk operations, assisting guests with their needs, and handling guests' inquiries. Guest service representatives duties' include processing payments, leading the guests to their respective rooms, responding to the guests' requests, escalating high-level complaints, maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of the common areas, performing administrative duties, and suggesting recommendations for improving the guests' experience. A guest service representative should have excellent customer service and communication skills to increase the business's positive feedback.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, front desk associates are more likely to have skills like "phone calls," "math," "basic math," and "strong customer service." But a guest service representative is more likely to have skills like "guest service," "good judgment," "property management system," and "gsr."
Guest service representatives earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $29,331. Front desk associates earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $28,963.When it comes to education, guest service representatives tend to earn similar degree levels compared to front desk associates. In fact, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Front desk associate vs. Guest relations representative
Guest relations representatives are professionals who are responsible for providing excellent customer service to customers of a hotel or other establishment. These representatives are required to assist the front office manager in mentoring and developing front office associates by contributing valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement. They must provide general hospitality services for VIP guests by arranging transportation as well as special accommodations. Guest relations representatives must also maintain the cleanliness of guest rooms while delivering housekeeping amenities to the rooms.
Types of front desk associate
Updated January 8, 2025
