SOUTH AFRICA · SALARY IN RANDS

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

What the work involves, the skills employers want, and how to get started in South Africa.

  • Desk Clerk
  • Front Desk Agent
  • Front Desk Associate
  • Front Desk Clerk
  • Front Office Agent
  • Guest Service Agent
  • Guest Service Representative
  • Guest Services Agent (GSA)
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What do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks do?

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks are hospitality professionals who serve as the front-line representatives of hotels, motels, and resorts. They are primarily responsible for welcoming guests, managing reservations, and ensuring a smooth check-in and check-out process. Desk clerks play a crucial role in creating a positive first impression of the establishment, as they interact directly with customers and provide essential information about the facilities and services offered. They handle customer inquiries, assist with special requests, and help resolve any issues that may arise during a guest's stay. Additionally, desk clerks perform administrative tasks such as processing payments, maintaining guest records, and coordinating with other hotel departments to ensure efficient operations. Their role requires a blend of customer service skills, attention to detail, and the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.

What the work actually is

  • Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
  • Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
  • Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.
  • Make and confirm reservations.
  • Verify customers' credit, and establish how the customer will pay for the accommodation.

Skills employers expect

Skills

  • Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Abilities

  • Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Speech Clarity The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Knowledge

  • Customer and Personal Service Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Public Safety and Security Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • Administrative Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  • Computers and Electronics Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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How people get into it

Education of new hires

High school diploma or equivalent
or: GED, High School Equivalency Certificate
Some college, no degree
Associate's degree

A normal week

  • Working with Computers
  • Getting Information
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Tools used on the job

Technology

  • Data base user interface and query software Incident tracking software · Property management system PMS software · Yardi software
  • Instant messaging software Blink
  • Facilities management software ASI FrontDesk · InnQuest roomMaster · Ramesys Hospitality · Resort Data Processing
  • Spreadsheet software Microsoft Excel
  • Electronic mail software Microsoft Outlook

Tools

  • Automated attendant systems Automated telephone answering systems
  • Automatic call distributor ACD Automated call distributors ACD
  • Vacuum cleaners
  • Music or message on hold player On hold players
  • Premise branch exchange PBX systems Private automatic branch exchange PABX systems

Who it suits

Conventional

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Social

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Enterprising

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

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Questions people ask

How much do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks earn in South Africa?

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks salaries in South Africa vary by experience, province and employer.

What do Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks do?

Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels, Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems and Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.

How do I know if this career fits me?

Take the free Assessify career assessment. It matches your answers to careers and shows the South African salary next to each one.