Resort Front Desk Jobs

Being part of the front desk staff means that you are the face of the resort. You are the one that guests will turn to when they want to register or check in on their arrival. The job of the front desk staff is hard, as it is your duty to be friendly, cautious and helpful at all times.

The one rule that you always need to stick to in a front desk position is that the guests are always right. You need to smile at all times, and you need to keep your cool even in the most trying of situations.

Most people feel that the duties of the front desk staff are easy. However, when you are faced with a difficult guest, or a guest that needs a lot of information and you have to tend to other guests’ needs at the same time, the job can become a bit challenging. This is especially true when you are alone on duty, when you are in a smaller resort, or where your duties extend to being a bellhop and a concierge.

Did You Know? A front desk clerk is similar to an office clerk working in a corporate office.

Job Responsibilities

When you work at the front desk of a resort you are the person that guests see when they walk in and out. This makes you the person they will turn to for help, which is why you need to be clued up on all the goings-on in and around the resort. Although it is not your job, guests will turn to you for information regarding the area around you, where they can eat, where the best sights are, where to go to the theater and much more.

If you are busy you could redirect them to the concierge desk, but guests do not know how things work in resort and hotels, so you will have to oblige them 99% of the time. The duties of the front desk staff include the checking in of guests, checking out, reporting repairs to maintenance, working the telephone system, answering questions about the community, recommending restaurants, theaters, events, and sights, keeping room records and records of transactions and explaining the billing records to guests upon their departure.

In smaller resorts or establishments your duties will extend a bit further as they will not have other employees to fulfill the duties. Most of the time, you will have to be the bellhop, the concierge and the front desk clerk. This means that you will have to deliver fresh towels and robes to guests’ rooms as well as offer room service. You will also have to take messages and coordinate problem solving for guests.

Job Requirements

There are no official tertiary degrees that you need to obtain in order to become a front desk clerk. All the job requirements that you need for the job will be obtained as you go and as you work in your position. However, if you have never worked as a front desk clerk before you will have to go into an entry level position or even work as a shadow to a more senior clerk. You will keep this position until you have gain the necessary knowledge to start working on your own.

If you are looking to go into a mid-level position you will find that employers require you to have done the job at another establishment for a certain number of months or years, usually more than 6 months. You will also find that this position could lead to more administrative roles in the long term, so there is potential for a promotion.

There are different forms of front desk employees, including the receptionist, registrar, information clerk or guest relations clerk. If you are working in a resort, all of these responsibilities will fall onto you. You will work with filing, monetary transactions, guest information, travel information, bookings messages, emails, and scheduling repairs in rooms and other parts of the resort. The front desk staff is also the liaison between the guest and the rest of the resort, like room service, bellhops, housekeeping and others.

The other thing that will have to be considered before you apply for this position is that you have to have a minimum of a high school diploma or an equivalent degree. You will also need to be at least 18 years of age or the age of majority in the area you will be working. The most important skills that you require are courteousness, helpfulness, and the need to please others.

Training and Degrees

There is no official training needed for this position, but you will have to be efficient with computer programs like word processing, Excel, email, and billing software. Most of the time, billing systems will differ from employer to employer, so you will need to learn this system on the job as you work.

While there are no official qualifications required, you do need to know what employees look for in their front desk staff, so let’s take a look at an example listing so that you can get a clearer idea.

Example Front Desk Clerk Listing:

Job Objective

Our front desk Clerk will perform all the daily office tasks and will be the one to prepare all of the payrolls and guest bill and billing information. The clerk will also need to do data entry, responding to customer inquiries, segregating papers and files; answering email messages, scanning documents and answering and transferring phone calls.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Perform all of the basic duties like directing phone calls, filing and replying to faxes and answering mail.
2. Step in to take over the duties of a colleague that has not come in to work for the day.
3. Make sure that all files, papers and documents are confidential, especial the guests information and billing transactions.
4. You will need to help the office clerk whenever they need it. This will require you to do invoice preparation, filing, updating mail, database systems work, inventory, date entry and photocopying.
5. Arrange travel for guests, check guests in and out, advise guests on where to go, what to see and where to eat.
6. Arrange travel for the manager of the resort when going to meetings, and make sure that he/she has accommodation.
7. Make sure that the office equipment supply is always replenished and in operational order. That includes computers, photocopiers, fax machines and the basic like stationary.
8. Help junior member of staff by teaching them the ropes, helping them get through the day and showing them how to do their duties.
9. Make sure that the junior staff does what needs to be done, that tasks are completed and that the front of house is in a uniformed state.

Skills

1. You will need to be highly computer literate, and work with: word-processing, desktop publishing, database management, and have knowledge of computer operating system tools
2. You will need to have high multitasking abilities an abnormal accuracy level
3. You will need to be excellent at communication and have great interpersonal skills
4. You need to have a fast paced and dynamic personality
5. A working knowledge of different telecommunication technologies is a plus

Education and Experience

1. High School Diploma or Equivalent

Salary and Benefits

The salary structure for front desk clerks differ from employer to employer, so you will need to look at what you want to earn and what your skill level is before applying for a job. You will also find that small establishments will not offer you the same amount of money a large establishment will offer you. The starting salary for a front desk clerk varies. It can be as low as minimum wage but beyond $30,000 per year for senior employees working for larger operations. Other benefits include free meals and discounts on resort facilities and some employers also provide free or cheap accommodation for their employees. Dental and medical coverage are also possibilities with many of the larger resort chains.

Quick Summary:

• Be the first person that guests meet when they arrive at the resort
• Go into an entry level position without any formal training and without any previous experience
• Gain on the job experience and stand a chance to get promoted fairly quickly as you settle into your duties