Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks is $35,069 per year ($16.86/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $29,806 and $38,106 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $45,469 per year. There are approximately 261,420 hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Accommodate hotel, motel, and resort patrons by registering and assigning rooms to guests, issuing room keys or cards, transmitting and receiving messages, keeping records of occupied rooms and guests’ accounts, making and confirming reservations, and presenting statements to and collecting payments from departing guests.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+3.7%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
44K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
264K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
2% from new growth98% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Traveler Accommodation
NAICS 721100
242K
$35,020
RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps
NAICS 721200
5K
$33,190
Gambling Industries
NAICS 713200
1K
$36,630
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries
NAICS 713900
980
$36,600
Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps
NAICS 721300
910
$32,160
Wage range across top 5 industries: $32,160 to $36,630 (14% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$13.04
$27,123
P25
$14.33
$29,806
P50MEDIAN
$16.86
$35,069
P75
$18.32
$38,106
P90
$21.86
$45,469
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks salary?
The national median salary for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks is $35,069 per year ($16.86/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $29,806 and $38,106 annually.
How much do top-earning hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks make?
The 90th percentile salary for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks is $45,469 per year ($21.86/hr). The 75th percentile is $38,106 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks?
Entry-level Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks (10th percentile) earn approximately $27,123 per year ($13.04/hr). The 25th percentile is $29,806 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.