Front Desk Attendant Job Description

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If you are the person who loves interacting with a diverse range of people and are good at administrative and clerical duties, then taking on the front desk attendant responsibilities would really be easier for you. The major responsibilities include handling all the duties related to the front office like handling the phone calls, answering the mails, attending the guests, directing them, etc.

The front desk attendant is a position that is found in several industries like hotel, hospitals, government and privates offices, etc. Thus, he/she plays a vital role in handling the front office area and is responsible for attending and greeting every guest that enters the office premises.

Key Responsibilities of a Front Desk Attendant

The front desk attendant normally functions under the direction of a manager or some senior personnel and is responsible for following all the instructions given by him/her.

What Does a Front Desk Attendant Do?

The front desk attendant is responsible for a wide array of duties like greeting the incoming visitors, understanding their concerns, directing them in the right direction, solving queries if any, maintaining related records, answering all the phone calls and routing them to the appropriate person, providing the required information to the guests, and so on.

These are the general duties handled by him/her in any type of industry. Now let us look in detail the key responsibilities that need to be handled by this professional, more specifically in the hotel industry:

To handle all the phone calls and answer them in a polite and pleasant tone and to route them to the appropriate personnel
To welcome and greet the incoming guests and provide them information regarding the services of hotel, the type of rooms available and suggest them places they should visit, may be for shopping, entertainment, or business purpose
To maintain records of the guests by registering them and assigning rooms as per their requirement
To update these records manually as well as by making use of the computers
To seek information as to how the customer is planning to make his/her payment
To handle the inquires and make reservations as per the instructions given by the customers
The front office attendant may also be responsible for various other duties like receiving the mails, prioritizing them, and responding to the inquiries made by the customers through mails.
He/she is responsible for handling the customers' complaints and solving them promptly so that the incoming guests are satisfied and remain content.
He/she interacts with the guests to verify and check whether all the services are being delivered in a proper manner.
He/she is responsible for collecting the payments and posting additional charges that are incurred on special room services, food, beverages, and adding them to the guest's ledger.
He/she instructs the house keeping staff regarding the time when the rooms will be vacated and makes sure that they are cleaned and maintained properly.
He/she may even arrange some spot tours and make relevant reservations if there is a request from the guests.
He/she ensures that all the valuable assets of the guests are deposited, protected and secured safely.
He/she keeps records of all the business transactions, supervises the other staff members whenever there is a requirement and maintains professional and healthy relationship, especially with the potential clients.

Essential Skills

This professional should have the ability to welcome the guests with a pleasant smile and interact with them politely.
He/she should be diplomatic and should be able to get along well with the staff personnel.
He/she should be obliging, accommodating, and must believe in excellent customer service.
Good problem solving skills, ability to multi-task, basic math skills, ability to work under pressure, etc., are some of the other required skills.
It is crucial that he/she should be an outgoing personality, cooperative, friendly with optimistic attitude and should enjoy social interaction.
He/she must be a courteous listener and should have high levels of tolerance in case there is any conflict.

Educational Background

If you are applying for this job, there is no specific training or education required. You can take training on the job and handle your duties well. However, if you have completed a high school diploma or have any other equivalent and relevant qualification like a license or a certification related to this particular job, then getting an entry in this field would definitely prove to be much more easier.

Work Schedule

The front desk personnel generally works during the standard office hours, i.e., eight to nine hours of duty. Those working in the hotel industry may, however, be required to work in day and night shifts. Normally, this is a full time position, but part time temporary jobs are also available.

Salary Details

According to a survey done recently, the average salary offered for this post is $27,000. In addition to this salary, he/she may receive some additional allowances or perks. The salaries will vary depending on the type of industry, the size of that company as well as the location.

Career Prospects

There is no dearth of jobs for this professional, as he/she may be employed in a wide variety of industries. If he/she is able to perform and deliver work as per the expectations and is updated with advanced technical knowledge, then he/she can definitely rise up to the position of a manger or any other senior position that promises a lucrative career ahead.

Therefore, if you want to climb up this ladder of success really fast, then you must be able to handle the front desk attendant responsibilities efficiently and should try to imbibe some of the above mentioned skills and take the relevant education to prosper in a better way.

See Also

Front Desk Agent Responsibilities