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Hotel Front Office Clerk

Hospitality & Tourism

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.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Hospitality & Tourism

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
  2. 2Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
  3. 3Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellhops.
  4. 4Verify customers' credit, and establish how the customer will pay for the accommodation.
  5. 5Make and confirm reservations.
  6. 6Keep records of room availability and guests' accounts, manually or using computers.
  7. 7Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers, manually or by using computers.
  8. 8Review accounts and charges with guests during the check out process.
  9. 9Record guest comments or complaints, referring customers to managers as necessary.
  10. 10Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
  11. 11Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
  12. 12Answer inquiries pertaining to hotel services, guest registration, and travel directions, or make recommendations regarding shopping, dining, or entertainment.
  13. 13Perform bookkeeping activities, such as balancing accounts and conducting nightly audits.
  14. 14Advise housekeeping staff when rooms have been vacated and are ready for cleaning.
  15. 15Plan, schedule or supervise the work of other employees.
  16. 16Clean and maintain lobby and common areas, such as restocking supplies and watering plants.
  17. 17Prepare for basic food service, such as setting up continental breakfast or coffee and tea supplies.
  18. 18Date-stamp, sort, and rack incoming mail and messages.
  19. 19Arrange tours, taxis, or restaurant reservations for customers.
  20. 20Deposit guests' valuables in hotel safes or safe-deposit boxes.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • GSA
  • Desk Clerk
  • Hall Clerk
  • Room Clerk
  • Floor Clerk
  • Hotel Clerk
  • Motel Clerk
  • Night Auditor
  • Register Clerk
  • Reservationist

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administrative — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Computer Science / ICTDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Electrical & Electronic Eng. StudiesDraws directly on Computers and Electronics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service87%
  • English Language84%

    English

  • Public Safety and Security73%
  • Administrative73%

    Business

  • Computers and Electronics67%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Administration and Management64%

    BusinessEconomics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsEvery day
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

21%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue