In a constant effort to supply their guests with convenient, inclusive service, hotels often provide a complimentary breakfast service prepared and maintained by an attendant. The service, featuring hot and cold items available for a limited, preset amount of time each morning, is considered part of the overall guest experience. It is therefore the attendant's job to ensure each guest's day starts out the right way.

Main Duties

Breakfast attendants have many duties to perform during a shift. Main duties include setting up and breaking down each morning's breakfast buffet, ensuring buffet items such fruits, breads, cereals and bakery items remain well-stocked, maintaining the safety and appearance of the buffet area and cleaning the area in preparation for the next day. This may include replenishing silverware, sugar caddies and condiments, light to moderate food preparation, refilling beverage containers, mopping, wiping and sweeping. If the hotel breakfast is full service, the attendant may perform duties similar to those of a restaurant waiter or busboy such as attending to special food orders or needs of the guests, clearing dirty plates from tables, relaying customer needs to the kitchen and providing or refilling drinks.

Additional Duties

Attendants are also tasked with acting as representatives of the hotel or corporation they are employed by, and are therefore required to provide a welcoming and hospitable atmosphere to guests. Paperwork, record-keeping, vacuuming, kitchen or other custodial tasks may also be delegated to the breakfast attendant. Other duties may be assigned by management or detailed in the advertisement for the position.

Skill Requirements

Aside from the ability to perform all the duties delegated to the breakfast attendant, the attendant must possess good communication skills for keeping customers informed of breakfast offerings and hotel information. As the position calls for working in a fast-paced, customer-oriented environment, the attendant should be courteous, efficient and friendly. Attendants must have a strong capability to multitask, be able to stand for long periods of time, lift up to 25 lbs. and work with cleaning chemicals.

Education and Permit

Breakfast attendants are usually required to have a high school diploma or the equivalent. A valid food handler's permit is also recommended and occasionally required, depending on management and the extent of contact or preparation necessary.

Typical Earnings

Typically a breakfast attendant receives an hourly wage ranging from $7 to $12 per hour. Full-service attendants are considered tipped employees and therefore receive additional compensation based on the guest's perceived quality of the attendant's work. The average full-time annual salary for a breakfast attendant is $24,000 as of July 2014, according to Simply Hired.