Career Explorer Personal care
Changing shape
Baggage porters and bellhops
Handle baggage for travelers at transportation terminals or for guests at hotels or similar establishments.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 31% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by -3.0% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on emotional intelligence.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $37,080
- Job growth to 2035
- -3.0%
- Openings a year
- 3,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 29,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Move materials, equipment, or supplies
- Escort others
- Assist individuals with special needs
What the work looks like
- Receive and mark baggage by completing and attaching claim checks.
- Greet incoming guests and escort them to their rooms.
- Transport guests about premises and local areas, or arrange for transportation.
- Maintain clean lobbies or entrance areas for travelers or guests.
- Transfer luggage, trunks, and packages to and from rooms, loading areas, vehicles, or transportation terminals, by hand or using baggage carts.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as casino hotels reduce nonessential services.
- Fewer of these jobs, as changing passenger preferences and automated bag drop kiosks reduce demand for skycaps.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Physical therapist aidesHuman edge, growing, Index 87, +4.0%
- Locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendantsHuman edge, growing, Index 76, +6.4%
- Ophthalmic medical techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +21.4%
- Taxi driversHuman edge, growing, Index 81, +11.5%
Also known as: Bell Captain, Bellman, Skycap, Valet, Bell Person, Bellhop, Bellperson, Doorman.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.