Hotel English - Using Travel English at Hotels — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01Hi, my name is Olivier.
2. 0:03Welcome to Oxford Online English.
3. 0:06Do you travel abroad, for work or for pleasure?
4. 0:10If so, do you normally stay in hotels?
5. 0:12Are you comfortable using English to reserve a room, check in or out, and deal with any
6. 0:19problems you have during your stay?
7. 0:21In this lesson, you can learn how to use English in common hotel situations.
8. 0:25It can also help you if you work in a hotel.
9. 0:28Imagine you're traveling abroad and you need to arrange a hotel.
10. 0:33What's the first thing you need to do?
11. 0:38Nowadays, you’ll often reserve your hotel room online, but sometimes you might need
12. 0:44to make a reservation by phone, or even in person.
13. 0:47Let’s see how you can do this:
14. 0:49Hi, I’d like to make a reservation.
15. 0:51Yes, of course.
16. 0:53When would you like to check in?
17. 0:54On the 3rd of November.
18. 0:57And how many nights would that be for?
19. 1:00For three nights.
20. 1:01And what kind of room were you looking for?
21. 1:04A double room.
22. 1:05It’s for my husband and me.
23. 1:07Ok.
24. 1:08We do have one double room available for those dates.
25. 1:12It’s $80 a night, so that comes to $240 for the three nights.
26. 1:18Yes, that’s fine.
27. 1:20Great.
28. 1:21Can I take your name?
29. 1:22Yes, it’s Sarah Banks
30. 1:24Thank you, Ms. Banks.
31. 1:26Can I just take a credit card from you to make the booking?
32. 1:28Yes of course, here you are.
33. 1:31Okay Ms. Banks, that’s all finished.
34. 1:35Is there anything else I can help you with?
35. 1:37Yes, could I have a confirmation emailed to me?
36. 1:41Yes of course, what’s the email?
37. 1:43It’s s dot banks at gmail dot com.
38. 1:48Okay, I’ll send that over to you now.
39. 1:51Excellent, thank you very much.
40. 1:53You’re welcome.
41. 1:54We look forward to seeing you.
42. 1:56Thank you, goodbye
43. 1:57Goodbye.
44. 1:58Let’s look at some key phrases and useful vocabulary from this section.
45. 2:04You can start the conversation by saying something like:
46. 2:07I’d like to make a reservation for the 3rd of November, for three nights, please.
47. 2:13Of course, you can change this to suit your situation, like this:
48. 2:18I’d like to make a reservation for the 20th of May for one night, please.
49. 2:24The receptionist might ask you:
50. 2:27What kind of room are you looking for?
51. 2:29What could you say here?
52. 2:31You could ask for a single or a double room.
53. 2:34If you’re travelling with a friend, you might ask for a twin room, with two separate
54. 2:40beds.
55. 2:41You could also ask for a triple room for three people, or maybe a family room, which might
56. 2:46have four or even more beds.
57. 2:49Finally, if you need a lot of space, you can ask for a suite.
58. 2:53A suite is like an apartment, with a living room, possibly a kitchen, and one or more
59. 2:59bedrooms.
60. 3:00The dialogue you just heard was easy—there were no problems or surprises—but what if
61. 3:05the hotel is full on the dates you want?
62. 3:07I’d like to make a reservation for the 20th of May for one night, please.
63. 3:12Very well, sir, and what kind of room do you need?
64. 3:14I’d like a triple room, please.
65. 3:16I’m sorry sir, but don’t have any triple rooms available on that date.
66. 3:21It’s a holiday period and we’re almost fully booked.
67. 3:24I could offer you a family room, which has four beds.
68. 3:27Would that work for you?
69. 3:29That could work…
70. 3:31How much is it?
71. 3:32It’s $195.
72. 3:34Ah, I see.
73. 3:37That’s more expensive than the triple.
74. 3:41Is there any way you could offer a discount?
75. 3:43I’m sorry sir, as I said before, it’s a holiday period and we expect to be very
76. 3:48busy at that time.
77. 3:50I see…
78. 3:51Alright, then.
79. 3:52I’ll take it.
80. 3:54That’s fine.
81. 3:55Can I take your name for the reservation?
82. 3:57This time, the conversation didn’t go so smoothly.
83. 4:00The receptionist said:
84. 4:02We don’t have any triple rooms available on that date.
85. 4:05The receptionist also gave a reason.
86. 4:08Do you remember what it was?
87. 4:10She said:
88. 4:11It’s a holiday period and we’re almost fully booked.
89. 4:17Fully booked means that every room has already been reserved.
90. 4:22You might also hear something like:
91. 4:24I’m afraid we don’t have anything free on those dates.
92. 4:29Luckily, this time you were able to get a room, even if it was more expensive than you
93. 4:35were hoping for.
94. 4:36What’s the next step?
95. 4:42You arrive at your hotel and go to reception to check in.
96. 4:45Do you know what you should say here?
97. 4:47Let’s look together!
98. 4:49Hello, welcome to The Palm Hotel
99. 4:51Hello, I have a reservation; the name’s Sarah Banks
100. 4:55Yes, I see that here.
101. 4:58I have you in a double room for three nights; is that correct?
102. 5:04Yes, that’s right.
103. 5:06How many keys would you like?
104. 5:07Two, please.
105. 5:09Okay, here you are.
106. 5:11Enjoy your stay, Ms. Banks.
107. 5:13Thank you.
108. 5:14OK. That seemed easy.
109. 5:17And usually, it should be.
110. 5:19But perhaps there’s a problem.
111. 5:21Let’s look at an example that doesn’t go so well.
112. 5:26Hello, welcome to The Palm Hotel Hello, I have a reservation.
113. 5:30What name was it under?
114. 5:31Sarah Banks.
115. 5:33I’m sorry, I don’t have a reservation under that name.
116. 5:38How did you make the booking?
117. 5:40I did it on the phone.
118. 5:41I actually have a confirmation here with me, would that help?
119. 5:45Yes, please.
120. 5:46OK, yes, now I see the reservation.
121. 5:50I think there was a problem with the spelling.
122. 5:53I do apologize.
123. 5:54It’s no problem.
124. 5:55Now, you’ve checked in and you’re ready to enjoy your stay.
125. 5:59What next?
126. 6:04You might need to go back to reception to arrange extra services, or to ask about the
127. 6:08hotel’s facilities.
128. 6:10Let’s look at our first dialogue:
129. 6:13Is there anything else I can help you with, Ms. Banks?
130. 6:15Yes, I would like a wake-up call tomorrow, if possible.
131. 6:18Yes of course; what time would you like the call?
132. 6:217.30 please, actually… better make it 7.
133. 6:26Okay, no problem.
134. 6:27I’ll make a note of that.
135. 6:30Also I need to go to the airport on Wednesday morning.
136. 6:32Do you offer a shuttle service?
137. 6:34Yes, we do.
138. 6:36What time's your flight?
139. 6:37It’s at 10.30am.
140. 6:39Okay, we have shuttles to the airport every hour, so I think you could take the 8am shuttle.
141. 6:46Perfect, thank you.
142. 6:48The guest asked for two different things.
143. 6:52Do you remember what they were?
144. 6:55She asked for a wake-up call, and she asked about the airport shuttle.
145. 7:01A shuttle is a bus which drives between two places.
146. 7:05Many hotels offer airport shuttles, which drive between the airport and the hotel.
147. 7:11Let’s look at some of the polite language from this dialogue.
148. 7:14To ask for a wake-up call, I said:
149. 7:17I would like a wake-up call tomorrow, if possible.
150. 7:22Adding if possible on the end of the sentence is not necessary, but it makes it sound more
151. 7:27respectful and polite.
152. 7:29To ask about the airport shuttle, I said:
153. 7:32Do you offer a shuttle service?
154. 7:34You could use this question to ask about other hotel facilities.
155. 7:39For example:
156. 7:40Do you offer 24-hour room service?
157. 7:44Do you offer a dry-cleaning service?
158. 7:47Do you offer conferencing facilities?
159. 7:52Can you think of anything else you could ask about here?
160. 7:57Let’s see some more ways to ask about hotel facilities:
161. 8:01Hello, how can I help you?
162. 8:03Yes, hello.
163. 8:05I need some restaurant recommendations.
164. 8:07Okay, no problem.
165. 8:09Our concierge on the other side of the lobby can recommend a good restaurant and help you
166. 8:15to make reservations.
167. 8:16Thank you.
168. 8:18Also, I wanted to ask: what kind of gym facilities do you have?
169. 8:23We have a complete gym and small swimming pool just down this corridor.
170. 8:28The swimming pool also has a sauna and a steam room.
171. 8:31Wonderful!
172. 8:32Thanks for your help.
173. 8:34Oh, actually, one last thing: what’s the WiFi password for the hotel?
174. 8:39It’s Palmbeachhotel.
175. 8:41All one word, with a capital P at the start.
176. 8:46And that works everywhere in the hotel?
177. 8:48Yes, it does.
178. 8:49Thank you very much.
179. 8:51You’re welcome.
180. 8:52Let’s look at some of the useful language from this dialogue.
181. 8:55A concierge works in a hotel and can help guests to arrange things in the local area.
182. 9:01For example, a good concierge can help you to book theatre tickets, find the best Thai
183. 9:06restaurant in town, or organize a sightseeing tour of the city.
184. 9:10The phrase I wanted to ask is a good way to introduce a question politely.
185. 9:17You can use it in many ways.
186. 9:19For example:
187. 9:20I wanted to ask: is it possible to check out one hour late?
188. 9:26I wanted to ask: what time is breakfast?
189. 9:29Okay, at this point, you’ve checked in and you’re getting comfortable.
190. 9:35But what if something goes wrong?
191. 9:41Hello, do you need any help?
192. 9:43Yes, I have a few problems with my room.
193. 9:47Okay, I’m sorry to hear that, what seems to be the problem?
194. 9:52Well, first of all there’s an issue with the heating.
195. 9:55It’s very hot, and I can’t seem to turn it down.
196. 9:58Okay, I’ll send somebody to take a look at that.
197. 10:01Was there anything else?
198. 10:03Yes, actually.
199. 10:04I’m not sure if it’s normal, but my key doesn’t always work in the door.
200. 10:09Sometimes I have to put it in five or six times before it works.
201. 10:12Am I doing something wrong?
202. 10:14I’m sure you aren’t, madam!
203. 10:16Sometimes, older key cards don’t work so well.
204. 10:20Let me make you a new key right now.
205. 10:22That’s great; thanks so much for your help.
206. 10:24You’re very welcome.
207. 10:26Here’s a good phrase to use if you have a problem during your hotel stay:
208. 10:30There’s an issue with…
209. 10:32For example:
210. 10:33There’s an issue with the sink in the bathroom.
211. 10:37Can you think of any other ways you could say this?
212. 10:41You could say something like:
213. 10:43Something’s wrong with the sink in the bathroom.
214. 10:47I think there’s a problem with the sink.
215. 10:50Next, let’s look at one more example where things don’t go so well.
216. 10:56Yes, can I help you with something?
217. 10:58I’d like to make a complaint.
218. 11:00My room hasn’t been cleaned properly.
219. 11:03I’m very sorry about that, sir.
220. 11:05What exactly is wrong?
221. 11:07There’s dust everywhere and I found a hair on the pillow which definitely isn’t mine.
222. 11:15I have to say this is unacceptable.
223. 11:18If I’m paying this much money, the least I should be able to expect is clean bedding.
224. 11:24I completely agree sir, and once again, I’m very sorry.
225. 11:27Here’s what I can do for you: I can offer you a complimentary upgrade to a deluxe room.
226. 11:33I’ll also make sure that housekeeping double-check the room before you use it, so that we can
227. 11:37be sure it’s perfectly clean.
228. 11:39Well, that’s fine, but still, this sort of thing shouldn’t happen.
229. 11:45You’re right, of course.
230. 11:47I’ll communicate this issue to our management so we can investigate and find out exactly
231. 11:51why this happened.
232. 11:52When can I move rooms?
233. 11:54As soon as you’re ready.
234. 11:56Just call reception and we’ll send someone to help you with your bags.
235. 12:00This time, the situation was a little tenser.
236. 12:03However, you can see some good phrases here to express anger without being rude.
237. 12:10For example:
238. 12:12I have to say this is unacceptable. This sort of thing shouldn't happen.
239. 12:19The least I should be able to expect is…
240. 12:23These phrases are interesting, because they’re quite formal, but they also express quite
241. 12:28strong emotion.
242. 12:30Normally, formal language is cold-sounding and emotionless, but using phrases like these
243. 12:36shows that you’re really unhappy with the situation.
244. 12:39Now, your problems have all been solved and it’s time to go home again.
245. 12:43What’s the last thing you have to do?
246. 12:48Hi, I’d like to check out please.
247. 12:51Yes of course; how was your stay?
248. 12:53Very nice, thank you.
249. 12:56Here is a copy of your bill.
250. 12:58The room and tax are already paid, so these are just the extras.
251. 13:02That seems fine, can you put it on my credit card?
252. 13:05Yes of course, I’ll just do that now…
253. 13:08What extras might you have to pay?
254. 13:12You might have to pay for any drinks or snacks you take from the minibar.
255. 13:16You might also be charged for phone calls, room service, or movies.
256. 13:21In the dialogue above, everything was fine.
257. 13:25What if there are things on your bill which you don’t agree with?
258. 13:28Hello, can I help you?
259. 13:30Hi, I’d like to check out please.
260. 13:32Certainly…
261. 13:33Here’s your bill.
262. 13:37The total seems higher than I expected; what exactly are these additional charges?
263. 13:42Let me have a look. OK, this payment is for the water and snacks
264. 13:48you had from the minibar, and it looks like this is a phone call that was made to the
265. 13:54United States.
266. 13:55Right, I see now.
267. 13:56Yes, that’s fine.
268. 13:58I’d like to pay cash, if that’s OK?
269. 14:00Yes, no problem.
270. 14:03Thank you for staying with us.
271. 14:04Now, the next time you stay in a hotel and need to use English, you should know what
272. 14:08to say in any situation!
273. 14:10You can find more free English lessons on many different topics on our website.
274. 14:15Check it out: Oxford Online English.com.
275. 14:19Thanks for watching!