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  • Hi, my name is Olivier.

  • Welcome to Oxford Online English.

  • Do you travel abroad, for work or for pleasure?

  • If so, do you normally stay in hotels?

  • Are you comfortable using English to reserve a room, check in or out, and deal with any

  • problems you have during your stay?

  • In this lesson, you can learn how to use English in common hotel situations.

  • It can also help you if you work in a hotel.

  • Imagine you're traveling abroad and you need to arrange a hotel.

  • What's the first thing you need to do?

  • Nowadays, you'll often reserve your hotel room online, but sometimes you might need

  • to make a reservation by phone, or even in person.

  • Let's see how you can do this:

  • Hi, I'd like to make a reservation.

  • Yes, of course.

  • When would you like to check in?

  • On the 3rd of November.

  • And how many nights would that be for?

  • For three nights.

  • And what kind of room were you looking for?

  • A double room.

  • It's for my husband and me.

  • Ok.

  • We do have one double room available for those dates.

  • It's $80 a night, so that comes to $240 for the three nights.

  • Yes, that's fine.

  • Great.

  • Can I take your name?

  • Yes, it's Sarah Banks

  • Thank you, Ms. Banks.

  • Can I just take a credit card from you to make the booking?

  • Yes of course, here you are.

  • Okay Ms. Banks, that's all finished.

  • Is there anything else I can help you with?

  • Yes, could I have a confirmation emailed to me?

  • Yes of course, what's the email?

  • It's s dot banks at gmail dot com.

  • Okay, I'll send that over to you now.

  • Excellent, thank you very much.

  • You're welcome.

  • We look forward to seeing you.

  • Thank you, goodbye

  • Goodbye.

  • Let's look at some key phrases and useful vocabulary from this section.

  • You can start the conversation by saying something like:

  • I'd like to make a reservation for the 3rd of November, for three nights, please.

  • Of course, you can change this to suit your situation, like this:

  • I'd like to make a reservation for the 20th of May for one night, please.

  • The receptionist might ask you:

  • What kind of room are you looking for?

  • What could you say here?

  • You could ask for a single or a double room.

  • If you're travelling with a friend, you might ask for a twin room, with two separate

  • beds.

  • You could also ask for a triple room for three people, or maybe a family room, which might

  • have four or even more beds.

  • Finally, if you need a lot of space, you can ask for a suite.

  • A suite is like an apartment, with a living room, possibly a kitchen, and one or more

  • bedrooms.

  • The dialogue you just heard was easythere were no problems or surprisesbut what if

  • the hotel is full on the dates you want?

  • I'd like to make a reservation for the 20th of May for one night, please.

  • Very well, sir, and what kind of room do you need?

  • I'd like a triple room, please.

  • I'm sorry sir, but don't have any triple rooms available on that date.

  • It's a holiday period and we're almost fully booked.

  • I could offer you a family room, which has four beds.

  • Would that work for you?

  • That could work

  • How much is it?

  • It's $195.

  • Ah, I see.

  • That's more expensive than the triple.

  • Is there any way you could offer a discount?

  • I'm sorry sir, as I said before, it's a holiday period and we expect to be very

  • busy at that time.

  • I see

  • Alright, then.

  • I'll take it.

  • That's fine.

  • Can I take your name for the reservation?

  • This time, the conversation didn't go so smoothly.

  • The receptionist said:

  • We don't have any triple rooms available on that date.

  • The receptionist also gave a reason.

  • Do you remember what it was?

  • She said:

  • It's a holiday period and we're almost fully booked.

  • Fully booked means that every room has already been reserved.

  • You might also hear something like:

  • I'm afraid we don't have anything free on those dates.

  • Luckily, this time you were able to get a room, even if it was more expensive than you

  • were hoping for.

  • What's the next step?

  • You arrive at your hotel and go to reception to check in.

  • Do you know what you should say here?

  • Let's look together!

  • Hello, welcome to The Palm Hotel

  • Hello, I have a reservation; the name's Sarah Banks

  • Yes, I see that here.

  • I have you in a double room for three nights; is that correct?

  • Yes, that's right.

  • How many keys would you like?

  • Two, please.

  • Okay, here you are.

  • Enjoy your stay, Ms. Banks.

  • Thank you.

  • OK. That seemed easy.

  • And usually, it should be.

  • But perhaps there's a problem.

  • Let's look at an example that doesn't go so well.

  • Hello, welcome to The Palm Hotel Hello, I have a reservation.

  • What name was it under?

  • Sarah Banks.

  • I'm sorry, I don't have a reservation under that name.

  • How did you make the booking?

  • I did it on the phone.

  • I actually have a confirmation here with me, would that help?

  • Yes, please.

  • OK, yes, now I see the reservation.

  • I think there was a problem with the spelling.

  • I do apologize.

  • It's no problem.

  • Now, you've checked in and you're ready to enjoy your stay.

  • What next?

  • You might need to go back to reception to arrange extra services, or to ask about the

  • hotel's facilities.

  • Let's look at our first dialogue:

  • Is there anything else I can help you with, Ms. Banks?

  • Yes, I would like a wake-up call tomorrow, if possible.

  • Yes of course; what time would you like the call?

  • 7.30 please, actuallybetter make it 7.

  • Okay, no problem.

  • I'll make a note of that.

  • Also I need to go to the airport on Wednesday morning.

  • Do you offer a shuttle service?

  • Yes, we do.

  • What time's your flight?

  • It's at 10.30am.

  • Okay, we have shuttles to the airport every hour, so I think you could take the 8am shuttle.

  • Perfect, thank you.

  • The guest asked for two different things.

  • Do you remember what they were?

  • She asked for a wake-up call, and she asked about the airport shuttle.

  • A shuttle is a bus which drives between two places.

  • Many hotels offer airport shuttles, which drive between the airport and the hotel.

  • Let's look at some of the polite language from this dialogue.

  • To ask for a wake-up call, I said:

  • I would like a wake-up call tomorrow, if possible.

  • Adding if possible on the end of the sentence is not necessary, but it makes it sound more

  • respectful and polite.

  • To ask about the airport shuttle, I said:

  • Do you offer a shuttle service?

  • You could use this question to ask about other hotel facilities.

  • For example:

  • Do you offer 24-hour room service?

  • Do you offer a dry-cleaning service?

  • Do you offer conferencing facilities?

  • Can you think of anything else you could ask about here?

  • Let's see some more ways to ask about hotel facilities:

  • Hello, how can I help you?

  • Yes, hello.

  • I need some restaurant recommendations.

  • Okay, no problem.

  • Our concierge on the other side of the lobby can recommend a good restaurant and help you

  • to make reservations.

  • Thank you.

  • Also, I wanted to ask: what kind of gym facilities do you have?

  • We have a complete gym and small swimming pool just down this corridor.

  • The swimming pool also has a sauna and a steam room.

  • Wonderful!

  • Thanks for your help.

  • Oh, actually, one last thing: what's the WiFi password for the hotel?

  • It's Palmbeachhotel.

  • All one word, with a capital P at the start.

  • And that works everywhere in the hotel?

  • Yes, it does.

  • Thank you very much.

  • You're welcome.

  • Let's look at some of the useful language from this dialogue.

  • A concierge works in a hotel and can help guests to arrange things in the local area.

  • For example, a good concierge can help you to book theatre tickets, find the best Thai

  • restaurant in town, or organize a sightseeing tour of the city.

  • The phrase I wanted to ask is a good way to introduce a question politely.

  • You can use it in many ways.

  • For example:

  • I wanted to ask: is it possible to check out one hour late?

  • I wanted to ask: what time is breakfast?

  • Okay, at this point, you've checked in and you're getting comfortable.

  • But what if something goes wrong?

  • Hello, do you need any help?

  • Yes, I have a few problems with my room.

  • Okay, I'm sorry to hear that, what seems to be the problem?

  • Well, first of all there's an issue with the heating.

  • It's very hot, and I can't seem to turn it down.

  • Okay, I'll send somebody to take a look at that.

  • Was there anything else?

  • Yes, actually.

  • I'm not sure if it's normal, but my key doesn't always work in the door.

  • Sometimes I have to put it in five or six times before it works.

  • Am I doing something wrong?

  • I'm sure you aren't, madam!

  • Sometimes, older key cards don't work so well.

  • Let me make you a new key right now.

  • That's great; thanks so much for your help.

  • You're very welcome.

  • Here's a good phrase to use if you have a problem during your hotel stay:

  • There's an issue with

  • For example:

  • There's an issue with the sink in the bathroom.

  • Can you think of any other ways you could say this?

  • You could say something like:

  • Something's wrong with the sink in the bathroom.

  • I think there's a problem with the sink.

  • Next, let's look at one more example where things don't go so well.

  • Yes, can I help you with something?

  • I'd like to make a complaint.

  • My room hasn't been cleaned properly.

  • I'm very sorry about that, sir.

  • What exactly is wrong?

  • There's dust everywhere and I found a hair on the pillow which definitely isn't mine.

  • I have to say this is unacceptable.

  • If I'm paying this much money, the least I should be able to expect is clean bedding.

  • I completely agree sir, and once again, I'm very sorry.

  • Here's what I can do for you: I can offer you a complimentary upgrade to a deluxe room.

  • I'll also make sure that housekeeping double-check the room before you use it, so that we can

  • be sure it's perfectly clean.

  • Well, that's fine, but still, this sort of thing shouldn't happen.

  • You're right, of course.

  • I'll communicate this issue to our management so we can investigate and find out exactly

  • why this happened.

  • When can I move rooms?

  • As soon as you're ready.

  • Just call reception and we'll send someone to help you with your bags.

  • This time, the situation was a little tenser.

  • However, you can see some good phrases here to express anger without being rude.

  • For example:

  • I have to say this is unacceptable. This sort of thing shouldn't happen.

  • The least I should be able to expect is

  • These phrases are interesting, because they're quite formal, but they also express quite

  • strong emotion.

  • Normally, formal language is cold-sounding and emotionless, but using phrases like these

  • shows that you're really unhappy with the situation.

  • Now, your problems have all been solved and it's time to go home again.

  • What's the last thing you have to do?

  • Hi, I'd like to check out please.

  • Yes of course; how was your stay?

  • Very nice, thank you.

  • Here is a copy of your bill.

  • The room and tax are already paid, so these are just the extras.

  • That seems fine, can you put it on my credit card?

  • Yes of course, I'll just do that now

  • What extras might you have to pay?

  • You might have to pay for any drinks or snacks you take from the minibar.

  • You might also be charged for phone calls, room service, or movies.

  • In the dialogue above, everything was fine.

  • What if there are things on your bill which you don't agree with?

  • Hello, can I help you?

  • Hi, I'd like to check out please.

  • Certainly

  • Here's your bill.

  • The total seems higher than I expected; what exactly are these additional charges?

  • Let me have a look. OK, this payment is for the water and snacks

  • you had from the minibar, and it looks like this is a phone call that was made to the

  • United States.

  • Right, I see now.

  • Yes, that's fine.

  • I'd like to pay cash, if that's OK?

  • Yes, no problem.

  • Thank you for staying with us.

  • Now, the next time you stay in a hotel and need to use English, you should know what

  • to say in any situation!

  • You can find more free English lessons on many different topics on our website.

  • Check it out: Oxford Online English.com.

  • Thanks for watching!

Hi, my name is Olivier.

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