Unless you are lucky enough to have friends or family to stay with you will probably need to check into a hotel when you travel. English is very useful for travellers because you can usually use it in hotels all over the world. Don’t worry if your English is not very fluent, because actually hotel English is very easy to learn and use. In this dialogue you can see how easy it is.
Dialogue
At the hotel reception/front desk
G = guest
R = hotel receptionist/ desk clerk
G: Good afternoon
R: Hello Good afternoon. Can I help you?
G: I have a room booked for 4 nights.
R: May I have your name, please?
G: Parker. Geraldine Parker.
R: Oh yes, but I have 3 nights, is that correct?
G: Oh yes, sorry 3 nights that’s right.
R: You’re in room 2012. It’s on the first floor. The lift is just over there. Here are the keys.
G: Thanks.
R: Breakfast is served from 7am to 10am, but if you want it earlier do let us know the night before.
G: Yes ok.
R: Would you like the morning newspaper?
G: Yes, please. The Daily Telegraph
R: The Telegraph. Okay, it’ll be place outside your room in the morning. Dinner is served from 6.00 pm. to 10.30 pm. Do you need any help with your luggage?
G: Oh yes, please.
R: I’ll get someone to take your luggage upstairs for you.
G: Thank you.
R: Enjoy your stay.
G: Thanks.
Expansion
Practice the dialogue with a partner. Take turns playing the receptionist and the guest. After you have practices a few times try changing some of the words. Here are some ideas:
* Change the number of nights you are staying
* Change to room number and floor
* Change the times for breakfast and dinner
* The guest doesn’t want a newspaper
* The guest doesn’t need help with his/her luggage
Keywords
Check in
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When you check in, you tell the people who work at the hotel that you want to stay in the hotel.
Traveller / traveler (Am.)
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A travel is a person who travels.
Reception / front desk
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Reception, or front desk in American English, is the place hotel where you check in, ask for your keys or ask for information about the hotel and the local area.
Receptionist / desk clerk
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A person working at reception is called a receptionist. In American English this person is called the desk clerk.
Book
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. When you book a room it means that you tell the hotel that you want to stay in a room at the hotel. You book your room before you arrive. You can also book other things, such as a table at a restaurant.
First floor
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The first floor in Europe is the floor above the ground floor. Americans call this the second floor (very confusing, even for English speakers!).
Lift / elevator
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We can use a lift instead of stairs for going to different floors in a building.
Breakfast is served from
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Luggage
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Luggage is the group name for your bags and suitcases.
Upstairs
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Upstairs means floors higher than this one. The opposite is downstairs.
