You're listening to Business English Pop, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, my name is James and I'm going to be your host for the next couple of shows, until Clayton gets back from his holidays.
So now on to today's lesson about making a hotel reservation.
It's something all of us need to do. whether it's for a company business trip or personal travel.
We all need to, at some time or another, call a hotel to reserve a room.
Of course, making reservations is not only useful for hotels, but also for all sorts of situations.
Conferences restaurants, airplane travel and any other type of event that requires us to book in advance.
This is the skill that we will be practicing in this episode, making reservations.
Along the way, we'll also be learning vocabulary for staying in hotels.
In the listening, Sarah Johnson is going on vacation with her husband.
She calls the reservations desk at the Majestic Hotel in New York, where a staff member Tony, picks up the phone.
As you listen, pay attention to the language Sarah uses and try to answer the following questions.
You can check back in a couple of days on our website, www.businessenglishpod.com, for the answers.
1.
What kind of room does Sarah want?
2.
What extra request does Sarah have?
3.
Tony makes a mistake while taking Sarah's reservation.
What is it?
Good morning.
Majestic Hotel.
Reservations.
This is Tony speaking.
How can I help you?
Yes, hello.
I'd like to reserve a room for me and my husband, please.
Certainly, ma'am.
Do you have a double room for next Thursday?
Just a moment.
Let me check.
Oh, and we'd like one with a balcony facing the courtyard.
Non-smoking, if possible.
Okay.
That would be one of our business suites.
They all have queen-size beds.
That's fine.
Yes.
We have a room.
How many nights are you staying?
Three.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
January 10th through the 12th.
Okay.
We have a room available non-smoking.
Good.
How much is it?
It's $250 per night, including breakfast.
Okay, that'll be fine.
And could you reserve a table for us in the restaurant?
You see, we're arriving in the evening at about 7.30.
Of course.
Would you like me to book a table for you, say, at 8 o'clock on Thursday evening?
Yes, please.
And we have a non-smoking table.
Certainly, madam.
And your name, please?
Miss Sarah Johnson.
That's Sarah S-A-R-A... R-A-H.
Johnson.
J-O-H-N-S-O-N.
Okay.
Sarah Johnson.
And can I have a contact number?
Yes.
My mobile number is 045-6545-6484.
Uh-huh.
Can you say that back to me, please?
Sure.
045.
Six five four five, six four, eight four.
That's right.
Okay, so you're booked for a queen-sized room from next thursday, january the 10th to sunday, january the 13th.
Actually, instead of the 13th, it should be the 12th saturday, right?
Sorry about that.
Three nights thursday january the 10th to saturday january the 12th, checking out on sunday the 13th.
Is that right, Exactly?
Non-smoking with a balcony facing the courtyard.
Perfect.
And I've reserved a table for you and your husband in the restaurant at 8 p.m.
Great.
Will there be anything else, Mrs. Johnson?
No, that's all.
Thank you for choosing the Majestic.
Thanks.
Bye.
Sarah has successfully reserved her room and has made some extra special requests as well.
Let's study the language and the vocabulary she uses.
How does the dialogue begin?
Good morning.
Majestic Hotel.
Reservations.
This is Tony speaking.
How can I help you?
Yes, hello.
I'd like to reserve a room for me and my husband, please.
Tony answers the phone professionally. just as we learned to do in BEP 69.
Sarah responds with a useful phrase for making reservations.
I'd like to reserve a room.
What kind of room does she want?
A double room has one large bed.
This is different from a twin room, which has two beds.
Double rooms can have beds of different sizes, ranging from a standard double-sized bed to a larger queen-sized bed or a larger still king-sized bed.
Another type of room is a suite, which is larger and more luxurious.
Let's practice some ways to start making a reservation with some example phrases.
Hello.
Would it be possible to reserve a standard twin room for next Wednesday, March the 12th?
Good afternoon.
What's your biggest suite?
Hi there.
Do you have any rooms available for the third week of June?
Ideally, what we'd like is a double room with a queen-size bed. facing south, if possible.
What happens next in the dialogue?
Sarah has some special requests, doesn't she?
Just a moment.
Let me check.
Oh, and we'd like one with a balcony facing the courtyard.
Non-smoking, if possible.
Asking for time while he accesses his computer, Tony says...
Just a moment, madam.
Meanwhile, Sarah has more requirements.
It sounds like she stayed at the Majestic Hotel one time before and she liked her room, which had a balcony facing the courtyard.
A courtyard is a space in the center of the building that is open to the sky.
In the Majestic, some rooms overlook a central courtyard.
They have balconies where guests can step outside to check out the view and get some fresh air.
Can you put us on a higher floor?
We'd like to be on a non-smoking floor, if possible.
Do you have a ladies-only floor?
I need a quiet room.
I'd like a room with a view.
Ideally we'd have a view of the park if possible.
Can we get a room facing south?
I'd like to be near the fitness center if possible.
A fitness center is where hotel guests go to get exercise.
Back in the dialogue, Sarah has just requested a room with a balcony facing the courtyard.
Okay, that would be one of our business suites.
They all have queen size beds.
That's fine.
Tony informs Sarah that the type of room she is requesting is a business suite.
This is also a way of warning her politely that this type of room is more expensive.
Next, Tony checks to see if he has such a room available, and Sarah asks what the price is.
Yes, we have a room.
How many nights are you staying?
Three, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, January 10th through the 12th.
Okay, we have a room available non-smoking.
Good.
How much is it?
It's $250 per night, including breakfast.
Okay, that'll be fine.
How much is it per night?
How much will that come to in all?
What will the total come to?
Are there extra special charges that I should know about?
Does that include breakfast?
During the next part of the dialogue, Sarah has another question.
What is it?
And could you reserve a table for us in the restaurant?
You see, we're arriving in the evening at about 7.30.
Of course.
Would you like me to book a table for you, say, at 8 o'clock on Thursday evening?
Yes, please.
And we have a non-smoking table.
Because she and her husband are arriving in the evening around dinner time, Sarah asks Tony to book them a table in the hotel's restaurant.
Hotel guests have different tastes and needs.
To cater to and serve those needs.
Hotels have many different facilities, such as restaurants, business centres, fitness centres, swimming pools saunas, tennis courts, gift stores, cafes and more.
Let's listen to some more types of extra inquiries we can make about hotel facilities when we reserve a room.
How many restaurants do you have?
Do you have a dry cleaning service?
What size is your swimming pool?
Do you have a Butler service?
Do you have wireless internet?
Some hotels offer Butler service.
That is, there is a person on each floor whose job is to specifically serve guests by running errands, taking and leaving messages, arranging for dry cleaning and providing for any other extra needs.
Wireless internet is very important to many customers because it means they can work on their laptops while sitting in the cafe or around the pool.
What does Tony need to do next?
He still hasn't asked Sarah for her name, has he?
He also needs to get some kind of contact information from her, such as a cell phone number or email address.
Certainly, madam.
And your name, please?
Miss Sarah Johnson.
That's Sarah S-A-R-A R-A-H Johnson J-O-H-N-S-O-N Okay, Sarah Johnson.
And can I have a contact number?
Yes.
My mobile number is 045-6545-6484.
Uh-huh.
What other types of contact information might you need to give someone when you're making a reservation?
Let's review some typical language in these example phrases.
You can reach me at 303-230-3939.
My email address is derrick.smith at ergo.com My number is 990-999-39 extension 102.
Can you fax the reservation to me?
The number is 132-93-902-09.
Sarah is careful to confirm information with Tony to make sure that he has recorded her telephone number accurately.
How does she do that?
Can you say that back to me, please?
Sure.
045-
That's right.
Can you say that back to me?
It's a way of asking someone to repeat something to check for accuracy.
I think you'll agree.
It's especially important when making reservations to make sure the information is correct.
Here are some other ways to do this.
Can we just confirm the address really quickly?
Can you repeat my phone number to make sure we've got it right?
Let me just get you to say that again so I can check.
Can we just confirm all the details?
Tony has one last thing to do before the call ends.
What is it?
Being very professional, he is careful to summarize the information that Sarah has given to him.
You won't always be so lucky when making a reservation.
You need to be prepared to confirm all the details, as we have just studied in the practice phrases.
Tony confirms the details, but he appears to have got something wrong.
What is it?
Okay, so you're booked for a queen-sized room from next Thursday, January the 10th.
Actually, from what Tony said, it's hard to know whether he means that Sarah will be staying three nights and checking out on Sunday, the 13th, which would be correct, or whether he means that she will be staying four nights, including Sunday, which would be a mistake.
To make sure there is no misunderstanding, Sarah and Tony clarify this point.
Actually, instead of the 13th, it should be the 12th, Saturday.
Right.
Sorry about that.
Three nights, Thursday, January the 10th to Saturday, January the 12th.
Checking out on Sunday, the 13th.
Is that right?
Exactly.
Non-smoking with the balcony facing the courtyard.
Perfect.
In this segment, Sarah corrects Tony about the number of nights.
She says, instead of the 13th, it should be the 12th, Saturday.
As we learned before, it's a good idea to emphasize the correct information by putting it last.
You can use the instead of technique to do this.
So, your number is 91928988.
Actually, instead of 88, it should be 87.
Sorry, 91928987.
That's right.
How does the call finish off?
Let's listen to the ending again.
Will there be anything else, Mrs. Johnson?
No, that's all.
Thank you for choosing the Majestic.
Thanks.
Bye.
What if there is something else that you want?
What can you say then?
Listen to an alternate ending.
Will there be anything else, Mrs. Johnson?
Oh, yes.
There's one more thing.
Yes?
Can you try to get us a room facing south?
Yes, I'll put a note in the system.
We'll do our best, Mrs. Johnson.
Now it's your turn to practice.
Let's review some phrases and vocabulary we can use to make special requests when reserving a hotel room.
Based on the cues you hear, make requests.
You can use the expressions we've studied today, such as can you, do you have, I need a, Can we get or I'd like a.
For example, if you hear the cue quiet room.
You can say I need a quiet room.
Are you ready?
Let's give it a try.
Room with a view.
Room facing south.
A queen-sized bed A non-smoking room A room near the fitness centre How did you do?
Let's listen to some example answers.
Answer.
We'd like to get a room with a view, if possible.
Answer.
Ideally, we'd like a room facing south.
Answer.
Can you give us a room with a queen-sized bed?
Answer.
We need a non-smoking room, please.
Answer.
Do you have any rooms near the fitness center?
Remember that these were just examples.
There are many possible correct answers.
Make sure to try the practice again.
This time, substitute different language to practice fluency.
There you'll find extra exercises and full transcripts for this and other episodes.
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We'll be back next week with another show.
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