Learn how to take a reservation, from a conversation between a hotel staff member and a guest
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden:Hi, everyone. Braden here. |
| Ann:Here. Welcome back to EnglishClass101.com. This is Hospitality English for Hotels, Lesson 4 - Delivering Room Service |
| Ann:In this lesson, you will learn how to properly deliver room service orders. |
| Braden:This conversation takes place in the guest's hotel room, at breakfast. |
| Ann:The conversation is between the Guest and the room service attendant. |
| Braden:One of the speakers is a guest and the other is a member of the customer service staff, so they will be speaking professionally. |
| Ann:Now let’s listen to the conversation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden:When making small talk in English, it’s important to occasionally compliment the person you’re talking to. |
| Ann:That’s right. In a hotel situation, these compliments are usually simple such as - |
| Braden:“Those are nice suitcases, Mrs. Smith.” |
| Ann:It’s also usually safe when assisting families to compliment the children of the parents, instead of directly complimenting the parents. For example, |
| Braden:“You have beautiful children, Mrs. Smith.” |
| Ann:Hotel guests and staff are in a professional relationship, meaning very direct compliments are to be avoided. |
| Braden:Compliments such as - “You look beautiful, Mrs. Smith.” are too direct and will probably be misunderstood. |
| Ann:Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Ann:Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Braden:The first phrase is ‘I trust.’ |
| Ann:It’s a polite phrase that is often used in hotels and restaurants. It shows respect to the person you are speaking to. |
| Braden:In this sense, the word “trust” means “to have confidence, or hope.” For example, “I trust that you have enjoyed your meal.” |
| Ann:This phrase is generally not used in casual conversation, but is very appropriate and polite in a professional situation, such as staff to guest. |
| Braden:And just so you know, the guest will rarely, if ever, use this phrase when speaking to the staff. |
| Ann:Next, we have the phrase “good for you”, which is a kind of exclamation of approval towards someone. Usually, this is said when someone has achieved something that is good for them. |
| Ann:For example, someone on on your staff receives a large tip from one of your guests. An appropriate response would be, |
| Braden:“Good for you!” |
| Ann:Okay, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Ann:In this lesson, you’ll learn how to properly deliver room service orders. |
| Braden:Delivering a room service order is very straight-forward and easy. There are a few steps that you’ll take while you’re still in the kitchen. |
| Ann:Step 1 - Always double check the order to make sure nothing is missing. It’s very embarrassing and inconvenient for the guest when something is forgotten. |
| Braden:That’s right. Depending on the guest’s order, there could be just a few or many things to check. Some typical things for the meal would be - Bread and butter, Cold food, salad, Garnishes, beverages, and napkins, |
| Ann:If the guest has ordered beer or wine, then you’ll need the actual beer or wine, a Cork Screw (If needed), Ice Bucket ( If needed), candles, and matches - again, if needed. |
| Braden:Next we have Step 2 - Arriving at the room. |
| Ann:When you enter the room in the morning be sure to say - “Good morning Mr. Smith.” |
| Braden:Unless it’s the afternoon or evening. |
| Ann:That’s right. When you enter the room during the afternoon, which is between noon and about 5.00, say - “Good afternoon Mr. Smith.” |
| Braden:When you enter in the evening which is anytime after 4 o’clock but before midnight say - “Good evening Mr. Smith.” |
| Ann:...and be sure to learn the name of the guest and not call them Mr. Smith by accident. |
| Braden:(laugh) Next we have Step 3 - placement of the meal. |
| Ann:That’s right. Ask the guest where they want the meal to be served. In the mornings, many people like to have breakfast in bed. |
| Braden:In the afternoons, many people like to have lunch in the regular serving area. Some larger rooms will have a table, and you should set the meal up there. |
| Ann:Two good phrases to use are “Where would your like tray, Mr. X?” or “Where shall I place the cart, Mrs. Smith?” |
| Braden:Now on to step 4 - finishing up |
| Ann:That’s right. In most hotels, the room service attendant would now properly excuse themselves and leave. |
| Braden:Exactly. However, in some hotels, the room service attendant will remain in the room at the guest’s request, and serve the meal. |
| Ann:If this is the case, remember that ladies both sit and are served first. A good tip is to seat them facing the best view, which is usually the open window. |
| Braden:You can use either of the following phrases, “Take a seat, please.” or “Have a seat, please.” Both are correct and appropriate. |
| Ann:However, “Take a seat, please.” might be perceived as if you are telling the guest what to do. For that reason we recommend “Have a seat, please.” It is less direct and more polite. |
Outro |
|---|
| Braden:That’s it for this lesson. Thanks for listening, everyone! |
| Ann:And we’ll see you next time. |
9 Comments
HideHi Listeners! What is the difference bewteen "tray" and "cart"?
Hello Sira,
Thank you for posting and I hope you are enjoying your studies with us.
You are right, a tray looks like a large dish. A cart is a 2 or 4 wheel vehicle that can be pulled by hand or by an animal like a horse.
Please let us know if you have any more questions.
Cheers,
Eva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Tray looks like large dish .cart looks like small car.
Hi Robert Lee,
Yes, that sounds right!
Thanks for your answer and keep studying :smile:
Kellie
Team EnglishClass101.com
I think tray is a flat-open container with a raised edge on which things put e.g. classes, and cart is a container on small wheels on which put along e.g. baggage, supermarket items etc.
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Excuse me.I can't open the PDF files that I downloaded. There're pop-up showed that the file is not pdf format.
Hi zahra,
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hi
I'm happy to use this websote.
I want to download englisg film for listening,but I don't see any films for download.
there are mp3 not film :disappointed:
please help me...thank you very much:heart: