Real English for staying at a HOTEL

Want to stay at a hotel in an English-speaking country? Even if it’s another country, you may have to speak English at a hotel, because it’s the international language of travel. In this video, I’ll teach you everything you need to know. You’ll learn about the services that hotels here offer, and how to make the most of your stay. I’ll teach you sentences you can use to ask for anything you want at a hotel. I’ll also teach you the titles of the people that you’ll be speaking with. Find out what free services your hotel offers, so you can get value for your money, and also know which services you have to pay for, so you don’t spend more than you want to. Learn all the vocabulary and expressions you need here, so you don’t need to worry about your English next time you’re on vacation or a business trip. All in all, I designed this video to make sure your next stay in a hotel will be an enjoyable one. TAKE THE QUIZ: TRANSCRIPT Hi. Welcome to engVid. I’m Adam. In today’s video I’m going to walk you through your stay at a hotel in an English-speaking country. You need to know some vocabulary, you need to know some of the staff you’re going to be dealing with, some of the services and amenities, and all of that stuff. So it’s a lot of vocabulary, but a lot of things that you probably need to know before you get to the hotel. So, the first thing we’re going to look at is the staff. Who works at a hotel? So, first of all, in some of the more fancy hotels, the more up... High-scale hotels, you’re going to have a “doorman“. He or she, mostly he, will open and close the door for you, that’s why: doorman. Very... Now, I know you’re not supposed to say “man“, you’re supposed to say “doorperson“, but in hotels I don’t think anybody really cares; we still say “doorman“ because mostly it’s a man working there. Now, if you drove there, there might be a “valet“. A “valet“ is a person who will take your car and park it for you. You give him or her the keys, they drive away, park your car. When you’re ready to leave, they bring your car to the front of the hotel, you get in, drive off. There’s also the “housekeeping“ or the “maid“. You can call it either one. “Housekeeping“ is the same thing as “maid“. These days “housekeeping“ is a little bit more common than “maid“, but they clean your room, bring you fresh towels, etc. The “porter“. The porter will probably be standing outside in front of the hotel. When you pull up in your taxi or your car, he will come, take your bags inside to the front desk. And this person is also like a little bit of a man Friday we call it. He will run around and get things done for you if you need. If you need tickets, he’ll go pick them up. If you need some chores run, he’ll take your coat to the laundry, all these things. So basically he’s a person who runs around doing tasks for the guests. Okay? A “bellhop“ will take your luggage from the reception to your room. So you don’t have to carry your own bags; that’s what the bellhop does. Takes your bags, when you’re ready to leave he will come to your room, take your bags downstairs for you. The “concierge“. So, the concierge is the person who works in a hotel, and this is the person you go to if you need to arrange outings outside the hotel. If you want a restaurant reservation, if you want tickets to the theatre, sports games, anything you want to do outside the hotel, this person will probably help you organize these things, like tours, he or she or the area will have brochures and information about all the sites in the area, all the tourist attractions, etc. So, “concierge“. The “g“ sounds like the “s“ in “measure“. Okay? It’s a bit of a French sound. Basically it’s customer service. And again, in high-scale hotels, they do a bit more services for you, but most hotels have a concierge. Now, when you walk into the hotel you will go to the “front desk“ or you will go to the “reception“ or you will go to the “check-in desk“, all the same thing. All of them are located in the lobby of the hotel. So the entrance, the main area of the front of the hotel, you just go to the front desk, you check in. You go to the check-in desk, you go to the reception, all the same thing. Now, if you’re in your room and you don’t want the maid to come and clean up, don’t forget to put that “Do Not Disturb“ tag on your door. Okay? We call this a tag. It’s a piece of paper, you put it outside your door, housekeeping will not disturb you. They will not knock on your door. Now, basically hotel has “rooms“ and “suites“. What is the difference? Name only. Most hotels like to call their rooms suites, but if you want to get a little bit more technical, a suite should be bigger. Many suites have a kitchenette. A kitchenette is like a half kitchen. It’s not a full-size kitchen, it’s not fully equipped. Probably no big stove or dishwasher, things like that, but enough that you can make small meals, snacks, etc.