English Conversations at a Hotel

Below are some typical dialogues between a hotel receptionist at a Hotel and a guest. Here you will find typical conversations that deal with making reservations, checking in, checking out, and also complaining.

 

 

Making Reservations 

• R(Receptionist): Goor morning. Welcome to Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit.
• C(Client): Hi, good morning. I'd like to make a reservation for the second weekend in October. Do you have any vacancies?
• R: Yes sir, we have several rooms available for that particular weekend. And what is the exact date of your arrival?
• C: The 14th.
• R: How long will you be staying?
• C: I'll be staying for 3 nights.
• R: How many people is the reservation for?
• C: There will be three of us.
• R: And would you like a room with twin beds or a double bed?
• C: Twin beds, please.
• R: Great. And would you prefer to have a room with a view of the garden?
• C: If that type of room is available, I would love to have an garden view. What's the rate for the room?
• R: Your room is two hundred and ninety dollars per night. Now what name will the reservation be listed under?
• C: Chris Lee.
• R: And is there a phone number where you can be contacted?
• C: Yes, my cell phone number is 0901116507.
• R: Great. Now I'll need your credit card information to reserve the room for you. What type of card is it?
• C: Visa. The number is 123456789.
• R: And what is the name of the cardholder?
• C: Chris Lee.
• R: Alright, Mr. Lee, your reservation has been made for the fourteenth of October for a room with twin beds and view of the garden. Check-in is at 2 o'clock. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to call us.
• C: Great, thank you so much.
• R: My pleasure. We'll see you in October, Mr. Lee. Have a nice day.
  
  

 

Checking-in

• Hotel: Good afternoon. Welcome to Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. How may I help you?
• Guest: I have a reservation for today. It's under the name of Lee.
• Hotel: Can you please spell that for me, sir?
• Guest: Sure. L-E-E.
• Hotel: Yes, Mr. Lee, we've reserved a twin bed room for you with a view of the garden for three nights. Is that correct?
• Guest: Yes, it is.
• Hotel: Excellent. We already have your credit card information on file. Could you please just sign the receipt along the bottom.
• Guest: Whoa! Two hundred and ninety dollars a night!
• Hotel: Yes, sir. We are a five star hotel after all.
  Guest: Well, fine. I'm here on business anyway, so at least I'm staying on the company's dime. What's included in this cost anyway
• Hotel: A full Continental buffet every morning, free airport shuttle service, and use of the hotel's safe are all included.
• Guest: So what's not included in the price?
• Hotel: Well, you will find a mini-bar in your room. Use of it will be charged to your account. Also, the hotel provides room service, at an additional charge of course.
• Guest: Hmm. Ok, so what room am I in?
• Hotel: Room 3231. Here is your key. To get to your room, take the elevator on the right up to the 32th floor. Turn left once you exit the elevator and your room will be on the left hand side. A bellboy will bring your bags up shortly.
• Guest: Great. Thanks.
• Hotel: Should you have any questions or requests, please dial '0' from your room. Also, there is internet available in the lobby 24 hours a day.
• Guest: Ok, and what time is check-out?
• Hotel: At midday, sir.
• Guest: Ok, thanks.
• Hotel: My pleasure, sir. Have a wonderful stay at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit.

 

 

Checking-out / Getting to the airport

• Hotel: Did you enjoy your stay with us?
• Guest: Yes, very much so. However, I now need to get to the airport. I have a flight that leaves in about three hours, so what is the quickest way to get there?
• Hotel: We do have a free airport shuttle service.
• Guest: That sounds great, but will it get me to the airport on time
• Hotel: Yes, it should. The next shuttle leaves in 15 minutes, and it takes approximately 25 minutes to get to the airport.
• Guest: Fantastic. I'll just wait in the lounge area. Will you please let me know when it will be leaving
• Hotel: Of course, sir. Oh, before you go would you be able to settle the mini-bar bill?
• Guest: Oh yes certainly. How much will that be?
• Hotel: Let's see. The bill comes to $57.50. How would you like to pay for that?
• Guest: I'll pay with my Visa thanks, but I'll need a receipt so I can charge it to my company.
• Hotel: Absolutely. Here we are sir. If you like you can leave your bags with the porter and he can load them onto the shuttle for you when it arrives.
• Guest: That would be great. Thank you.
  Hotel: Would you like to sign the hotel guestbook too while you wait?
• Guest: Sure, I had a really good stay here and I'll tell other people to come here.
• Hotel: That's good to hear. Thank you again for staying at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit.

 

Complaining: a noisy night 

A guest made a complaint about the noise in the hotel from other guests and in his room from the air conditioning unit at the hotel. When you complain about something in a place like a hotel you usually try to be polite. You often apologize before you complain about something. This is to be more indirect and less confrontational. You can often use phrases such as, 'I'm really sorry but ...' and 'I'm afraid ...' to do this. 

• Guest: I'm really sorry but I'm afraid I didn't get a good night's sleep.

 

The hotel receptionist will usually respond in a very polite way and also be very apologetic. Words 'so', 'really', and 'terribly' are used to add extra emphasis and sincerity to your apology. They are all similar in meaning to ‘very’.

• Hotel1: I'm so sorry to hear that. Was there a problem witht the room?
• Hotel2: I'm really sorry to hear that. I'll speak to the guests in that room. 
• Hotel3: Oh dear! I'm terribly sorry about that. I'll send someone up to your room to take a look at it right away. 

 

Complaining: a bad breakfast

A guest was complaining about his breakfast. He wanted a full English breakfast but it was cold and there wasn't much left so he had to have a continental breakfast. These are usually the two main options in a hotel. A word ‘bother’ means to annoy or interrupt someone and the phrase 'sorry to bother you again' is used to interrupt and apologise before making a complaint.

• Guest: I'm ever so sorry to bother you again but the sausages are rather cold and there are no fried eggs left. 

 

Complaining: checking out 

A guest is checking out and is complaining about the hotel. He then gets angry and asks to speak to the manager because he is charged too much money. 

• Guest: I have been charged for breakfast. This is absolutely ridiculous. Could I speak to the manager, please?