Arrive and check in at a hostel or

airbnb

5 important situations you may come across when arriving at a hotel

Ebook prepared by Tutlo - 1 to 1 video classes with native speakers from the
United States, UK, Canada and Australia.
Table of contents

Table of contents 1

How to make a booking in English 5

Types of the rooms 6

How to start the conversation when checking in:

Time to check out: 16

Complaining - talking about complaints 18

How to deal with roommates 21

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Welcome!
This time I’m going to talk about checking in and checking out at a hotel.

When travelling we always need somewhere to sleep. We do not know where

to stay, how to find a proper place in a good price. How to book something and
get what we’re looking for.

The online booking websites have short descriptions of each hostel, and most
of them also have customer reviews you can check out. This is probably the best
way to get an idea of what the hostel is really like. There are many customer
reviews and they are usually honest.

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How to make a booking in English
Making a booking in English does not have to be complicated. In fact, if you keep
the information concise, you will find it easy!

How to reserve a room on the phone? Maybe let’s start with some useful
vocabulary.
● Availability - the fact that something can be bought, used, or reached

● to book/to reserve - to arrange to have a room

● check-in - go to the front desk to receive keys
● check-out - return the keys and pay for the bill
● facilities - a place, especially including buildings, where a particular
● activity happens
● booking fee - an amount of money paid for a booking a room
● vacancies - a place that is available to be used
● reception/front desk - a formal party at which important people are
welcomed
● reservation/booking - an arrangement in which something such as a
room at the hotel is kept for you

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Types of the rooms

First of all, the types of rooms you may find at the hotels differ from those you
can find in hostels. Let’s take a look.

At the hotel you may have:

● A single room - A single room is for one person, and usually has a full-size
bed (double bed) or can have a single room.
● A double room - a bed large enough for two people
● A twin room - A twin room usually has space for two guests, but in two
separate beds (twin/single beds).
● A triple room - A triple room can sleep three guests, either in one double
bed and a single bed, or a different combination of three.
● Adjoining rooms - two hotel rooms with a door in the centre

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On the other hand, at a typical hostel you have:

● A single/double private with a bathroom

● A single/double private shared bathroom
● Twin private
● 3 bed private shared bathroom
● Double bed private ensuite
● 3 bed private ensuite
● Standart 2 bed Apartment ensuit
● Basic 4 Bed Mixed Dorm Ensuite
● A shared room - divided by more than one person
● A dormitory room - shared by more than two or three people
● Ensuite - with a private bathroom

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How to start the conversation when checking in:

Generally, when checking in we have to ask about rooms available. How to do

it? Let’s see...

● Have you got any vacancies? / Do you have any vacancies?

● Is the hotel booked, or can we get a room for tonight?
● Hello/Good morning/Good evening have you got a double room available
for 4 nights?
● I'd like to book en-suite double room (for two nights from Monday 2
August to…)
● Are all the rooms ensuite?
● What is check out time?
● What time is the restaurant open?
● I'd like a room facing the park/ overlooking the river. I'd like a room with
a view of the lake.
● What is the rate for a single/double room?

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Questions you may hear from the receptionist and sample answers:

● How long will you be staying?

I’ll be staying for 5 nights.

● For how many people is the room for? (e.g. It's for two people).

For 3 people.

● Do you prefer the room with the sea or the mountain view?

I prefer the room with the sea view.

● What time will you arrive?

I'd like to arrive in London by 6 pm.

● How would you like to pay?

I’d like to pay by credit card.

● Can you spell your surname?

Yes, it's B – R – O – W – N.

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The receptionist might reply:

● (hotel’s name). May I help you?

Yes, I’d like to book…..

● Would you like a smoking or non-

smoking room, Mr. …?

I’d like a non-smoking room.

● Yes, we'll have a non-smoking single

room available on May sixth.

Oh great! I’ll take it.

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Some extra questions you may want to ask:

● How do we get to our room from here?

● Is it okay to park out front?

● What time is the pool open until?

● What time is breakfast served at?

● Is it too early to check in?

● Can we get a wake-up call?

● When is check out time?

● Does the room have a shower / a bath?

● Does the room have air conditioning?

● Is there a telephone in the room?

● Does the hotel provide a shuttle bus to the airport?

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What to say if you don't have a reservation?

● Hello! Do you have any vacancies? I need a single room for three days.

I'm afraid we don't have any vacancies. / I'm sorry. We are fully booked.

● Is there another hotel near here that might have vacant rooms?

● Hello! I need a single room for three days.

● Do you have a reservation?

I'm afraid I don't.

● Let me check whether we have any vacancies. We don't have any single

rooms today, but there's a double room available.

● What is the daily rate for a double room?

It's ninety-eight dollars per night.

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● Is breakfast included?

● All right, I'll take this room.

● Do you have a credit card?

I'll pay cash.

● Then you have to pay in advance.

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Now let’s see what facilities can you find at the hotel/hostel:

a) Free:

● Free Wi-Fi

● Towels - used to cover and dry the body after swimming or bathing

● Linen - sheets, blankets, pillow cases

● Free city maps

b) General:

● Pets allowed/pet-friendly - this means that pets are allowed in the hotel.

● Wake-up call - a phone call that you arrange to be made, for example in a

hotel, to wake you up at a certain time

● Cot/rollaway bed - a single bed on wheels that folds up

● Key card access

● Air conditioning

● Gym/Workout room - a room that guests can use for exercise and fitness

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● Lift - a device like a box that moves up and down, carrying people or

goods from one floor of a building to another

c) Services:

● Luggage storage - place where you can store your luggage after checking

out

● 24h reception

● Housekeeping - cleaning service

● Room service - delivery of food or other services requested by guests

● Car park - an area of ground for parking cars

● Laundry service - a business that washes clothes, sheets, etc. for

customers

● Swimming-pool - an artificial area of water for swimming

● Airport transport - a transfer from the airport to the hotel/hostel

d) Food & drink:

● Complimentary breakfast - free of charge

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● Continental breakfast - This is a light breakfast, usually included with the

cost of the room, and served in a common area like a dining room.

● Buffet - A buffet consists of many different kinds of food, and guests serve

themselves. For example, your hotel might offer a breakfast buffet or a

dinner buffet.

● Restaurant - a place where meals are prepared and served to customers

● Minibar - a small fridge in a hotel bedroom, with drinks inside.

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Time to check out:

● I’d like to check out.

● We're checking out of room 401.

● Hello, I'd like to check out. My name is …, Room 432.

● Sorry we're a bit late checking out.

● We have a few complaints.

● We'll be back next time we're in town.

You may hear such questions from the receptionist as:

● Are you ready to check out?

Yes, of course, thank you.

● What room were you in?

I was in the room number 302.

● How was your stay?

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 I really enjoyed it, thank you.

● Was everything satisfactory?

Yes, everything was of the best quality.

● Will you be paying in cash or by credit card?

By credit card, please.

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Complaining - talking about complaints

Imagine you are not satisfied with the service at the hotel. You don’t know what
to say. Wondering how to ask about the thing or how to explain the problem.

complain – to say that something is wrong or not satisfactory

Let’s discuss some the most difficult situations you may come across at a
hostel:
● There is no hot water in the room.

● It is cold in the room. The heating does not work.

● The room is dirty.

● Poor customer service.

● There are no towels in the room.

● The food is of poor quality.

● Poor internet access.

● The room smells like smoke.

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Here are expressions you can use when complaining:

● I have a complaint to make….

● Sorry to bother you but….

● I’m sorry to say this but….

● I’m afraid I’ve got a complaint about…

● I’m afraid there is a slight problem about…

● I want to complain about…

● I’m angry about…

Responding to complaints:

Positive
● I’m sorry, but this will never occur/happen again.

● I’m sorry, we promise never to make the same mistake again.

● I’m really sorry, we’ll do our best not to do the same mistake again.

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Negative
● Sorry, there is nothing we can do about it.

● I’m afraid, there isn’t much we can do about it.

● We are sorry but the food is just alright.

Receptionist: Hi, can I help you?

Guest: Yes, I’m in room 13. The air conditioning isn’t working properly.

Receptionist: What’s the matter with it?

Guest: It only blows hot air.

Receptionist: I’ll send someone to check it, but if there is a problem with it the

only thing I can do is to send you a fan until tomorrow when the maintenance

comes.

Guest: Couldn’t we have another room?

Receptionist: I am very sorry but all our rooms are occupied. If the problem

persists tomorrow and we have a vacancy we can change you then or help you

find more comfortable accommodation.

Guest: Ok, thank you.

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How to deal with roommates

Generally, we have different kind of rooms at the hostel but if we do not want
to spend much money we choose a bunk bed in a dormitory room. Which means
that we will be sharing it with more than 2 or 3 people. How to deal with
roommates then? For sure you have to set down some boundaries to make your
life easier.

How to ask questions? Here you have some useful tips:

● How will we share the key of the room?

We can leave the key at the reception every time we leave the room.

● How will we share the bathroom especially in the morning?

We should decide who wants to use the bathroom first.

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You may also find problems on talking on the phone. So, you may say:

What about talking on the phone till 10 p.m.? is that ok with you? and the

answer: Yes, I’m up to it.

It is also good to talk about welcoming visitors. At hostels it is popular that

people invite quests so notify that you need privacy and limit the time.

Speaking about visitors let’s try to invite them till 11 p.m.

You may also have some problems with lights out time.

You may say: Hey, what do you think about using overhead lights? I think the
best solution would be using a personal light for some personal things instead
of overhead lights.

Ebook prepared by Tutlo - 1 to 1 video classes with native speakers from the
United States, UK, Canada and Australia.

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