Comprehension questions

 

1. What do hotel guests expect when they check in?

2. What are the duties of the bell service?

3. Who is at the head of the bell service? What does he do?

4. Where can hotel guests find the bell captain’s post?

5. What does the bellman do when he receives the guest’s     room key?

6. What must the bellman show and explain in the room?

7. Who carries the guest’s luggage in the hotel?

8. How does the bellman page a guest?

 

The housekeeping

 

When guests stay at the hotel they expect somebody to clean their rooms. The housekeeping department does it.

At the head of the housekeeping service is the housekeeper. He supervises the chambermaids.

Chambermaids prepare the rooms before the guests check in.

The housekeeper tells the maids to general clean the rooms or to make up the rooms. He may ask the maids to scrub down the bathrooms or just change the bed linen and the towels. Generally the maids air the rooms, make the beds, dust the furniture, vacuum clean the floor, wash the bathroom, empty the waste baskets.           

Chambermaids use carts to carry supplies: soap, tissues, bed and bath linens. There are containers for dirty linen and rubbish on those carts.

Chambermaids use master keys to provide security for the hotel rooms.

If the guests need extra bedding or rollaways, the housekeeping service will do it. The housekeeping service provides hair-dryers and irons if the guests need them.

When guests check out, the housekeeper inspects the rooms. The housekeeper informs the front desk if everything is in order. He also informs which rooms are occupied and which rooms are vacant.

 

 

Comprehension questions

 

1. What do hotel guests expect the housekeeping service to do     when they stay at the hotel?

2. Who is at the head of the housekeeping service? What does he     or she do?

3. How do chambermaids clean the rooms?

4. What do chambermaids use carts for?

5. How do maids provide security for hotel rooms?

6. What other services does the housekeeping department provide?

7. What does the housekeeper do when guests check out?

8. What does the housekeeper inform the front desk about?

 

The telephone department

 

When guests stay at the hotel, they often use phones. There is usually the regular pay phone and the house phone.

The house phone is the system of phones throughout the hotel.

There is usually an operator who operates the switchboard. With the switchboard the operator can control all in-coming and out-going calls.

If the guest wants someone to wake him up, to page him, to provide room service for him, or to send a telegram, he will call the operator. The operator can connect the guest with any hotel service: the front office, the housekeeping, the bell service, the room service, or the concierge.

The operator has to handle outside calls too. They may be local, long-distance and international.

If someone calls from outside to find some hotel guest,  the telephone operator will connect him. If the guest is not in at the moment, the operator can take a message for the absent guest.

If guests want to make a long-distance or an international call, they may ask the operator to connect them. But they may also dial direct.