VIII. Look at the ways in which people gave their opinions:

I think most of the big hotels are so impersonal.

For me, the ideal hotel has big rooms with comfortable beds …

If you ask me, a hotel that doesn’t make you feel really special …

It should also be as near the center of town as possible …

Can you think of other ways in which people give their opinions?

Make similar sentences to express your opinion on:

a) the hotel industry in Ukraine

b) airline cuisine

c) types of accommodation available in your city

d) the quality of service in Ukrainian hotels

e) computers in hotel industry

f) people who drive under the influence of alcohol

IX. Fill in the gaps, using the words in brackets.

Example: (like) I like big hotels.

(enjoy/stay) I enjoy staying in big hotels.

(love/when) I love it when I get the chance to stay in big hotels.

1. (like) I ____________ Italian restaurants.

2. (enjoy/go) I ___________________ to foreign countries.

3. (hate/travel) I ____________________ by boat.

4. (dislike/when hotels) I ____________________ I have to stay in noisy hotels.

5. (can’t stand) I ________________ people who complain in restaurants.

6. (enjoy) I ______________ good food.

7. (don’t mind/when) I _____________________ the service is slow.

8. (love/stay) I ___________________ in bed late.

9. (don’t like/when) I ______________________ the bill is wrong.

X. A tour operator is describing two different hotels in Sri Lanka to a client.

a) Put the sentences in the correct order (form 1 to 12).

_____ Right, well there are two hotels that we usually recommend and they are the

Oberoi, which is in Colombo itself, and the Ivory Inn.

_____ I’m not sure, really. Could you tell me a bit about the first one?

_____ Is the Ivory Inn more or less the same/

_____ Good afternoon, May’s Travel. Mary Shark speaking. How can I help you?

_____ Yes, please. My name’s John Stevens, and the address is 11 London road,

Cambridge.

_____ Is the Ivory Inn actually in Colombo, too?

_____ Thank you very much, good bye.

_____ No, it’s very different. It’s a private guest house, in fact, not a hotel. It’s got

twenty rooms with ceiling fans, and there are showers, but there’s no hot water.

_____ It’s very simple, really. Would you like me to send the brochure?

_____ No, it’s about seven miles away. What sort of hotel are you looking for/

_____ Yes, the Oberoi is a first-class hotel, with all the facilities you would expect.

There’s a good choice of restaurants, a pool, large grounds, tennis courts and so

on.

_____ All right then, Mr. Stevens. I’ll put that in the post this afternoon.

b) Read the dialogue out in the proper order and answer the questions:

Which types of hotels are described in the dialogue?

What facilities do they offer?

What hotel did the client choose? Why is your opinion on the both hotels?

Which one would you prefer? Why?

TEXT 2

SEEKING A GRANDER HOTEL.

Frequent business travellers, known as “road warriors” in hotel jargon because they make

more than twenty business trips a year, want greater emphasis on service from hotels before

new technological developments such as checking in and out with smart cards. This was one of the central conclusions of the invitation-only seminar on the Hotel of the Future held in London.

“I want a hotel not only to provide consistency of service but also to empower staff to have the authority to solve my problem at the same time,” said Mr. Thomas, one of the seminar panel of frequent travelling executives.

Mr. Belington, another “warrior on the road”, recalled how he had been horrified by the service at a top hotel in Singapore. “I was charged a hefty deposit when I asked to use a fax in my room and then had suffer the indignity at check – out of waiting while a hotel employee checked my room to see if the fax was still there before the deposit was returned,” he said.

Mr. Nigel, a lawyer, also emphasized service, saying he tried to ensure good treatment by establishing and maintaining contacts with key staff.

“I like to use hotels where I know the general manager,” he said. “I think it is very important to be recognized as a regular guest”.

Another panel member, Mr. Page, argued that the hotel of today is still trying to overcome the upstairs-downstairs syndrome of 150 years ago. He felt the main requirement “was the ability of reception to greet you and welcome you – and a card in the hotel room saying “welcome back to the hotel” says a lot.”

Mr. Evans, Hyatt’s senior marketing vice – president, believed new technology could “improve efficiency and service, as well as controlling costs, while still retaining the human touch”.

He suggested that while the pace of change over the past decade had been evolutionary, there would be a revolution over the next five years. “Hotels will change dramatically in what they offer their guests. The television console, for example, will become the central focus of the room for communications, entertainment and interactive technology”.

Hyatt was already experimenting in America with technology that enabled executives to check into pre-assigned rooms by using credit cards in the hotel foyer to obtain a computerized room key and a charge card.

While technology was changing for the traveller, it was also making reservations easier. Next month Hyatt starts trials to allow direct access to its hotel inventory over the Thisco travel web, at first just for travel agents but eventually for regular travellers as well.

It is possible that before long guests will be able to book their room, check in and check out, and receive room service from an automated kitchen without ever dealing with a hotel employee face to face. Not surprisingly, such investment in new technology will lead to higher room rates, Mr. Evans admitted.

It is also emerged from discussions that the hotel room would most certainly be seen more as an office-away-from-the-office, rather than a home-form-home. Increasingly, the hotel room was viewed as a place to do business, hence to move towards built-in work stations

with modern points, good lighting and well-designed chairs.

The seminar indicated that business travellers had little interest in environmental initiatives such as fewer bathroom toiletries or towels, and all expected an increasing proportion of rooms and public areas to become “no smoking”.

Hyatt is not alone in trying to find what regular business guests want. All the large chains are carrying out trials. Westin, for example, has rooms where the bed becomes a couch at the touch of a button, giving the room a more business-like appearance.

Jarvis is experimenting with the delivery of room service through a cupboard accessed from outside the room: a light lets guests know the meal is there.

There remains one tradition hoteliers have yet to decide to keep: the chocolate left on the pillow at night.

(adapted from “The Times”)

EXERCISES