5037

Read the text and answer the questions.

The hotel services are divided into the front of the house and the back of the house. The front of the house includes departments which deal with administration and customer contact services. They are the front office, the information desk, the bell service, the accounting department, and the hotel management. The back of the house departments don’t have contact or have a very limited contact with hotel guests. They provide invisible services. Those are housekeeping, the engineering, the maintenance, the food and beverage, the personnel departments, the laundry service, the valet service and others. Personnel department, for example deals with hiring and firing. The personnel manager deals with recruitment and replacement of staff members. He arranges job interviews for job applicants. Sales department is one of the most important departments for the successful hotel operation. The main product hotels sell is hospitality. Hospitality is a combination of tangible and intangible goods: a comfortable bed, a hot shower, a tasty meal, an attentive waiter, a helpful porter, a friendly receptionist.

92

When hotel guests arrive, they expect the front office clerks to offer them a nice welcome. They will want someone to help them with checking-in.

The front office is in the lobby of a hotel. It consists of the reservation department and the reception desk or the front desk.

The reservation department provides booking of the hotel rooms.

The front desk provides sales of rooms, guest registration, message and mail service, guest accounts.

Each employee in the front office has got a specific task. The booking clerk will help the guest to arrange a booking.

The receptionist or the room clerk will help the guest to check in. When the receptionist watches the guest arrive, he meets and greets him. The receptionist asks the guest to fill in a registration form and assigns a room to him. Before the receptionist assigns a room, he or she will check the guest's booking and the available accommodations. Most hotels offer single, double and twin-bedded rooms. There are also some fine suites. A guest may ask the receptionist to provide an extra bed in a double room for his family member.

Every hotel manager relies on his front office to provide brief and convenient checking-in and checking-out.

When hotel guests check in, they expect someone to show them to their rooms. They also want someone to help them with their luggage. Often guests would like some employee to run errands for them. These are duties of the bell service.

At the head of the bell service is the bell captain. The bell captain's post is next to the front desk. The bell captain directs bellmen.

The room clerk gives the guest's room number and the key to the bellman. The bellman escorts the guest to his room and shows the room. He must explain how to use the room appliances: the TV-set, telephone, air-conditioning. The guest may want him to explain some other hotel services: room service, laundry or dry-cleaning.

The bellmen also run errands for the guests. They can even page guests in the hotel. You can see a bellman carry a sign with the name of the guest whom he is paging. Or you can hear a bellman call out the name while he is carrying the sign.

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. Generally the maids air the rooms, make the beds, dust the furniture, vacuum clean the

93

floor, wash the bathroom, empty the waste baskets.

Chambermaids use carts to carry supplies of toiletries: shampoos, soaps, tissues, shower caps as well as bed and bath linens.

If the guests need extra bedding or rollaways, the housekeeping service will do it. 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.

When guests stay at the hotel, they expect someone to protect them.

The hotel security department must protect the guests from all dangers: robbery and burglary, fire or flood. At the head of the hotel security department is the security officer.

The guests may keep their valuables in a safe-deposit box. The security department is in charge of it. The security department employees are prepared to protect the guests in case of any crime.

Often the guests lose their stuff in the hotel. The security department is in charge of the lost and found office.

The security department employees are trained for emergencies. They are prepared to help the guests in case of fire or other dangers. They are responsible for warning the guests of the danger. They are in charge of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers throughout the hotel. In case of an injury there are first aid kits throughout the hotel. The security department is in charge of them too.

Vocabulary focus

1. Give English equivalents of the words and word combinations used in the text. Make up your own sentences with these words.

Отдел бронирования; стойка отдела приёма и размещения гостиницы; бронирование номеров отеля; регистрация; места размещения, имеющиеся в наличии; одноместный номер; двухместный номер с одной двуспальной кроватью; двухместный номер с двумя односпальными кроватями; номер «люкс»; выполнять обязанность; выезжать из гостиницы; полагаться на кого-л.; служба посыльных; выполнять поручения; посыльный; старший посыльный; сопровождать гостей в их комнаты; электрические бытовые приборы (бытовая техника); обслуживание в номере блюдами и напитками; химчистка; носильщик; выполнять функции личного сопровождающего и прислуги; служба горничных; заведующий службой горничных; горничная; делать косметическую уборку номеров; туалетные принадлежности; проверять номера; занятый номер;

94

свободный номер; безопасность; отдел безопасности; начальник службы безопасности; ценности; индивидуальный сейф; бюро находок; аварийная ситуация (чрезвычайное происшествие); предупреждать гостей об опасности; детектор дыма; огнетушитель; травма; комплект первой медицинской помощи.

3. Group the following terms according to the titles in the table (5 terms in each group).

Position, job applicant, fire extinguisher, soap, to cash, to dust the furniture, personnel department, tissues, bill, smoke detector, job interview, shower cap, to vacuum-clean, to empty a waste basket, revenues, fire drill, shampoo, account, toiletries, to general clean the room, emergency exit, costs, to make up the rooms, safe deposit box, recruitment.

4. Match the terms with the definitions.

5. Pick out the right definition.

6.Insert prepositions where necessary.

1.Bellmen run errands … the hotel’s guests.

2.The hotel services are divided … the front of the house and the back of the house.

3.The front of the house departments deal … administration and customer contact services.

4.The guests may keep their valuables … a safe-deposit box. The security department is … charge … it.

5.The security department employees are responsible … warning the guests … the danger.

6.Room clerks always ask the hotel guests to sign … the register or fill … a registration card.

7.Can you help me … the luggage.

8.When the hotel guests arrive, they want someone to check them … .

97

9.We’d like your bellman to page … our customer.

10.When the guests stay … the hotel, they expect the maids to change their bed and bath linen.

11.The hotel manager relies … his front desk employees to provide brief and convenient guest service.

12.The front office consists … reservation department and the reception desk.

7. Fill in the blanks with the words given below.

1.Hotel guests wish bellmen to run ________ for them.

2.Most hotels provide single rooms, double rooms and _________.

3.Before _________ registers a guest, she will check his booking and available accommodations.

4._________consists of the reservation department and the reception desk.

5.The hotel security department staff must protect hotel guests in ________.

6.The housekeeping department provides guests with extra bedding and

_________ for their family members.

7.When guests check out, they expect the cashier to help them with ________.

8.___________ general cleans or makes up the hotel rooms.

9.__________ department provides the hotel bookings.

10.Guests can deposit ____________ with the manager for safe-keeping.

11.The bellman explains guests how to use room _____________.

12._________ asks the maids to scrub down the bathrooms or to change the linen.

13.___________ provides sale of hotel rooms and guest registration.

14.Hospitality is a combination of __________ and ____________ goods such as a comfortable bed, a tasty meal, an attentive waiter, a friendly receptionist.

8.Translate into English.

1.Наши гости ожидают, что ваши работники службы приёма помогут им

98

выполнить гостиничные формальности.

2.Клиент желает, чтобы посыльный выполнил для него функции личного сопровождающего и прислуги.

3.Заведующая службой горничных сказала горничным убрать номера до 12 часов дня.

4.Я хочу, чтобы носильщик пришёл и забрал мой багаж.

5.Гость из номера «люкс» на 9-м этаже просит, чтобы мы его разбудили в 6 часов утра.

6.Я хочу заказать обслуживание в номере.

7.Многие отели предлагают одноместные номера, двухместные номера с двуспальной кроватью, двухместные номера с двумя односпальными кроватями, а также номера «люкс».

8.Гостиничные службы делятся на контактные и неконтактные. Контактные службы включают отделы, которые занимаются администрированием и контактным обслуживанием клиентов. Это службы приёма и размещения, служба информации, служба посыльных, бухгалтерия и управление гостиницей. К неконтактным службам относятся отделы, которые не имеют никакого контакта или имеют очень ограниченный контакт с постояльцами гостиницы. Они лишь предоставляют невидимые услуги. Это служба горничных, инженерная служба, отдел материально-технического снабжения, отдел блюд и напитков, отдел кадров, прачечная и другие.

9.Отдел кадров занимается наймом и увольнением.

10.Продукт, который продают отели – это гостеприимство. Гостеприимство – сочетание материальных и нематериальных товаров: удобная кровать, горячий душ, вкусная еда, внимательный официант, готовый помочь носильщик, приветливый работник службы приёма.

11.Служба приёма и размещения состоит из отдела регистрации и отдела бронирования. Отдел бронирования обеспечивает бронирование номеров отеля. Отдел регистрации отвечает за продажу номеров отеля, регистрацию гостей, счета гостей отеля.

12.Обязанности службы посыльных – выполнять поручения постояльцев отеля.

13.Заведующий службой горничных контролирует работу горничных.

14.Когда постояльцы выезжают из гостиницы заведующий службой горничных проверяет номера и сообщает на стойку отдела приёма и размещения, что всё в порядке.

15.Служба безопасности отвечает за безопасность постояльцев отеля.

99

16. Работники службы безопасности должны предупреждать гостей о возможной опасности.

Discussion

9.Answer the questions on the texts.

1.What departments does the front of the house include?

2.What departments does the back of the house include?

3.What does Personnel department deal with? What is personnel manager responsible for?

4.What product do hotels sell?

5.What do hotel guests expect the front office clerks to do?

6.Where is the front office? What does the front office consist of?

7.What does the reservation department provide?

8.What kind of services does the front desk provide?

9.What is the specific task of the booking clerk?

10.How does the receptionist help the guest to check in?

11.What will the receptionist do before he assigns a room to the guest?

12.What sort of rooms do most hotels offer?

13.What do hotel guests expect when they check in? What are the duties of the bell service?

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

15.What does the bellman do when he receives the guest's room key?

16.What must the bellman explain the guest in the room?

17.How does the bellman page a guest?

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

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

20.How do chambermaids prepare the rooms?

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

22.What must the hotel security department protect the guests from?

23.How can the hotel security department protect the guests' valuables?

24.How can the security department protect the guests' lost items?

25.How are the security department employees prepared to help the hotel guests in case of emergency?

100

10.State whether the following statements are true or false. Comment on the true statements and correct the false ones.

1.The front of the house includes departments which don’t have contact with hotel guests.

2.The back of the house departments are the housekeeping, the engineering, the maintenance, the personnel department and others.

3.The personnel manager deals with selling services.

4.Hospitality is a combination of tangible and intangible goods.

5.The front office consists of the reservation department and the personnel department.

6.The reservation department provides sales of rooms, guest registration, message and mail service.

7.The receptionist helps the guest to arrange a booking.

8.The duties of the bell service are to show guests to their rooms, to help with their luggage, to run errands for them.

9.The housekeeper supervises the chambermaids.

10.The housekeeper inspects the rooms when the guests check out.

11.The hotel security department must protect the guests from all dangers.

12.The security department isn’t responsible for guests’ valuables.

11.Make a summary of the text.

Part 2

Hotel facilities

1.You have won the prize of a weekend in a hotel. Which three of these things would be most important to you and why?

BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE CITY NEAR TO MUSEUMS AND TOURIST