UNIT 4. TRAVELLING MISCELLANEA Hotel-related vocabulary 1. Match each word in the frame with its meaning. furnishings accommodation booking check-in room vacancy check out full board facility 1. Arrival and registration at a hotel. 2. Furnished rooms in a hotel. 3. Reservation. 4. Furniture and other things fixed in a room. 5. Pay one's hotel bill and leave. 6. Things which are useful to a person 7. All daily meals and accommodation in a hotel. 8. Unoccupied rooms. 2. In which of the following departments would you include the hotel staff? Have a look at the dictionary if you don t know any of the words. housekeeping concierge department front office finance food and beverage Porter Cashier Cook Bellboy Cleaners Chambermaid Receptionist Barman Night porter Accountant Reservations clerk Página 1
TEXT Conditionals These sentences are formed by two parts: main and subordinate sentences. Subordinate sentence is normally introduced by if, although unless, provided and whether can be also used. He will come to your party if / provided you invite him. He won't come to your party unless you invite him. There are several kinds of conditional sentences, known as zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional and third conditional. Zero conditional Main verb is normally in Present simple and subordinate verb may have different forms: IF + A PRESENT TENSE + THE IMPERATIVE These sentences are used to give orders. If you get home after midnight, don't make any noise. (Si llegas después de medianoche, no hagas ruido.) IF + SIMPLE PRESENT + SIMPLE PRESENT This second type is used to express true facts. If you boil water, it gives off steam. (Si hierves agua, se produce vapor.) First conditional In this type of conditional, the main verb also appears in Present simple. The subordinate verb is conjugated in Simple future with will, or with any of the following modal verbs: can, may, might. IF + PRESENT SIMPLE + WILL / CAN / MAY / MIGHT These sentences are used to talk about future situations which, according to the speaker s opinion, are supposed to happen. If you don't study for your exams, you'll fail them. (Si no estudias para tus exámenes, los suspenderás.) If you come before six, we can go to the cinema. Página 2
(Si llegas antes de las seis, podemos ir al cine.) If you don't leave soon, you may / might miss your flight. (Si no sales pronto, puedes perder tu vuelo) Will expresses a more feasible possibility than can, while may / might suggest a not so possible fulfilment of the action. Second conditional The main verb will always be conjugated in Past simple whereas would and could (+infinitive) will be used in subordinate sentence. IF + THE SIMPLE PAST + WOULD / COULD We use the second conditional to express: a. Unreal situation in the present. If I were rich, I would stop working. (No soy rico, es sólo una especulación o hipótesis) b. Possible but not probable future situation. I'm working late tonight but if I got home before nine we could dinner out. (Es muy poco probable que llegue antes de las nueve pero no es imposible). c. To give advice: If I were you... - A: I'm not feeling well. I feel dizzy and exhausted. - B: If I were you I would go to the doctor. 3. Listening. Lunch. Lidia is attending the conference in Sydney. She is having lunch with John, who has also come over for the conference, and Mike Johnson, hotelier and member of the North American Tour Operators Association. Mike: Hey, this sure is a nice restaurant! Good choice, John. Well, it was definitely worth my while coming over for this conference. And it s so good to see you again, Lidia. Lidia: It s good to see you! You haven t changed a bit! But let s leave all that till later, Mike and let s get down to some work first. Now, have you noticed any changes in the last few years in the American tourist market? Mike: Well, there has been one major change. Tourists have changed their preferences when choosing a hotel. A few years ago a lot of tourists were staying in four-star hotels; while now they choose a three-star and those that stayed in three-star hotels now look for a two star and so on. John: Why is that, do you think? Página 3
Mike: Well, if there were one good reason I would tell you! Visitors are looking for more for their money these days. And if you want to cut down on your costs, you book cheaper accommodation! Lidia: This is beginning to happen in Spain too. And the problem is made worse by the fact that in the last few years there are more five-star hotels than ever. Look at Barcelona, for example. John: Well, I haven t noticed this particular tendency in Britain, although the number of package tours to Britain has fallen. Mike: Due to? John: Again there are various reasons. There are more repeat visitors who make their own travel arrangements and plan their own holidays. There are more visitors who come across from Europe in their own cars. We have to find solutions! Lidia: Well, if group accommodation was cheaper, there would be a greater demand for package tours. Mike: Yes, and if new markets were expanded, this would also result in a stronger demand in all sectors of the industry. John: The message is clear! Tour operators have to create a demand for their products and sell them! And not only in these new markets! Lidia: And if they want to achieve this, they will have to go abroad and establish contacts by means of conferences, travel trade fairs, press and so on. Mike: Yes! And put together package tours with more appeal to increasingly more diverse markets. Tour operators will have to offer so much more these days, if they want to maintain sales. John: But I insist: if a tour operator decides to launch a new package, he has to invite the press and the travel agency representatives in order to promote the product. Lidia: Exactly! But hoteliers have their share of responsibility too. If tour operators have to lower their prices, then hotels have to lower the price of their rooms as well! John: I think, Mike, that you will agree in the given circumstances that hoteliers would be more than happy to negotiate their prices! Mike: mm, however, we must make sure that standards of service in hotels are not lowered as a result. John: True! We must improve cost effectiveness. If we want visitors to be satisfied with the accommodation they receive while discounting the price of their room, we have to be more efficient! Lidia: Generally speaking then, we have to provide better service and better value for money! John & Mike: Agreed! Lidia: Well, in that case let s stop talking shop and let s enjoy our meal! John & Mike: Agreed! A toast! Página 4
4. Vocabulary practice. Match the following words from the dialogue with their equivalent in meaning. major trend package tour supply achieve by means of appeal launch lower improve provide 1. Bring down. 2. Get started. 3. Get something done. 4. Give. 5. Greater or more important. 6. Attract. 7. Make, become better. 8. Through, with the help of. 9. Holiday tour with many details arranged in advance by travel agents and sold at a fixed price. 10. Give. 11. Tendency. 5. True or False? Listen to the audio file again and say whether the following statements are true or false. 1. The American tourist market has changed recently. Tourists prefer to stay in four-star hotels. 2. More five-star hotels have been built in Barcelona in the last few years. 3. John has noticed the same tendency in Britain. The number of package tours has increased in Britain. 4. If group accommodation was cheaper, there would be a greater demand of package tours. 5. They think that if hoteliers lower the price of their rooms, the standards of service in hotels may be lowered as a result. 6. Grammar practice. Complete the following sentences based on the dialogue: 1. If you to cut down on your costs, you book cheaper accommodation. Página 5
2. If group accommodation cheaper, there a greater demand for package tours. 3. If new markets, this in a stronger demand in all the sectors of the industry. 4. If they to achieve this, they abroad and establish contacts by means of conferences, travel trade fairs and so on. 5. If we visitors to be satisfied with the accommodation they receive while discounting the price of their rooms, we more efficient. VOCABULARY Accommodation 7. Match column A with column B A B Albergue Apartamento Aparta-hotel Camping Casa Rural Fonda Habitación Hostal Hostal Residencia Hotel Parador Country house Apartment flat Likely to be slightly more expensive and more comfortable than a hostal with the same number of stars. Campsite State-owned luxury hotels, purpose-built or converted castles, mansions, and monasteries. Hotels offering principally self-catering accommodation. A private house owner renting out rooms. A small hotel with few or no facilities and services. Generally significantly cheaper than a hotel with the same star rating. Hostal with no restaurant or other eatery attached. A small establishment offering rooms for the night and little else. Youth-hostel Pensión Like a hostal but probably also having a small restaurant or dining room. 1. 2. 3. Página 6
4. 5. 6. 7. SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISES 8. Vocabulary practice. Below is a list of activities that you might do before you go on holiday or while you are on holiday. Supply the correct verb from the box. collect change confirm book reserve check cancel do go sunbathe 1. the packing. 2. the plane tickets. 3. your reservation. 4. brochures from the travel agency. 5. into the airport, the hotel. 6. on an excursion. 7. some currency. 8. your reservation (for example, due to personal problems) 9. on the beach to get a suntan. 10. accommodation. 9. Vocabulary practice. Match the following descriptions with the appropriate kind of hotel or another type of accommodation taken from the box below: camp site self-catering flat guest house resort hotel youth hostel motel luxury hotel 1. Accommodation like a hotel but cheaper and with fewer services. 2. It offers every facility a wealthy guest may need. 3. It is built specially to provide accommodation to motorists. Página 7
4. A place where you can pitch a tent or park a caravan. 5. Cheap accommodation for young people. 6. Flat which you rent and you cook for yourself. 7. It is situated in popular places among tourists; usually near the sea. 10. Language in use. Match column A with column B. What would you say in a hotel when... A You want to reserve a room for a couple with a small baby? You have to wake up early? You would rather not go to the hotel restaurant for dinner? You want a quiet room with a view? The air conditioning in your room isn t working? B I d like to reserve a quiet room with nice views, please. Excuse me, but the air conditioner is out of order in my room. Is it possible to have it repaired? Could you please wake me up at 7 am? Room service? I don t feel like having dinner at the restaurant. Could I have some dinner in my room? I would like a double room with a cradle for a baby. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 11. Grammar practice. Finish each sentence in a suitable way. 1. If I were a millionaire,. 2. My parents will buy me a car. 3. I won t take up this new job. 4. If they don t phone me tonight,. 5. You may get a stomach ache. Página 8
6. They could be here before six. OPEN EXERCISES EVALUATION 12. Writing. Answer the following questions in full: 1. What is your favourite type of holiday? 2. Where do you usually allocate? 3. Who do you usually travel with? 4. How do you usually travel when you go on holiday? 5. Have you ever travelled to an exotic destination? When? Where? 6. What are your plans for the next holiday? 13. Writing. Choose one of the following topics and write a paragraph of about 80 words. 1. What would you do if you won the lottery? 2. If I were the president of my country. 3. If we lived in the 22 nd century. Página 9
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