Welcome To

POFESSIONAL
ENGLISH FOR
HOTEL STAFF
Level 3

Name:…………………………………………………..

Department:…………………………………………….

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 Lesson 1: Standard Polite Phrases for Guest Contact
1) Magic Words:

“Thank you, Sir/Madam”

“Excuse me, Sir”

“I beg your pardon”

“ Please,…”

2) Polite Expressions:

“May I ...?”

Could I …?

Would you please …?

*While speaking to any Guest make sure that you maintain eye contact and always smile. Maintain a
good posture, look alert and attentive.*
3) Greetings:

“Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening , Mr…”

4) Seeing off a Guest:

“Have a pleasant day, Sir/Madam”

“I hope you enjoyed your stay with us, Mr…”

“We look forward to your next visit, Mr…”

5) When the guest asks for something and you can provide:

Certainly, Mr…I will send it to your room.

6) Asking the Guest whether he needs any assistance:

How may I assist you, Mr/Ms…?

How may I help you, Mr/Ms…?

May I confirm your order, Mr/Ms…?

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you, Mr/Ms…

7) When the guest thanks you for something:

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My pleasure Mr/Ms…

You are most welcome Mr/Ms…

Not at all, Mr/Ms…

8)When you wish to assist the guest in carrying something:

Allow me Mr/Mrs …

May I assist you, sir /madam?

9) When you like the guest to repeat what was said or when you do not understand what he or
she said:

I beg your pardon, Mr/Ms…

Would you kindly repeat that Sir/Madam?

Could you please spell your name?

10) When you are not able to provide the service:

I am sorry Mr/Ms… this is not available. May I get you… instead?

May I suggest an alternative?

I am sorry we do not have this item. Is there anything else we can provide?

11) When you are not sure whether it can be provided or not

Yes, certainly, allow me to find out and I will get back to you.

12) If you have to keep a guest waiting because you are busy with someone else:

I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, how may I help you?

13) When a guest ask for the price of something:

That will be… dollars.

14) When the guest is unwell:

I am sorry to hear that.

Get well soon. May I contact the doctor for you

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 Lesson 2: Yesterday Was Amazing
Conversation
A) Watch the video and practice.
Anna: Yesterday was the most amazing day. I want to tell my friend back home about it. So, I am
writing her a letter!

Anna: Dear Penelope,

Life in Washington, D.C. is interesting. I see something new every day -- like yesterday.
Yesterday started like a usual work day.
Anna: I said, "Yesterday started like a usual work day."
Anna's voice: I was at work. And I wanted a break. So, I walked and walked … and walked. Then, I
saw something! It was a festival -- a big festival!
Anna: It is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Anna's voice: Yes. It was the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Every year the festival shows
different cultures. This year one of the cultures was the Basque culture.
There was dancing and food and games!”
Anna: I am dancing a traditional Basque dance.
Anna's voice: At the festival, I danced a traditional Basque dance!
Anna: They are cooking traditional Basque food.
Anna's voice: They cooked a lot of traditional Basque food.
Anna: They are playing a game. It’s a kind of handball. What do they call it? They call it pilota!
Anna's voice: They played a game with their hands and a small ball. It’s a kind of handball. But this
game is called pilota.
Anna: This is beautiful! This is traditional Basque art.
Anna: They are making a traditional Basque ship. This festival is a lot of fun!
Anna's voice: The whole day was a lot of fun!
Anna: Who said that? I want to write my friends and tell them about my day!
Anna: … So, I wanted to tell you about my day! Please, my friend, come visit Washington, D.C.
soon. There is a lot to do! Until next time … Anna.

Practice

A) Answer the following questions:

1. How did yesterday start?

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……………………………………………….
2. How did Anna spend her break?
……………………………………………….
3. What festival did Anna attend?
……………………………………………….
4. What kind of food did they cook at the festival?
………………………………………………..
5. Did Anna enjoy her day?
……………………………………………

A – FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE PAST SIMPLE OF THE VERBS IN

BRACKETS:
 When I ___________ (be) in Japan I ___________ (find) everything very different.

 Two years ago my parents _________ (buy) a new car.

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 Last summer Peter ________ (spend) his holidays in a summer camp with his friends. They

_________ (go) swimming, they _________ (play) football and golf they _______ (visit) many

interesting places.

 My sister ________ (get) a good job in a bank.

 Susan and her cousins ___________ (come) to Portugal ten years ago.

B – COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH THE PAST SIMPLE (AFFIRMATIVE /

NEGATIVE / INTERROGATIVE) OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS:

 My sister and her husband _________ (come) from Greece.

 I __________ (not like) the U2 concert.

 My cousin __________ (phone) from France yesterday evening.

 On Monday Johann ___________ (go) to school on foot.

 (they / leave) ___________ the country last Saturday?

 (you / like) _____________ the film?

 They _________ (not finish) the homework yesterday.

 (she / go) _____________ to the cinema with her parents last night?

No, she didn’t. She ___________ (stay) at home. She __________ (get) a cold.

 We _________ (go) to Spain y car.

 I _____________ (have) a wonderful holiday with my family last July.
 (you / travel) _________ to Madrid by car or by plane?
 Many years ago it __________ (be) very difficult to live without electricity.
 Last year they _______ (buy) a house at the seaside.
 I __________ (meet) him the day before yesterday.

C – CHOOSE THE BEST OPTION FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

 Mrs. Harris __________ the last train.

a) Take b) took c) did take
 There ________ many people here last night.
a) Was b)were c) wasn’t
 He _________ at home with me yesterday evening.
a) Were b) was c) be

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 She ___________with her family on holidays.
a) Go b) did go c) went
 He ___________ some books and CDs.
a) Brought b) bought c) did buy
 They __________ their passports at home.
a) Leave b) did leave c) left
 She ________some interesting photos.
a) Take b)taken c) took
 It __________ a good present.
a) Were b) was c) is
 ___________ (she /arrive) home at 5:30?
a) Did she arrived b) did she arrive c) arrived

Key:

A – was – found – bought – spent – went – played – visited – got – came

B – came – didn’t like – phoned – went – did they leave – did you like – didn’t finish – did she go – stayed – got – went
– had – did you travel – was- bought – met

C – b) – b) – b) – c) – b) – c) - c) - b) – b)

A) Activity:
Imagine a conversation between you and your manager talking about a serious complaint that one
of the guests had yesterday. You wanted to report what exactly happened with the guest yesterday.

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 Lesson 3: Can you help me today?
Conversation

A) Watch the video and practice.

Conversation #1

Man: Did you call me?

Woman: Yes, I called you. Can you help me today?
Man: Sure, what can I do for you?
Woman: Can you take me to school?
Man: OK, I can pick you up at 10.
Woman: Great! See you then.

Conversation #2

Man: Who is your best friend?

Woman: My best friend is Sue.
Man: Do you talk to her every day?
Woman: Yes, I see her at school. I always meet her for lunch.
Man: Why do you like her?
Woman: She is nice and funny! She makes me laugh.

Conversation #3

Man: Who is your teacher?

Woman: My teacher is Mr. Wilson. I like him a lot.
Man: Why do you like him?
Woman: Well, he is nice and he always helps me with my homework.
Man: He sounds nice.
Woman: He is. We all love him.

Conversation #4

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Man: Do you have my keys?
Woman: No. I put them on the table.
Man: Great. I see them. What about my wallet?
Woman: I think you set it on the counter.
Man: Really, I don't see it.
Woman: Well, I'll help you. One of us will find it.

Practice

1) What will the man do? 

 a) Take her to school.

 b) Pick her up.

2) Where does she see Sue? 

 a) She sees her at school.

 b) She sees her at work.

3) Who likes Mr. Wilson? 

 a) No one likes him.

 b) Everyone likes him.

4) What did he do with his wallet? 

 a) He put it on the counter.

 b) He lost it.

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Exercise 1. Replace the underlined words with the correct personal pronoun
(subject, object).

Ex. The boys are speaking to Margaret.

They are speaking her.

1. Mary is washing the car. ……………………………………………………………..

2. The postman is speaking to Helen. …………………………………………………
3. Tom telephoned Mr. Parker yesterday. …………………………………………….
4. Please give this letter to my mother. ……………………………………………….
5. Bill and John are waiting Samantha and Bob. ……………………………………

Exercise 2. Choose the correct personal pronoun.

1. She / Him is sitting in the garden
2. The postman gave they / me four letters.
3. My brother will go to the cinema with she / her.
4. The teacher is not speaking to we / us.

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5. Margaret telephoned we / us yesterday.
6. Helen will go to the shops with you / he.
7. Mr. Brown will go to his office with she / him.
8. The teacher is speaking to you and I / me.
9. My mother saw Susan and he / you in the Mall.
10. Yesterday Helen went to the cinema but I / her stayed at home.

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 Lesson 4: Are You Going on Vacation this Summer?

Conversation
A) Watch the video and practice.

Anna: Washington, D.C. has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn or fall. My favorite

season is summer because of summer vacation! Hey, that will be a great subject for my new work
assignment -- the children’s show. I can teach what families in the U.S. do during summer vacation.
Today, I’m planning the show with Amelia. This is the first time we are working together. I hope we can
work well together. Hi, Amelia!
Amelia: Hi, Anna! So, what are we going to talk about on the first show?
Anna: I want to talk about summer vacation.
Amelia: That will be fun! Are you going on vacation this summer?
Anna: No. This summer I am too busy.
Amelia: That’s too bad.
Anna: It’s okay. I can go on vacation next summer. This show will be a lot of fun too!
Amelia: So, Anna, what’s the plan for the show?
Anna: First, we’re going to introduce the subject. Then we can show pictures and video.
Amelia: We can show tons of video!
Anna: Right! We can interview children and have guests, too.
Amelia: Kids can ask us questions.
Anna: Great idea! Finally, we can read the questions and tell them where to learn more.
Amelia: Okay, let’s try it!
Anna: Let’s do it!
Anna: Hi there! And welcome to … Amelia, we don’t have a name for the show.
Amelia: We’ll think of a name later. For now, we'll call it “The Show.”
Anna: Great. Hi there! And welcome to “The Show.”Anna: Today we are going to take you on a summer
vacation! You will see popular things to do on vacation!
Anna: One is camping. When you go camping, you cook, sleep and play outdoors!
Amelia: When I go camping, Anna, I like to go hiking and fishing.
Anna: Me, too. Those are fun things to do when you go camping!
Anna: These people are hiking.
Amelia: Okay, let’s talk about the next vacation.
Anna: Another popular summer vacation is going to an amusement park. At an amusement park, you go
on rides and eat lots of fun food!
Amelia: I love cotton candy … !
Anna & Amelia: and rollercoasters!
Amelia: This show is going to be a lot of fun.
Anna: I know!
Anna: This is riding a rollercoaster!
Amelia: Whoooo! What is the last vacation?
Anna: One of the most popular vacations is … going to the beach!
Anna & Amelia: I love the beach!
Anna: When I see that blue ocean, I want to leave Washington, D.C. immediately and go to the beach!
Anna: Maybe next summer.
Amelia: But right now, it’s time to work!
Anna: Right. Until next time ...

Practice

A) Answer the following questions:

1. What’s Anna’s favorite season? And why?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. What are Anna and Amelia going to talk about on the first show?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. What’s their plan for the show?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4- What does Anna like to do when she goes camping?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5- What can people do at an amusement park?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 “Will” vs. “Going To”

1. “Oh, no, I forgot my phone.” “Don’t worry, I __________________ lend you mine.”

2. It’s Julia’s birthday next week, so her boyfriend ________________ buy her some flowers.

3. Look, the bus is already at the stop! It ____________________ leave without us if we don’t run.

4. I heard that James plans to go to Harvard University. What ________________ study? (he)

5. Do you think they ____________________ like the presents we bought for them?

6. Wait just a second, and Tom _________________ help you with those bags.

7. Next week we ____________________ fly to Venice.

8. I think all of the students __________________________ pass their exams.

9. They _____________________________ turn 30 years old next year.

Lesson 5: What do they look like?
 Lesson 6: Where is your Apartment?

Anna: Hi! Today, my friend Ashley, is coming over. I am showing her my new apartment! Oh! That’s
Ashley calling.

Anna: Hi Ashley!
Ashley: Hi Anna! I’m coming to your apartment. Where is your apartment?
Anna: My apartment is near the Columbia Heights Metro.
Ashley: It is near the Columbia Heights Metro?
Anna: Yes. Exit the Metro and turn right. Then at the bus station turn left. Then walk straight ahead.
Ashley: Okay. Exit Metro, turn right, turn left, then go straight ahead?
Anna: Yes. My apartment is near a coffee shop.
Ashley: Okay. See you soon!
Anna: Hi, Ashley.
Ashley: Anna, Which coffee shop? There are three coffee shops.
Anna: Okay, my apartment is across from a big department store.
Ashley: A big department store? Ah, I see it!
Anna: Okay! Bye, Ashley. See you soon!
Ashley: Okay. See you soon.
Anna: Ashley! Ashley! Ashley! Over here! It’s Anna! It’s Anna! Hi!
Anna: I love having my friends over. Come on!
Ashley: Great!
 Lesson 7: Starting and finishing emails

Formal or informal?
We write a formal email when we want to be polite, or when we do not know the reader very well. A lot of
work emails are formal. We write informal emails when we want to be friendly, or when we know the reader
well. A lot of social emails are informal. Here are some examples of formal and informal messages:

Formal Informal

An email to a customer 
A birthday greeting to a colleague
A job application
An email to a colleague who is also a good friend
An email to your manager
A social invitation to a friend at your workplace
A complaint to a shop
An email with a link to a funny YouTube clip
An email from one company to
A message to a friend on a social networking site
another company

Before you start writing an email, decide if you want to write a formal email or an informal one.

Layout and punctuation

Starting an email: We normally write a comma after the opening phrase. We start a new line after the name
of the person we’re writing to.

Finishing an email: We normally write a comma after the closing phrase. We start a new line to write our
name at the end.
 Formal Informal

Dear Mr Piper, Hi Tim,

I am writing to thank you for all your help. Many thanks for your help.
I look forward to seeing you next week. See you next week.
With best wishes, Cheers,
John Smith John

Phrases for starting and finishing

Here are some phrases which we use for starting and finishing emails. We use these in formal and informal
emails:

Starting Dear Tim,

phrases Good morning Tim,

Regards,
Ending
With best wishes,
phrases
With many thanks and best wishes,

You also need to know which phrases to use only in a formal email or an informal one:
   Formal Informal

Hi Tim,
Starting Dear Mr Piper, Hi there Tim,
phrases Dear Sir or Madam, Morning/Afternoon/Evening Tim,
Hello again Tim,

Rgds,
Yours sincerely,
Ending Cheers,
Yours faithfully,
phrases Bye for now,
Yours truly,
See you soon,

 
 Lesson 8: Sending and receiving emails

Task 1 2. Dear Mr Prabang,

Complete the sentences with the right word. As we agreed, I am sending the contract as an
. It is
delete / send / attachment / open / CC / link a PDF file.
Please let me know if you have any queries.
1. You can an email to one Yours,
or more people. When you get an email, Andrew Mortimer
you must it before
you can read it. With your email, you 3. Hi Mustafa,
can include an (like Here’s a to something I saw
a photo or document). today: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/e
2. If you do not want to keep an old n/ielts-interview-skills/dont-get-over-
email, you can it. emotional.
3. You can include a to a Watch it if you can – it’s really funny!!!!!!!!
website in your email. If you are sending Enjoy! Hans
someone an email, and you want your
manager to see it as well, you can 4. Dear Mrs Piano,
your manager. I am interested in applying for the post as
Account Manager (ref.
Task 2 23JS56).
Complete the sentences. Could you please me
further details?
open / CC / attachment / send / link / delete With thanks, Zara
Hussein
1. Hello Sanjay,
Could you please send the schedule to 5. Hello everybody,
Mr Aziz at Bisco Ltd when it is ready? I must apologise. I gave you the wrong dates
Please me, so for this year’s conference in my email this
that I have the document as well. morning. So please that email as soon
With thanks, Abdul as you can. I will send you the correct dates
Qadir Managing soon.
Director Sorry again for the problem. Pietro

6. Hello Andy,
My computer is very slow this
 morning. I’m going through my inbox, c) organise a meeting
but it’s taking about one minute just to 4. Who has received the email?
every email. And a) only you
attachments are even slower. What can I b) you and everyone in the Sales
do? Team

www.britishcouncil.org/
Regards, c) you, everyone in the Sales Team,
Atul Hatem Trabelsi and Patricia Bartlett

learnenglish
Task 3 Task 4
You've received the email below. Read it and What do you select (in the email in Task 3) to
answer these questions about it. do these things?

Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Delete From: Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Delete |
New proposal.rtf
Samir
To: Sales Team 1. Open the attachment
CC: Hatem Trabelsi; Patricia Bartlett Subject:
RE: Meeting next week Attachments: New
proposal.rtf (376KB) 2. Write only to Samir

Hello Sales Team, 3. Put the email in your rubbish bin and
I’ve got an idea for next week – see the attached not keep it
file. I’d like to hear what you think about my
suggestion.
I think Hatem and Patricia may be interested, so
4. Send the email to another person
I’ve copied them in too. Let’s talk more at the
who has not received it
meeting next week.

Regards, Samir
5. Send an email to Samir, the Sales
1. Who is the email from? Team, Hatem and Patricia
a) Samir
b) Sales Team
c) Hatem Trabelsi
2. What is the name of the attachment?
a) Sales Team
b) Meeting next week
c) New proposal
3. What does the writer want you to do?
a) contact Hatem and Patricia
b) read the attachment
 Answers Task 1

1. You can send an email to one or more people. When you get an email, you must open it before you
can read it. With your email, you can include an attachment (like a photo or document).
2. If you do not want to keep an old email, you can delete it.
3. You can include a link to a website in your email. If you are sending someone an email, and you

www.britishcouncil.org/
want your manager to see it as well, you can CC your manager.

Task 2

1.
2.
3.
CC
attachment
link
learnenglish
4. send
5. delete
6. open

Task 3

1. a) Samir
2. c) New proposal
3. b) read the attachment
4. c) you, everyone in the Sales Team, Hatem Trabelsi and Patricia Bartlett

Task 4

Open the attachment (New proposal.rtf)

Write only to Samir (Reply)
Put the email in your rubbish bin and not keep it (Delete)
Send the email to another person who has not received it (Forward)
Send an email to Samir, the Sales Team, Hatem and Patricia (Reply all)
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