Business English Listening Intensive: Hotel Facilities and Travel Services

Learning English is not just about mastering grammar and vocabulary, but more importantly about using it naturally in real situations. However, sentences in textbooks are often too formal and differ from real-life expressions. To speak authentic and natural English, you need exposure to conversations in real contexts. Here, we have selected frequently used English expressions that cover social, work, and travel scenarios to help you get rid of 'textbook English' and learn how native speakers really talk. Below is the content of Unit 10a from 'New Cambridge Business English (Elementary)'. Keep practicing and make your English closer to real life!

So what special needs do business travelers have? One of the most important things is a quick check-in and check-out. After a long trip it's annoying to have to wait at the hotel reception for five minutes. Room service is also very important. Guests often stay in their rooms working. They can don't have the time to go out to a restaurant. So they want their meals to be served in their rooms. And what facilities are there in the rooms? Well, nowadays communication facilities are essential. So things like a modem socket where guests can plug their modems in. And a fax are very important. The lighting is also very important. We've just spent a lot of money upgrading the lighting in our rooms. As I said, guests often spend their evenings preparing work. So they need good lighting at their desks.

And what about facilities in the hotel in general? The bars are important. Corporate guests tend to spend more time in the hotel bars than tourists. It's very important to provide a business center too. What services does the business center provide? Basic secretarial services such as photocopying and typing. It also coordinates conferences and any catering which is included in them. Clients always find it helpful to have these kind of things organized for them. Right, and what about distance to the airport and city center? Is that important? Yes, we're in the east of London, so we're near city airport. A lot of our guests have meetings in this area. So they don't want to be near Heathrow Airport or right in the city center. But it is easy to get to the centre of London from here. It only takes about 15 minutes with our courtesy buses. And there's a river taxi as well.

Are your corporate guests interested in using your fitness center or swimming pool? Not really. They're more popular with tourists. Our corporate guests are more interested in getting in and out of the hotel as quickly as possible. And working while they're here. Unit 10A. Business hotels. Listening to. Good morning. Can I help you? Yes, could you tell me the best way of getting into the centre of London, please? Well, there's a courtesy bus which leaves every 20 minutes during the rush hour. And there's a river taxi service to London Bridge. And when is the rush hour? It's between 7 and 9 in the morning and 5 and 7 in the evening. And after 9 in the morning? But after 9 the courtesy bus service runs every 40 minutes. Aha, how long does it take? The bus takes about 15 minutes depending on the traffic. And which way does it go? Here, I'll show you on the map.

From the hotel, it goes along the riverbank and then onto Brunella Road. It crosses the river at Tower Bridge and then stops just after Tower Bridge at Tower Hill Underground Station. And what about the river taxi? Does that change up to a rush hour? Yes, it's a half hour service during rush hour. And after that it runs to a timetable. It takes about 15 minutes. It's a really nice trip. You go across to Canary Wharf Pier first, then you go along the river, under Tower Bridge and you stop at a pier just for London Bridge. The only thing is it costs £1.80 each way. Okay, thanks very much. You're welcome. Bye.

The above is the content of Unit 10a from 'New Cambridge Business English (Elementary)' organized for you by Qicaiwang. Hope it is helpful to you!