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at the hotel
Characters: Mr. Allen (A)
Mr. Burrows (B)
Mr. Clerk (C)
A.: We engaged two communicating rooms this morning by telegraph.
C.: Messrs Allen and Burrows, if I am not mistaken?
A.: That’s right.
C.: We have kept numbers 35 and 36 for you. They are very pleasant and comfortable. Will you register your name, please?
B.: Is there a bath-room connected with our rooms?
C.: No, but there is one on each floor.
B.: We want to be awakened at 6 to-morrow morning. To whom shall we speak about it?
C.: I’ll make a note of it and we shall call you up at that time.
A.: Can we get our coffee at about seven?
C.: Yes, indeed; breakfast is served in the breakfast-room from six to ten. Shall I go upstairs with you to show you your room?
A.: Yes, please.
C.: This way, please. Here is the lift.
B.: We have some linen to be washed; how soon can we get it again? We are in a great hurry for it.
C.: There is a laundry in the hotel, the clothes are washed, ironed and delivered within 24 hours. When you are ready, ring for the chambermaid, she’ll take your washing.
A.: Will you send our luggage up immediately?
C.: Here is the electric bell. Press the button once for the chambermaid, twice for the porter, three times for the waiter and four for the boots.
B.: My boots are very dirty: I’ll ring for the porter to have them cleaned and polished (he rings). May I have my boots cleaned?
Porter: Certainly.
B.: And tell the chambermaid to bring us some towels and hot water. Can I have some drinking water?
P.: Yes, you’ll tell the waiter to fetch you some.
B.: Is it filtered?
P.: No, but it is spring water and very pure. I can send you some drinking water “Vichy” if you would rather have it.
At the reception desk
Characters: Martin (M)
Sally (S)
Clerk (C)
C.: Hi! Can I help you?
M.: Yes, we had a reservation for this weekend.
C.: All right, what was the name, sir?
M.: Baum, Martin Baum.
C.: Baum…Baum…oh, yes, here it is. A double for two nights?
M.: Yes, that’s right. But we were wondering … would you happen to have a suite available this weekend, something with a living area and a kitchenette?
C.: Well, the only one that’s available this weekend is the executive suite, and that’ll run you $140 a night.
M.: I see. That’s pretty high…
C.: You know, sir, this double is more than twenty feet square, and it has a refrigerator.
M.: Oh, really? That sounds fine, then. What do you say, Sally?
S.: Sounds good to me, too.
C.: Good, the double then. Do you have a credit card, sir?
M.: No, I’ll be paying cash.
C.: Then I’ll have to ask you to pay in advance. Fifty-five a night, plus $8 tax comes to $126. And would you fill out this registration form, please? Here’s a pen. Just your name, address, and the make and license number of your car.
M.: OK… here you are. And Travellers checks for $130.
C.: Fine, Mr Baum. Here’s $4 change. Check out time is 12:00 noon. The bell-man will take you up… Harvey! Room 615… If you need anything, just let me know.
M.: Thank you. Good night.
cancelling a hotel booking
Hotel: Excelsior Hotel.
Caller: Hello, I’m ringing from the university. I made a reservation for the 14th, and um… now I’m afraid I shall have to cancel it.
Hotel: Just a moment, please, caller, I’ll put you on to Advanced reservations.
Clerk: Advanced reservations, can I help you?
Caller: I’m phoning up because I booked a room for an overseas visitor who won’t be able to come now and so I’ll have to cancel it, I’m afraid.
Clerk: What name is it, please, and when was it for?
Caller: It was a double room booked in the name of Dr. R. Siddhui from the 14th for a week.
Clerk: Ah, yes, I’ve got it, from the 14th to the 20th September. And now you want to change the booking, do you?
Caller: I wish I could, but it now appears that he won’t be able to come at all.
Clerk: Well, madam, I’ll cancel it then. I hope we can help you at some other time.
Hotels of the past
“Let me get that straight,” Christine said. “Are you saying that a hotel isn’t responsible legally for anything its guests may do – even to other guests?”
“The law’s quite clear on that and has been for a long time. A lot of our law, in fact, goes back to the English inns, beginning with the fourteenth century.”
“Tell me.”
“I’ll give you the shortest version. It starts when the English inns had one great hall, warmed and lighted by a fire, and everyone slept there. While they slept it was the landlord business to protect his guests from thieves and murderers.”
“That sounds reasonable.” “It was. And the same thing was expected of the landlord when smaller chambers began to be used, because even these were always shared – or could be by strangers.”
“When you think about it,” Christine mused, ‘it wasn’t much of an age for privacy.”
“That came later when there were individual rooms, and guests had keys. After that the law looked at things differently. The innkeeper was obliged to protect his guests from being broken in upon. But beyond this he had no responsibility, either for what happened to them in their rooms or what they did.”
“So the key made the difference.’
“It still does,” Peter said. “On that the law hasn’t changed. When we give a guest a key it’s a legal symbol, just as it was in an English inn. It means the hotel can no longer use the room, or quarter anyone else there.”
hotels of the future
“It’s more a projection of what hotels are going to be like a few years ahead.
The first thing we’ll have simplified is Reception, where checking in will take a few seconds at the most. The majority of our people will arrive directly from air terminals by helicopter, so a main reception point will be a private roof heliport. Secondarily there’ll be lower-floor receiving points where cars and limousines can drive directly in eliminating transfer to a lobby, the way we do it now.
Guest with reservations will have been sent a key-coded card. They’ll insert it in a frame and immediately be on their way by individual escalator section to a room which may have been cleared for use only seconds earlier. If a room isn’t ready – and it’ll happen, just as it does now – we’ll have small portable way stations. These will be cubicles with a couple of chairs, wash basin and space for luggage, just enough to freshen up after a journey and give some privacy right away. People can come and go, as they do with a regular room, and my engineers are working on a scheme for making the way stations mobile so that later they can latch on directly to the allocated space.
For those driving their own cars there’ll be parallel arrangements, with coded, moving lights to guide them into personal parking stalls, from where other individual escalators will take them directly to their rooms. In all cases we’ll curtail baggage handling, using high-speed sorters and conveyors, and baggage will be rooted into rooms, actually arriving ahead of the guests. Similarly, all other services will have automated room delivery systems – valet, beverages, food, florist, drugstore, newsstand; even the final bill can be received and paid by the room conveyor. And incidentally, apart from other benefits, I’ll have broken the tipping system, a tyranny we’ve suffered – along with our guests – for years too long…
My building design and automation will keep to a minimum the need for any guest room to be entered by a hotel employee. Beds, recessing into walls, are to be serviced by machine from outside.
All this, and more, can be accomplished now. Our remaining problems, which naturally will be solved, are principally of co-ordination, construction, and investment.”
Hotel “Astoria”
St. Petersburg is a world-famous city and the second largest in Russia. A visit to St. Petersburg is an unforgettable impression, but it will become more remarkable if you choose to stay at the “Astoria” hotel.
The hotel is located in the very heart of the city. The complex comprising two buildings was created at the beginning-of-the-century style in 1912 by architect Lydwal. The hotel is situated in St. Isaac’s Square with a prominent building of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, a statue of the Russian Tzar Nicholas I and the Mariinsky Palace.
The interior decoration of the “Astoria” hotel is marble, fine wood, mirrors and antiques, metal and plastics used with good taste. Completely restored in 1987-1990 the hotel still evokes the beginning of the century with its parquet floors, interiors and crystal chandeliers. The lobby made in light forms makes an unforgettable impression on you.
The hotel has 436 guest-rooms for a total of 800 beds. They include several apartments, suites, double and single rooms. Apartments have a sauna and a kitchenette.
Most of the guest-rooms are double rooms. The rooms are elegantly furnished and most comfortable equipped. Each guest-room is outfitted with a TV set, a radio-set, a refrigerator and a telephone. The suites are provided with mini-safes and self-defrosting mini-bars.
The hotel has a service bureau, a currency-exchange desk, hair-dressing, barber’s and beauty saloons, massage part, a souvenir kiosk, a hard-currency gift shop, a laundry, repairs and dry cleaning.
The hotel also runs a “Rent-a-Car” service. Cars can be hired without driver or chauffeur-driven. Payment is to be made in hard currency.
At the hotel you have at your service three restaurants: “Winter garden” seating 140, “Astoria” – 156 seats, “Angleterre” for 154 guests; a banquet hall for 132 seats, a grill-restaurant seating 60, two cabinets for 28 seats, several bars, cafés and buffets.
The “Astoria” hotel has a sauna, a swimming-pool and a fitness centre. There is a business centre which is equipped with all kinds of modern facilities and a conference hall seating 200, which is outfitted with modern acoustic equipment and facilities.
The hotel courtyard is an ideal place for leisure and recreation.
At the service bureau you can get the necessary travel information. The clerk will help you in:
- ordering newspapers and magazines as well as gifts and flowers which will be delivered to your room;
- ordering any kind of public services;
- ordering a taxi or renting a car;
- reserving train, air tickets and obtaining tickets for the theatre and other entertainments, as well as in booking for excursions on group or individual services.
The “Astoria” hotel was considered the best in Russia. Many well-known political leaders, actors, singers, artists and poets stayed at the hotel. The English writer Herbert Wells lived in this hotel in 1914 and in 1934. Yesenin stayed there in 1925.
The industry takes notice
The number of travelling women obliged the travel industry to take notice of women. By the end of the 1990s, women are expected to account for half of all US business travel.
Although surveys show that women pay attention to such amenities in hotels as the quality of toiletry products, soaps, shampoos, their principal concern is safety.
Many women prefer to be in rooms on upper floors to minimise unwanted encounters with passers-by, which are more frequent on lower floors. They also tend to have a preference for rooms near lifts, to avoid long walks down empty hallways.
Hotels staffs are now also being trained to be security conscious, particularly regarding women.
Holiday Inn Worldwide, for instance, instruct its front-desk staff never to announce a room number, so that anyone nearby shall not overhear it. Nor will they give room numbers over the telephone.
Many hotels no longer put room numbers on their keys and put peepholes on room doors, so that guests can see who is knocking. But it is considered wiser to check with the front desk before allowing anyone to enter the room.
Women also like to avoid lonely garages and car parks. It is helpful for a hotel to have valet parking.
Women prefer room service to going to a restaurant. This saves them from awkwardness of arriving unescorted at a restaurant and being treated ungraciously. Women also tend to stay away from hotel bars, to avoid unwanted advances.
Women enjoy their business travel and do not want hotel staff to be over attentive.
Their top choices for amenities are in fact the same as those of their male colleagues: a coffee-pot in the room, a comfortable lounge chair and a daily complimentary newspaper at the door.
«Капсульные» отели
В последнее время в Японии все чаще пишут о так называемых «капсульных» отелях. Внешне такие отели ничем не отличаются от других отелей, но внутри вдоль стен вместо привычных номеров в два ряда встроены пластиковые клетки или пеналы. Их размер: два метра в длину, метр двадцать в ширину и столько же в высоту. Пенал звуконепроницаемый. Под потолком находится миниатюрный телевизор, кнопка управления которым расположена на нижней приборной панели рядом с подушкой. Здесь же находятся и выключатель света, часы, будильник, радио. Чтобы занять «апартаменты» первого этажа, надо встать на колени; чтобы другому постояльцу забраться на второй – требуется подняться по трем ступенькам и, согнувшись, нырнуть в капсулу.
«Капсульные» отели предлагают своим постояльцам многочисленные услуги: душ, массаж, видеотеку, залы игровых автоматов, прачечную, ресторан. В нежилых отсеках отеля десятки автоматов, в которых можно приобрести самые различные вещи, начиная от зубной щетки и кончая газетами, горячим супом и рубашкой с галстуком.
Устроиться в такие отели могут только мужчины. Это в основном клерки мелких и средних компаний, а также командированные.
Популярность «капсульных» отелей объясняется, по крайней мере, двумя обстоятельствами: привычкой японцев к стесненным условиям и изматывающим графиком трудовых будней. Для многих дорога на работу занимает 2-3 часа. Кошмарные транспортные пробки изматывают людей. Человек попадает домой глубокой ночью, а с рассветом надо подниматься, чтобы успеть до места работы в срок. Поэтому благоустроенный индивидуальный пенал всего за три тысячи иен действительно становится благом, избавляя людей от хронических недосыпаний, транспортных стрессов и непрерывных перегрузок.
отель «Савой» на Рождественке
Вновь обрела старинное название Рождественка, улица в самом центре столицы, а пятиэтажное гостиничное здание в начале ее, выстроенное 75 лет назад, опять именуется отелем «Савой». Созданный архитектором В. Величкиным для известного в России страхового общества «Саламандра», этот дом после революции использовался как общежитие сотрудников Наркоминдела, затем стал гостиницей. Три последних десятилетия гостиница называлась «Берлин».
В начале 1987 года «Интурист» и финская авиакомпания «Финэйр» основали фирму «ИНФА» для совместной эксплуатации предприятий по первоклассному обслуживанию зарубежных гостей нашей страны. «Савой» - первый из отелей этой фирмы, реконструированный и заново отделанный по международным стандартам. Белое с золотым – таков фирменный стиль дизайна обновленного «Савоя». Для полутораста гостей отель предлагает номера с кондиционерами воздуха, стационарными установками-фенами в ванных комнатах и многими другими удобствами. не забыты даже электронные часы-будильники, смонтированные у изголовья постелей. Все расчеты в новой московской гостинице ведутся на персональных компьютерах – от резервирования номеров до подачи официантами на кухню заказа, принятого у посетителей ресторана.
Позаботился «ИНФА-отель» и о транспорте. У подъезда гостиницы дежурит десяток собственных лимузинов «Вольво», готовых развести гостей «Савоя» в деловые поездки по городу или доставить их в международный аэропорт Шереметьево. Для экскурсий и групповых выездов есть свой микроавтобус, а подвозом продуктов занят небольшой автофургон-рефрижератор.
Hotels
From “Etiquette & Good Manners” by Sarah MacLean
How to Book
Make it absolutely clear what sort of accommodation you want, who you want it for and how long you are going to stay. If you want a quiet room with two single beds, say so, or you may find you have booked yourself a room with a double bed overlooking a noisy street. If you are bringing children, mention their ages as some hotels don’t accept them under a certain age. If you have a dog, say what kind he is. Some hotels don’t allow dogs at all; others have their own regulations as to size of dog and where in the hotel he is allowed.
It is also important to say whether you want all meals or just bed and breakfast.
You should also check the price of the accommodation. This often varies according to the time of year.
Letters are usually addressed to the manager of the hotel. When you are informed that the accommodation you want is available, write back and book. In case of error, it’s a good idea to repeat the details.
If you want accommodation in a hurry hotels will accept booking by telephone. But however you book, warn the hotel if you’re likely to arrive late in the evening or you may find when you arrive, travel-worn and longing for bed at eleven o’clock at night, that your coming has been despaired of and your room let to someone else.
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