In-room facilities and services

• bulgari toiletries, bathrobes, slippers and hair dryers in every room

• in-room safe

• newspaper twice daily

• safety deposit boxes available

• security staff on duty 24-hour

• bedside panel which controls radio, lighting, TV and air conditioning,

• mistfree bathroom mirror,

• handsfree telephones and mood lighting,

• individual thermostat control.

Special terms:

 

Full board or enpension — it is a room and all meals included.

Half-board or demi-pension — includes the room plus breakfast and one other meal (lunch or dinner).

Bed and breakfast (B&B) or continental plan — it is the rate that includes the room and breakfast (the breakfast itself may be "English" or "continental").

European plan — it is the rate for a room alone, with no meals included at all.

TEXT 1 SPECIAL SERVICES AND HOTEL FACILITIES

 

Nowadays large, modern hotels contain not only guest rooms, but many other facilities as well. They usually contain restaurants and cocktail lounges, shops and recreational facili­ties for social functions, conventions and conferences — ball­rooms, auditoriums, meeting rooms of different sizes, exhibit areas and so forth.

Not so long ago, convention facilities were only in large cities or in intensively developed resort areas like Miami Beach. Nowadays they are more often included in re­sort hotels so that the people can combine business with pleasure.

Another trend in the hotel industry is the construction of the self-contained resort complex. Recreational facilities are another feature of many hotels and motels. A swimming pool is the most common of these. A swimming pool in front of the building is a form of advertisement for motel in places such as Florida, California, Egypt, Turkey and other resorts. Other recreational facilities in­clude tennis courts and golf courses at resort hotels. Many re­sorts are designed for winter sports such as skiing and ice skat­ing; others provide horseback riding and other outdoor activities.

Casinos are another feature of some hotels. In Las Vegas, Nevada, the hotels feed, house and enter­tain guests, but the real profits come from the casinos. In Puer­to Rico and other places, gambling usually acts as an addition­al, rather than principal, attraction for hotels.

A few hotels, most of them in resort areas or large cities, in­clude nightclubs as a part of their operation. Sometimes the nightclub is rented out to a concessionaire, but in other hotels it is the responsibility of the food and beverage department or of a special staff. A nightclub offers entertainment, such as danc­ing, a singer, a band, or a floor show, in addition to food and drink. The engagement of a well-known entertainer obviously gives the hotel an excellent promotional opportunity.

All of these recreational facilities require the employment of additional personnel. Necessary swimming-pool maintenance is often contracted out. Golf courses must be carefully tended by a special staff of groundskeepers. Horses require stables and grooming. Many resort hotels hire professional athletes to give lessons to the guests in tennis, golf and skiing. Other employ­ees include riding instructors and guides for hikers and camp­ers. Lifeguards are often necessary at swimming pools and beaches.

Catering, providing food and drink for transients, has always gone together with accommodations. Food services are a fea­ture of hotels. The typical modern "packaged hotel" includes a restaurant, a coffee shop for quicker and less expensive meals, and a bar or cocktail lounge. Many larger hotels have several res­taurants, often featuring different kinds of foods, as well as dif­ferent prices. Hotels also normally provide "room service" — food and drink that are brought to the guest's room. In addi­tion, catering service provided in the hotel's recreational areas. The poolside bar and snack bar, for quick food, are normal parts of the service at a resort hotel. So, restaurants, bars and night­clubs outside the hotels are a standard feature of the resort scene. They provide not only catering, but also some kind of entertain­ment for the tourist who is bored with the limits of hotel life.

Large urban hotels also provide special services for business­men. A commercial hotel, for example, can provide a stenog­rapher to take dictation and do typing for the travelling busi­nessman. Some luxury hotels also give the guests access to copying, internet, modem points, facsimile machines, comput­ers with printer, scanner, word processor and other machines. Many large hotels also have a notary public on the staff to ver­ify the signatures on documents.

The list of special services offered by hotels is long. These services differ according to the location and the clientele of the hotel; luxury hotels offer the greatest range of services. This is, in fact, what makes them luxury hotels.

(by E.J. Hall)

Comprehension questions:

1. What are some of the different varieties of accommoda­tions that are available to travellers nowadays?

2. What facilities are usually available in large, modern ho­tels?

3. What is a "self-contained resort complex"? Give exam­ples.

4. What is the relationship between hotels and gambling in some places?

5. Give examples of a resort development that includes many different kinds of accommodations.

6. What catering services are available in different kinds of hotels?

7. What business facilities can big hotel provide?

8. How and why are hotel nightclubs operated? What do nightclubs offer?

9. What promotional opportunities does a nightclub give to the hotel?

10. What are some of the personal services offered by hotels?

11. What are some of the services hotels offer for travelling businessmen?

12. What kind of hotel offers the greatest range of special ser­vices?

TEXT WORK

1. Find English equivalents in the text and use them in the sentences of your own:

(1) условия для отдыха (2) выставочный комплекс

(3) условия и оборудование для проведения конференций

(4) быстро развивающийся курорт (5) сочетать дела и от­дых (6) направление (7) реальный доход (8) питание (9) об­служивание в номере (10) доступ к интернету(11) катание на лошадях (12) отдых на свежем воздухе (13) развлекать го­стей (14) подтвердить подпись на документе(15) более быстрая и дешевая еда (16) закусочная (17) бар, расположенный у бассейна (18) специальные услуги для деловых людей (19) нотариус (20) факсимильный аппарат

 

3. Give the derivatives to the following words;

(1) modern (2) to exhibit (3) industry (4) to provide (5) to entertain (6) additional (7) service (8) to include (9) catering (10) luxury

 

4. Learn synonyms to the following words:

To accommodate (v) — 1) to make room, lodging — to board, contain, entertain, furnish, house, shelter, take in, welcome; 2) to perform service — to afford, aid, assist, benefit, Comfort, indulge, pamper, please, provide, supply.

Luxurious (adj) — affluent, indulgent, deluxe, extravagant, fancy, grandiose, gratify, lush, magnificent, gratifying, immoderate, lavish, majestic, pretentious, rich, splendid.

Recreation (n) — (sports, games, special interest) — amusement, avocation, disport, enjoyment, ease, diversion, entertainment, festivity, jollity, pastime, playtime, refreshment, relaxation, repose, vacation.

 

5. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:

1. resort a. to risk (money, property) on the result of the uncertain such as a card game, a horse race

2. to cater b. a place where people regularly go for holidays

3. to gamble c. a place where people-play cards or other games for money

4. casino d. to provide and serve food and drink at a public or private party

5. convention e. a group of people gathered together with a shared purpose

 

6. Learn the following abbreviations:

CREDIT CARD codes:

 

AE — American Express

AC — Access

ВС — Barclaycard

CB — Carte Blanche

DC — Diners Club

DS — Discover

EC — Eurocard

ER — En Route

JC — JCB International

MC — Mastercard

VS-Visa

MEAL PLAN codes

EP — European plan: no meals

CP — Continental Plan: continental breakfast only or as indicated

MAP — Modified American plan: American breakfast and dinner

DP — Demi-Pension: Continental breakfast and either ta­ble d'hote lunch or dinner

AP — American Plan: American breakfast, lunch and din­ner

FP — Full Pension: Continental breakfast, table d'hote, lunch and dinner

Other abbreviations:

PRPN — Per room per night

PPPN — Per person per night

BB — Buffet Breakfast

ACTIVITY

1. Here are three ads of the hotels. Read the description of the location and hotel facilities and compare them. Answer the questions:

Which hotel:

	Alexander Hotel	Helena Hotel	Apollo Hotel
Is the biggest
Is the most luxurious
Has the best facilities
Has the widest choice of restaurants
Has the best transportation
Is the cheapest

 

Alexander Hotel ***** 420 rooms 2 restaurants, bar, 2 pools, 6 tennis courts, 2 squash courts. Jacuzzi 10 minutes' walk from beach £380 (for 7 nights)

Helena Hotel *** 320 rooms restaurant, bar, tennis court 15 minutes' walk from beach £290 (for 7 nights)

Apollo Hotel **** 540 rooms restaurant, pool, 2 tennis courts, shop 5 minutes' walk from beach £310 (for 7 nights)