Workers and Guests Have Different Language Needs in a Hotel:
1. Some Workers Say Little to Guests: housekeepers, gardeners, maintenance, shuttle drivers.
2. Guests who stay in a hotel which does not know the guest's language: for example Brazilians in Russia, India or China
3. Some Workers Have Detailed Conversations with guests: front desk, telephone, concierge.
4. Restaurant Waiters Click for Restaurant Lesson
5. Foreign managers who supervise local workers
Groups 1-4 need to speak in very simple words, because many people they talk to have limited English vocabulary (think of desk clerks in Russia or China talking in English to guests from Indonesia or Arabia).
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Click for comparison of 35 courses in hotel English. Most cover a difficult mixture of the topics above. So it is hard for each group to learn what they need. Websites and books often start with making a reservation or booking by phone. Booking by phone is very hard and rarely needed: people can use translation sites on the internet.
- These need a few words to be polite and answer simple questions from guests, "Where is...," "When is..." They need Numbers, Time, Hotel Lesson 1, and oral practice or songs.
2. Guests who stay in a hotel which does not know the guest's language: for example Brazilians in Russia, India or China
- These need Hotel Guest Lesson and Hotel Lesson 1 to arrive, enjoy themselves, and leave. They need Numbers and Time to understand answers to their questions. Then they need oral practice or songs. Guests can book reservations in their own language, since they can use translated email, a website, or an agency. They have guidebooks in their own languages explaining specialized terms like suite or king size.
3. Some Workers Have Detailed Conversations with guests: front desk, telephone, concierge.
- These need to understand a range of sentences on checking in, money, rooms, complaints, and getting around the area. They would benefit from all the lessons here. They especially need Numbers, Time, Alphabet (for spelling names), Telephone, Hotel 1 and Hotel 2. "[M]ost of the utterances are short, direct and purpose-driven. They rarely consist of more than one clause, and ... are mostly based on or influenced by what guests say. Such responses are, for the most part, strictly functional." ("Hospitality language as a professional skill" 2003p.80) Then they need oral practice or songs.
- The front desk and concierge also need a translator App on a tablet (Apple, Android or Windows). They will use it when a guest goes beyond the worker's language abilities. The App needs to display alternate keyboards to let the guest type in the guest's own language and alphabet, which the App will translate to the hotel worker, and it will translate the worker's answers. Voice translation is a good feature, but typing will also be needed when the App misunderstands a voice.
4. Restaurant Waiters Click for Restaurant Lesson
- Waiters need to understand special requests and common questions, which are taught here. Waiters also need to speak and understand the entire menu, which varies and cannot be taught here. The restaurant can translate the menu with Google or Bing into common languages of the guests, and the guests will feel more welcome. Waiters also need oral practice or songs.
5. Foreign managers who supervise local workers
- These need intermediate skills in the local language. They can use the best courses in the List of Language Courses and oral practice or songs.
Groups 1-4 need to speak in very simple words, because many people they talk to have limited English vocabulary (think of desk clerks in Russia or China talking in English to guests from Indonesia or Arabia).
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Click for comparison of 35 courses in hotel English. Most cover a difficult mixture of the topics above. So it is hard for each group to learn what they need. Websites and books often start with making a reservation or booking by phone. Booking by phone is very hard and rarely needed: people can use translation sites on the internet.
Hotels and Travelers: Top 16 Countries
Travelers come from everywhere and go everywhere. They need people who speak their language.
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FOREIGN TRIPS (Overnight, most recent year available in 2008-2012)
876,000,000 World Total, by Origin of Traveler: 85,000,000 Hong Kong, China 83,000,000 China 72,000,000 Germany 58,000,000 United States 57,000,000 Britain 44,000,000 Russia 32,000,000 Canada 29,000,000 Italy 26,000,000 France 21,000,000 Ukraine 19,000,000 Netherlands 19,000,000 Saudi Arabia 18,000,000 Japan (all trips; most are overnight) 16,000,000 Mexico 16,000,000 Sweden 15,000,000 India There are 876 million overnight tourist trips per year (UNWTO Factbook, Outbound table 3.2). Numbers include trips between Hong Kong and the rest of China. Most of these travelers use hotels and need help in their own languages. |
ROOMS IN HOTELS (2011-2012)
Rooms Average Rooms Per Hotel 21,170,000 41 World Total 4,900,000 93 United States 1,500,000 132 China 1,370,000 27 Japan 1,100,000 32 Italy 950,000 27 Germany 900,000 47 Spain 660,000 37 Mexico 650,000 17 Britain 620,000 36 France 530,000 NA Thailand 410,000 25 Indonesia 400,000 41 Greece 400,000 40 Brazil 330,000 117 Turkey 290,000 22 Austria 260,000 33 Russia There are 21 million rooms (UNWTO Factbook, Accommodation tables 4.13-4.14). Numbers include motels, guest houses, vacation rentals and hostels. Many hotels are small (average 41 rooms), so they need the simplest possible training for their workers. |
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