English for Hotel Front Desk Operation

ENGLISH

FOR HOTEL FRONT DESK OPERATION

Gede Ginaya
I Gusti Agung Bagus Mataram
Ni Putu Somawati

TOURISM DEPARTMENT
STATE POLYTECNIC OF BALI

i

ENGLISH FOR HOTEL FRONT DESK OPERATION

Gede Ginaya
I Gusti Agung Bagus Mataram

Ni Putu Somawati

Publisher Garudhawaca Yogyakarta
In collaboration with:

TOURISM DEPARTMENT
STATE POLYTECNIC OF BALI

Cover Design: Adi Fib
Editor & Layout: Lilik Rita Lindayani

First edition: January 2020
pages: 195 + x

ISBN: 979-602-6581-96-9

Hak Cipta Dilindungi Undang-Undang

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................... iii
PREFACE...............................................................................................ix

UNIT 1 1
ANSWERING TELEPHONE IN A HOTEL

Objective: 1
After the lesson the students should be able: 2
  To answer the telephone call politely 6
9
 To take telephone messages
  To take telephone requests

 To take telephone tails


A. Listen to the following telephone calls and

complete the missing words
B. Structures to practice
C. Reading
D. Writing

UNIT 2 10
HANDLING HOTEL INQUIRIES

Objective:
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To answer inquiries about the location of a
 hotel

 To answer inquiries about the facilities of a
 hotel

 To answer inquiries about the prices of rooms

A. Dialogue Completion 10
B. Reading 13
C. Writing 15

iii

UNIT 3 16
HANDLING ROOM RESERVATIONS
16
Objective 19
After the lesson the students should be able: 26

 To handle guests’ enquiries 26
 To handle room reservations 30
41
A. Taking Room Reservations 42
B. Correspondences
42
UNIT 4 47
GIVING POLITE EXPLANATIONS 49
50
Objective
After the lesson the students should be able::

 To handle the clients face to face
 To ask about apologies

A. Making Apologies
B. Reading
C. Writing

UNIT 5
WELCOMING THE GUESTS

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To welcome guests in hotels
 To handle registration in hotels

A. Welcome to Hotel Puri Bagus Candidasa
B. Reading
C. Writing

UNIT 6
DEALING WITH REQUESTS

iv

Objective 50
After the lesson the students should be able: 52
71
 To help guests at the reception 74
 To follow customer care advice 75
A. I’ll get you some now
B. Customer Care 75
C. Spelling 78
D. Writing 97
98
UNIT 7
HANDLING COMPLAINTS 98
98
Objective 99
After the lesson the students should be able: 102

 To accept and apologize for complaints
 To take action to help customers
 To talk about the past

A. What is there to complain about?
B. Reading
C. Spelling

UNIT 8
JOB AND WORKPLACES

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To show people around
 To introduce people
 To talk about people’s jobs

A. Let’s Start at front office
B. Getting on with people:
C. Reading Comprehension

UNIT 9
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK

v

Objective 102
After the lesson the students should be able: 104
  To be aware of health and safety precautions 104
  To find out who is qualified to help 121
123
 To follow fire drill procedures 124
A. Your health and safety is important to us
B. Sound the alarm 124
C. Reading 125
D. Spelling 126
E. Writing 126
130
UNIT 10 131
ASKING FOR AND GIVING DIRECTIONS
131
Objective 133
After the lesson the students should be able:
  To direct guests around the hotel

 To ask for directions
 To give directions

A. A client wants to find a place in a hotel. Look at the
plan above and complete the following sentences
B. Is the room Ready?
C. Grammar and Functions
D. Reading
E. Writing

UNIT 11
FACILITIES FOR THE BUSINESS CONFERENCES

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To explain about room facilities
 To talk about hotel services
 To talk about conference facilities

A. Facilities to offer for conferences
B. Planning a Conference

vi

C. Reading 133
152
UNIT 12
OFFERING HELP AND ADVICE 152
Objective 153
After the lesson the students should be able: 155
157
 To talk about the recent past 158
 To give advice
 To talk about illness 158
159
A. Emergency first aid needed 161
B. Grammar and Functions 162
C. Reading 163
D. Writing

UNIT 13
PAYING BILLS

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To deal with customer payments
 To handle different forms of payment
 To explain the bill to the customers

A. Conversation
B. Grammar and Functions
C. Reading
D. Writing

UNIT 14
PAYMENT QUERIES

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To acknowledge customers’ queries
  To provide a solution

 To handle queries politely

vii

A. Had problems do you think these customers are 163
having with their bills? 165
166
B. Explaining Tour Itinerary 187
C. Reading 188
D. Writing
188
UNIT 15 192
APPLYING FOR A JOB 193
195
Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To write your cv
 To begin and end letter correctly
 To answer job advertisement

A. Curriculum Vitae
B. Writing

REFERENCES
ABOUT WRITERS

viii

PREFACE

Based on the blessing of the Almighty God “Ida Sang Hyang
Widhi Wasa”, the writer can complete the lesson book
entitles English for Hotel Front Desk Operation. This lesson
book is designed on behalf of teaching learning material
development as an output of DRPM-PTUPT 2019.

In order to obtain authentic materials, the researchers conducted
surveys in some hotels in Bali. It is expected that by studying the
materials in this lesson book the students can achieve the
learning achievement that they are able to communicate in
English both spoken and written in the context of hospitality
industry, especially Front Office Department. The graduates of in
Hotel Program Study and Business Management of Tourism
Department, State Polytechnic of Bali are targeted to be
competence in the job fields of hotel front desk operation where
English is used for the international communication. In realizing
this target, the teaching learning process should be contextual
with the current industry supported by relevant teaching module
and method. Therefore, this lesson book attempts to
accommodate the link and match between classroom instruction
and the need of the industry by providing authentic materials
taken from the hotels in Bali.

ix

Each unit of this book is started from speaking, reading, writing,
and practices supplemented with language expressions and
grammar points. Fluency in speaking is the primary focus but it
doesn’t ignore the accuracy. The students are given a wide range
of using their English for communication. This book also enables
the instructor to conduct various speaking activity, such as role
play, guessing games, narrative, problem solving, and
presentation. These speaking activities will be successful if they
fulfill the criteria of lots of speaking, involving, clear outcome,
challenging, and supported. These five criteria of speaking
activities can be achieved by using this book because the students
are given a huge space to practice their English using variety of
language. Everyone will be engaged during the discussion to do
practices provided in the book.
The writer expects some constructive inputs to develop this book
into authentic source of mastering English for special purposes
(ESP), therefore advice, suggestion, and other contributions are
gratefully welcomed in order to make some improvements.

Badung, 15 October 2019
The writer,

Drs. Gede Ginaya, M.Si

x

UNIT 1

ANSWERING TELEPHONE IN A HOTEL

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To answer the telephone call politely
 To take telephone messages
 To take telephone requests
 To take telephone tails

A. Listen to the following telephone calls and complete
the missing words.

Photo by Ginaya (2019) Page 1

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel

1
A:.Good morning Puri Bagus Candi Dasa, can I help you?
B: ........................................................................ ....................................................
A:1Yes Madam could I have your name, please?
B:. ........................................................................ ....................................................

2
A:. ........................................................................ ....................................................
B: …………… reserve ................................. ....................................................

1........................................................................ ....................................................
A:.Yes, what name, please?
B: ........................................................................ ....................................................

3
A:. ........................................................................ ....................................................
B: ……………. Speak ..................................... ....................................................
A:1........................................................................ ....................................................
B:. ........................................................................ ....................................................

B. Structures to practice

 The use of need
(need+ noun)

He needs his trousers this afternoon.
She doesn't need her jacket this afternoon.
Do you need a receipt? Yes, I do. /No I don't.

(need+ -ing)
Her dress needs ironing.

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 2

( need+ full infinitive)
We need to have them this afternoon.

Exercise
Complete these sentences with need(s) or don't/doesn't need.
1. The rooms…….. cleaning after each guest checks-out.
2. The room attendants…….. to change the towels every day.
3. Your jacket…….. ironing. It's fine.
4. The guest in room 292…….. a taxi now.
5. No, thank you. We………….. a porter.
6. You………. to pay now, sir. I'll put it on your bill.

 How to say “NO”

Politely refusing offers
The assistant Manager of the hotel in Bali offered Foster a car to
take him to the local tour operator’s office.

Manager: Shall I get a car for you?
Foster: No, thanks. I think I’d prefer to walk

Later, the tour operator’s assistant offered a guided tour by car.

Assistant: I can send a car for you
Foster: I’d rather go on a guided coach tour, if possible

Now read this dialogue: A guest has just booked into a hotel and
is making arrangements with the receptionist.

Guest: And I’d like to be called in the morning at 8
Reception: o’clock
Certainly, madam. And we can bring breakfast to
your room

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 3

Guest: No, thanks. I’d rather come down to the
Reception: restaurant.
Guest: Of course madam. Now if you want to go on any
guided tours, we have a tour desk just over there
Reception: Thank you very much, but I think I’d prefer to
make my own arrangements. When, I leave, I’d
like to pay by credit card. Is that possible?
Certainly if …….

Notice that, the first two examples, Foster doesn’t just refuse the
offer, He gives an alternative. He says:

No thanks. I’d prefer to
I’d rather

Look at the dialogue again and see how the guest also does this.

Remember:
I’d prefer to do something (infinitive)

But
I’d rather do something (infinitive without ‘to’)
(Mc Iver, 1989)

1. Politely refuse these offers. Use the words in brackets to help
you with your refusals.

‘May I take you out this morning?’ (stay in)
‘Would you like something to eat?’ (a drink)
‘Let me call you a taxi’ (take a bus)
‘You can pay by credit card, if you like’. (travelers’ cheques)
‘Would you like to eat in the hotel tonight?’ (go out to eat)

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 4

 Language study

The line is very bad. Can you speak up a little, please?
I'm sorry, I didn't catch the date.
What name is it, please?
Could you spell that for me?
Did you say N for November?
Can I have a contact number for you?
Could you repeat that, please?

 Structures to practice

Past Simple: questions and short answers

Use did and the base form of the verb to make questions in the
Past Simple. Use did and didn't in short answers.

Examples
Did you say N for November?
Yes, I did.!No I didn't.
Did he make a reservation? Yes, he did.!No, he didn't.

Exercise.
Make questions and short answers.

Example:
Did they arrive last night? (yes)
Yes, they did.

1. She arrived last night. (yes)
2. They reserved t w o double rooms. (no)
3. You heard what she said. (no)
4. Mrs. Smith called from Singapore. (yes)
5. He ordered a cooked breakfast. (yes)
6. You booked a table for one o'clock. (no)

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 5

Past Simple: negative statements

Use didn't to make negative statements in the Past Simple.
Examples:
We didn't leave the hotel last night.
She didn't have a contact number.

C. Reading

Read the passage before answering the questions.

Telephone Etiquette Made Simple

Everybody in your organization who answers the phone should
be trained to use proper telephone etiquette and treat each
caller with courtesy and professionalism. It is easy to overlook
the importance of training staff to properly answer the
telephone because it seems like such a simple task. After all,
we've been answering telephones in everyday life since we were
children and it is easy to fall into the trap where we assume
everybody knows how to answer a telephone by now. However,
answering the telephone as a top-flight service professional
requires training and practice.

Regardless of which department the employee belongs to, all
staff who interacts with guests via telephone needs to
understand how to deliver superior guest service. Front desk
associates, restaurant staff (including food servers and
managers), room service order takers, reservation agents,
PBX operators, etc. are all in a position to increase the
perception of service and drive profits by simply being properly
trained.

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 6

It is not enough to just train staff in proper telephone
procedures. Follow up training, practice, and role playing are
important steps to develop and refine your team's telephone
etiquette. Don't overlook the importance of role playing. This is
a great tool that allows your staff the opportunity to practice
their new techniques in a "safe" environment that allows them
to build their confidence and skills prior to hitting the phones
with your actual guests.

All phone calls should be answered by the third ring. Every time
the phone rings beyond the third ring the dissatisfaction and
agitation level of the caller escalates. Answering the call by the
third ring will ensure the guest interaction gets off on the right
foot. The first rule of telephone etiquette is to be polite and
speak with a "smile" in your voice. Train your staff to actually
smile when speaking to a guest, even though the person on the
other end of the line can't see them. Believe it or not, you can
actually hear a smile over the phone. Only a small percentage of
your overall guest communication is accomplished through
actual spoken words. A majority of our guest communication is
delivered via voice quality - tone, pace, inflection and the
invisible "smile". An employee's attitude, both positive and
negative, will come through loud and clear to the guest.

Answer the call promptly and with an enthusiastic,
standardized greeting to establish a positive first impression
with to the guest. An energetic, pleasant greeting with a
smiling voice will set the tone for the rest of the guest
interaction. It is up to management to determine the most
appropriate script for the standardized telephone greeting and
ensure it is consistently delivered to each caller. For Example:

Employee: "Good Morning (afternoon or evening), thank you
Guest: for calling XYZ hotel. My name is Jane. May I ask
your name?"
"This is Judith."

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 7

Employee: "Good morning, Judith. How may I be of service
to you this morning?"

Using a person's name is the most valuable (and free!) tool you
can utilize to make the guest feel valuable, whether the
interaction is conducted via telephone or in person. Notice in the
above example the guest's name was used immediately after it
was given. This is just the first of two or three times the guest's
name should be used. At a minimum, the name should also be
used in the closing interaction such as, "Thank you for calling,
Judith. Have a fantastic day." If you absolutely cannot obtain the
guest's name, it is acceptable to use "Sir" or "Ms."

Avoid placing callers on hold unless you absolutely must do so.
When placing a guest on hold, be courteous and ask if it is OK to
do so prior to actually pressing the hold button. A simple way to
ask would be, "May I please place you on hold?". Wait for an
answer, then thank the caller and inform them you will be back
with them shortly. Take care of whatever business prompted the
hold as quickly as possible, then return to the original call by
thanking them for holding. A caller should never be placed on
hold for longer than 30 seconds. If you cannot complete your
side task within the 30 second window, return to the original
caller and tell them you appreciate their patience and you will
be right with them.

Train your staff to be active listeners. Listen to the caller, absorb
the information they are giving you and to ask the right
questions to ensure the caller is serviced quickly and
thoroughly. Avoid common words and slang such as yep, yeah,
nope, uh-huh, sure, no problem, um, ya know, etc. Use polite
words such as please, thank you, absolutely, pardon me, would
you prefer, may I offer, certainly, etc.

Make sure all key information is accurately and properly noted.
The definition of "key information" varies based upon the

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 8

business function as key information will be different for front
desk agents than it would be for a restaurant. When ending a
guest call, always stay on the line and only hang up after the
guest has done so first. Thank the guest for calling with a
pleasant farewell (remember to use the guest's name) and stay
on the line until you hear the call ended by the familiar "click"
from the caller hanging up.

Lastly, ensure the telephone is only used only for business
purposes. Tying up the telephone talking with friends or
family means guests cannot get through which causes
aggravation and potentially loss of revenue.

Start training your staff to user proper telephone etiquette and
schedule follow up training and practice sessions to hone and
refine your staff's telephone skills. You'll quickly notice an
improvement in your guests' satisfaction, an increase in
professionalism and eventually, increased revenues.

Source: Knight, 2012 (hospitalitygems.blogspot.com)

Answer the following Questions.
1. What does require for answering the telephone as a top-
flight service professional?
2. Why should All phone calls be answered by the third ring?
3. What is the first rule of telephone etiquette?
4. What are other telephone etiquettes?

D. Writing

1. Write a conversation of incoming phone call in a hotel
2. Write a conversation of explaining hotel facilities
3. Write a conversation of dealing with repetition and

clarification about hotel services.

Answering a Telephone in a Hotel Page 9

UNIT 2

HANDLING HOTEL INQUIRIES

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To answer inquiries about the location of a hotel
 To answer inquiries about the facilities of a hotel
 To answer inquiries about the prices of rooms

A. Dialogue Completion

Handling Hotel Inquiries Page 10

A: Hello, I’m George Douglas can you tell me a little about the
hotel, please?

B: Yes, ......................................................................................... .........................
................................................................................................... .........................
................................................................................................... .........................
................................................................................................... .........................
................................................................................................... .........................

 Language Expressions

o The hotel’s right on the beach
o There’s a sauna
o There’re two bars
o The cost is $100

Exercise:
Look at the pictures, left is Puri Bagus Candidasa and right is
Candi Beach. Make a description about the hotels.

 Structures to Practice Page 11

 Describing facilities
It’s got………………
There is……………..
There are……………..
You can find……………

Handling Hotel Inquiries

 Positive and Comparative Adjectives

The diagram above can be used to put the adjective
qualifiers into two parts as positive adjectives and comparative
ones. Notice that slightly and rather can be used with both.

Things can be described more precisely as follows:
Puri Bagus Candidasa is a very beautiful hotel
It is a fairly big room
Look at the meeting hall. It’s slightly comfortable

And things can be compared more precisely as follows:
Puri Bagus Candidasa is a little further than Puri Bagus
Manggis from Denpasar
Puri Bagus Lovina is rather further than Puri Bagus
Candidasa
Bagus Jati is a lot quiter than Hotels in Kuta

Handling Hotel Inquiries Page 12

Now use words from the table to make sentences with the
following. In some cases you will be expressing your own
opinion.

1. Smoked salmon/tasty/tinned sardines
2. Arak /strong/cider
3. Hotel busy. Half the rooms are booked
4. Fillet steak/tender/rump steak
5. Indian food/spicy/American food
6. A good tour package/difficult to prepare
7. Hotels in the suburbs/cheap/hotels in the city Centre
8. French food/good/Italian food

B. Reading

Bests Indonesian Hotels

Fifteen Indonesian hotels were on the list of the top 100
luxury hotels in the Asia-Pacific region, recently shared by guest
feedback platform TrustYou.

Out of the 15 properties, the top five were Grand Hyatt
Jakarta, Mulia Villas in Nusa Dua, Bali, JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta,
Mahagiri Villas in Sanur, Bali, and eqUILIBRIA SEMINYAK, Bali.

In the Asia-Pacific, the Grand Hyatt Jakarta ranked sixth on
the list, under The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa in Langkawi,
Malaysia, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand,
Hansar Bangkok Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, Renaissance
Phuket Resort & Spa in Phuket and New World Manila Bay Hotel
in Manila, the Philippines.

According to a statement, the list was "drawn from
TrustYou’s keyword analysis of travel reviews associated with
hotels, destinations and travel websites scattered across the vast
and fragmented market". Founded in 2008, the company
reportedly draws data from over 230,000 travel reviews a

Handling Hotel Inquiries Page 13

month from various sources and transforms them into insights
and visualizations for over half a million hotels, allowing travel
sites to fine-tune their trip-planning processes and hotels to
offer the best experience to their guests.

"We collect and analyze about 250 sources; TripAdvisor is
one of the many sources in our system. This way we have a large
number of data points from travelers from all over the world
available that allows us to analyze hotels in detail and provide
an analysis based on guest feedback across multiple review
sources," TrustYou cofounder and CEO Benjamin Jost told The
Jakarta Post via email correspondence. He added that the list
was solely based on guest reviews, "Not awards, stars or
anything else. Being in the top means that what these hotels are
offering is really appreciated by their guests."

Based on the results of the analysis, Jost said Bali remains
the main destination for foreign travelers to Indonesia.
"However, other destinations like Jakarta, Lombok and other
provinces are seeing increasing arrivals of foreign travelers;
although domestic travelers still form the majority of hotel
demand for these destinations. With the rise of the middle class
in Indonesia, domestic travelers are traveling like never before.
Hotel room supply has been increasing to cope with the growth
in foreign as well as domestic travelers."

Jost also stated that the increasing use of mobile phones
and messaging would impact the hospitality industry immensely
in the next years. "We will see more automation happening soon
as well. We are testing chat bots that can respond to a vast
amount of questions and inquiries completely automatically, like
'What are the opening hours of your restaurant?', or 'Can I get a
late check out?'"

He added that another trend was that users want to make
smart decisions in the least amount of time possible, hence
providing the right data to the right user at the right time will be
crucial. "We believe that, next to price, the quality of a hotel
expressed through thousands of reviews and presented in an

Handling Hotel Inquiries Page 14

easy-to-consume way is going to be crucial to achieving this
goal."

Source: The Jakarta Post (online)

Read the passage and make a summary!

C. Writing

Write a composition about hotelier in Indonesia!

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Handling Hotel Inquiries Page 15

UNIT 3

HANDLING ROOM RESERVATIONS

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To handle guests’ enquiries
 To handle room reservations

A. Taking Room Reservations

Photo by Ginaya (2019) Page 16

Handle enquiries
Does the hotel have a restaurant?

Take a room reservation
Yes, we have a double room available.

Handling Room Reservations

Take down guest details
Do you have a contact number?

Write an email of confirmation
We confirm your reservation of a single room

a. Clerk: Good morning Puri Bagus Candidasa, may I help
you?

Customer: Can I speak to the Head reservation, please?
Clerk: Speaking. How can I help you?
Customer: I’d like to book rooms in your hotel. Can you

give me the detail information on it?
Clerk: Certainly madam. We have some room categories.

How long will you plan to stay in Bali, Madam?
Customer: For two weeks, I think.
Clerk: Well, I give you the detail information about the

otel via e-mail. Could you give us your name
and your address, please Madam?
Customer: My name is Mrs. Fowler, I live in Sydney,

Australia
Clerk: May I have your telephone number and your

electronic address, Madam?
Customer: Telephone number 4356726

E-mail: [email protected]

b. Customer: I have read the information you gave via e-
mail. I plan to take the deluxe category of
room, if it is possible.

Clerk: Of course, Madam we have several deluxe rooms
available for you.

Customer: Thank you. Can I reserve the room?
Clerk: Yes, please let I take the detail.

Handling Room Reservations Page 17

 Structure to practice

Requesting information
Notice how to ask for information politely.

Examples:
You don’t know the name and address of a customer
 Could you tell me your name and address please? (tell)

You don’t know the spelling of a customer’s name
(spell)
 Would you spell your name, please?
You aren’t sure of the name of a company (give)
 Can you give me the name of your company, please?

Using could, would, and can ask questions in a similar way.

1. You don’t know the telephone number of a customer
(tell)

2. You aren’t sure of the surname of a caller. (repeat)
3. You are unsure of the number of people in a group. (tell)
4. You don’t know the arrival time of a customer. (give)
5. You don’t know the spelling of a street name. (spell)
6. You are unsure of a guest’s date of departure. (confirm)

Complete the forms and the conversation below!

A: Bagus Jati’s ........................................................................ ?
B: Can I speak to ................................................................... ?
A: Speaking ............................................................................. ?
B: I’d like ……………………………rooms .......................... ?
A: .................................................................................................
B: .................................................................................................
A: .................................................................................................
B: ................................................................................................. ?
A: ................................................................................................. ?

Handling Room Reservations Page 18

B: .................................................................................................
A: ................................................................................................. ?
B: .................................................................................................
A: ................................................................................................. ?
B: .................................................................................................
A: .................................................................................................
B: .................................................................................................

B. Correspondences

1. Parts of Formal Letters

According to Leo (2004: 1-3) a formal letter may consist of
the following pieces of information:

a. Heading (Printed letter-head or Private Address)
It may include the logo, slogan, motto, name, address,
telephone number, telex number, facsimile, and e-mail
address.

b. Reference
It is usually placed in the top left corner of the letter.
E.g. Ref : RSV/189/01
Our ref : 1680/RSV/LI/02
Your ref : 322/RSM/LC/99/pw

c. Date
The date is written in the top right hand corner or is put in
the top left hand (it depends on the style of the letter).
E.g. February 24, 2016 (American style)
April 2nd, 2016 (American style)
7 June, 20016 (International style)
7th June 2016 (International style)

Handling Room Reservations Page 19

d. Inside Address
The inside address ( the person to whom we are writing, and
their address) is written at the top on the left hand side under
the date line. See examples on the next page.

e. Opening salutation
This is written under the inside address, above the body of
the letter on the left.

E.g. Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Mr. Johnstone,
Dear Ms. E. Maria,

f. Subject Line
The subject line states the subject of the letter. It is usually
placed after the salutation and is underlined.

g. Body of the letter
This is the main part of the letter and it often consists of three
paragraphs:
a. Opening paragraph
b. Main paragraph(s)
c. Closing paragraph

h. Complimentary close (closing salutation)
It is placed under the body of the letter on the left.
E.g. Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely,
Yours truly,
Best regards,
Best wishes,

i. Signature
Signature is placed in between the complimentary close and
sender’s name.

Handling Room Reservations Page 20

j. Sender’s name
The sender’s name with the title in brackets is to make sure
that the person replying to the letter knows how to address
the sender correctly.
E.g. Danny Immanuel (Mr.)
Ima Rustam (Mrs.)
Sally Sagita (Ms.)

k. Enclosure
When something is enclosed with a letter, it is common to
mention this by putting the abbreviation (Enc.) at the bottom
left side of the letter.

l. Carbon copy (c.c.)
It is a copy made for certain related departments, posts, or
persons.

m. Initials
Initials under the sender’s name are the initials of the person
who dictates the letter in capitals and the initials of the
secretary or typist in small letters.
E.g. SL/sw.

1. Study the following common opening and closing
expressions in formal letters.

1a. Opening expressions or paragraphs
a. Thank you for your letter dated October 22nd, 2017

concerning the……….
b. We thank you for your kind letter of November 10th 2017

regarding……….
c. With reference to your letter dated March 24th, 2017,………….
d. In reference to our telephone conversation of April

2017,………
e. We were pleased to receive your inquiry of January 21st,

2018,………
f. We have received your letter of December 18th, 2018,…………
g. In reply to your letter of November 1st, 2017, we…………….

(Leo, 2004: 5)

Handling Room Reservations Page 21

1b. Closing expressions or paragraphs
a. We look forward to your reply.
b. We await the pleasure of your early reply.
c. Looking forward to an early reply.
d. We are pleased to be of service to you, and are looking

forward to your visit.
e. Looking forward to welcoming you and hoping that you

have a nice journey.
f. Thanks so much for your kindness.
g. We all look forward to your continued success and heartily

salute your well- earned position in our community.
(Leo, 2004: 5)

2. Make a letter of reply from the following letter!

a.

17 Lime Avenue,
York,
YO2 1PB
England

The Manager, 14 April 2017

Poly Tours and Travel
[email protected]
Bukit Jimbaran, Bali

Dear Sir,
My family and I stayed at The Westin Hotel when we visited Bali
last year. We are now planning a second visit during June this year
and hope it will be possible to stay at The Westin again. We
require two twin-bedded rooms for six nights from 7th June. We

would like rooms with a view over the park again, if possible.
Please let me know if a deposit is required.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Johnson Page 22

Handling Room Reservations

b.
23 Burley Lodge Road
Nottingham
England

The Manager 16 April 2017
Poly Tours and Travel
[email protected]
Bukit Jimbaran, Bali

Dear Sir,

A few weeks ago, I booked a double room and a single room in the
Wing Hotel. The dates were from 18 to 25 June. Unfortunately, my
father has been very ill recently and his doctor has ordered
complete rest for six months. He will not, therefore, accompany my
wife and me on our journey to Bali. For this reason, we would like
to cancel the single room. My wife and I still plan to arrive as
arranged.

Yours faithfully,

William Bond

1. Study the following letter and make a letter of reply from
the situation in the table below!

Mr. N Brimble 18.04.17
Administrative officer
West Queen’s Park Football Club
London SE22

Handling Room Reservations Page 23

Dear Mr. Brimble,

Thank you for your letter of 17 April 2016. I am very pleased to
hear how much you enjoyed your previous visit to the Oasis Room
and that you would like to visit us again. Unfortunately, the Oasis
Room is not available on the date you mention. It was reserved
some time ago. It is available on 16 June but after that not until 21
June. If that is not convenient I can recommend the Indra Prasta
Ball Room at the Langon Hotel which is in the same chain as us.

Yours sincerely,

M. Mansour
Assistant Rsv. Manager

To Request Reply

1. Mr. and Mrs. B. double room double without
Sharp with bath for bath
Tremandan 14 nights available, or double
The Pass from 17.6.2017 with bath in hotel
Manitoba Inna Putri Bali,
Canada same chain
and standard
2. Sebastian single room
Grimes with shower for 5 not possible at all
61 Carr Precinct nights because of large
Ipswich, Suffolk from 18.6.17 international
England convention in Nusa
wishes to extend Dua
3. M. Bernard his 7
Huppert day s/b only s/sh available
Nylotex S.A. booking for the three day
B.P. 892 (from 20.6.17) extension, or 10
Nevers to 10 days days in s/b
France possible in hotel
Ayodya

Handling Room Reservations Page 24

To Request reply

4. Mr. and Mrs. B. double room double without
Sharp with bath for bath
Tremandan 14 nights available, or double
The Pass from 17.6.2017 with bath in hotel
Manitoba Inna Putri Bali,
Canada same chain
and standard
5. Sebastian single room
Grimes with shower for 5 not possible at all
61 Carr Precinct nights because of large
Ipswich, Suffolk from 18.6.17 international
England convention in Nusa
wishes to extend Dua
6. M. Bernard his 7
Huppert day s/b only s/sh available
Nylotex S.A. booking for the three day
B.P. 892 (from 20.6.17) extension, or 10
Nevers to 10 days days in s/b
France possible in hotel
Request Ayodya
To double room
with bath for reply
7. Mr. and Mrs. B. 14 nights
Sharp from 17.6.2017 double without
Tremandan bath
The Pass available, or double
Manitoba with bath in hotel
Canada Inna Putri Bali,
same chain
8. Sebastian single room and standard
Grimes with shower for 5
61 Carr Precinct nights not possible at all
Ipswich, Suffolk from 18.6.17 because of large
England international
wishes to extend convention in Nusa
9. M. Bernard his 7 day s/b Dua
Huppert booking
Nylotex S.A. (from 20.6.17) only s/sh available
B.P. 892 to 10 days for the three day
Nevers extension, or 10
France days in s/b
possible in hotel
Ayodya

Handling Room Reservations Page 25

UNIT 4

GIVING POLITE EXPLANATIONS

Objective
After the lesson the students should be able:

 To handle the clients face to face
 To ask about apologies

A. Making Apologies

Photo by Ginaya (2019) Page 26

Giving Polite Explanations

Complete the sentences!

1 I'm sorry, the _________________full on Tuesday.

2 Unfortunately, we're ________________ on Sundays.

3 I'm afraid we're fully _________________that weekend.

4 I'm _________________, we don't have anything left for tomorrow.

5 Unfortunately, the car park's _________________this weekend.

6 I'm sorry, we only _________________ in the evenings.

7 I’m ________ there’s only a shower.

8 I'm ________here's no answer from room 345.

, there's no answer from room 345.
Practice the Conversation!

a. Concierge : One moment please, ladies. I will be with you

right away.

Customer 1 : Thank you

Concierge : (He finishes his task, and comes to the counter)

Good morning ladies, what can I do for you?

Customer 2 : We’d like to book some plane ticket to Jakarta,

please

Clerk : Certainly madam. Please have a seat

Customers : Thank you (The telephone rings)

Clerk : Excuse me a moment please. I’ll answer the

phone (……………..) Yes please ladies. When

would you like to go?

Customer 2 : On the 22nd of December, if possible

Clerk : (The clerk takes all the details). If you don’t

mind waiting for a moment, I’ll just ring Garuda

about the tickets. (…………..) Here are your

tickets, ladies

Customer 1 : Thank you very much

Clerk : Is there anything else I can do for you?

Customer 2 : No, that’s all. Thanks

Clerk : Thank you ladies. Enjoy your trip.

Giving Polite Explanations Page 27

Structure to Practice

- Please give me a pen - Here it is
- Here you are - Thanks
- Thank you very much - You’re welcome
- One moment please - I’ll be with you

- Is there anything else? soon

The word please has several different uses:

1. For polite order ands and commands:

- come this way, please - A cup of tea,

please!

- Be quiet please - Sign here,

please!

2. For polite request of information
- What is it, please?
- Where is the bank, please?
- Where is the toilet, please?

3. To make a question into request:
- Can you go now, please?
- Would you like to pay now, please?

4. To accept something politely
- Would you like some tea, please?
Yes, please
- Would you like to take my message, please?
Yes, please

a. Mr. Foster : Good morning. My name is David Foster,
from Holiday Inn London. I’d like to see
Mr. Dharma, the General Manager,
please!

Giving Polite Explanations Page 28

Concierge : Yes, sir. Could I have your name again,
Mr. Fowler please!
Concierge : Fowler, John Fowler.
Mr. Fowler : Is Mr. Dharma expecting you, Mr.
Concierge Fowler?
: Yes, I have an appointment for 10 a. m.
Mr. Fowler : Thank you, Mr. Foster. I’ll tell Mr. Widya
Concierge you’re here. Would you like to take a
seat?
Mr. Fowler : Thank you. (the clerk telephones Mr.
Dharma, then talk to Mr. Fowler)
: Mr. Fowler, Mr. Dharma will be going
down soon, if you don’t mind waiting a
moment.
: Thank you very much.

Expressions:

- Could I have your name, please?
- Could I have your name again, please?
- Could you repeat your name, please sir?
- Is (Mr./Mrs./……………) expecting you?
- Do you have an appointment, sir?
- I’ll tell (Mr./Mrs./………..) that you’re here
- Mr./Mrs./…….. will be (out/down) soon/in a few

minutes
- Mr./Mrs ………. Will see you soon, if you don,t mind

waiting
- I am very sorry, sir. Mr./Mrs………. Is busy now
- I am very sorry, madam. Mr./Mrs……. Will be busy

until……. (time?)
- Would you like to wait?

Giving Polite Explanations Page 29

B. Reading

Protecting Antarctica from Tourism

A solution may be at hand for holidaymakers who are
finding it harder to get off the beaten track. For those who really
want to get away from it all, a new holiday destination has
sprung up – Antarctica. However, this new hotspot, or freezing
zone, might only be for those with the deepest pockets if a new
policy gets under way. Tourism on Antarctica has been
increasing dramatically in the past twenty years, from a few
thousand people in 1985 to more than 40,000 in 2007. The
growing numbers are having a negative effect on the pristine
environment of the South Pole. To combat this, researchers from
Holland’s Maastricht University have come up with a possible
solution: limit the number of tourists allowed to visit and
auction the vacations to the highest bidders.

Many environmental protection agencies agree that there
is a need to protect the frozen wilderness from the damage
created by modern tourism. Antarctica is the last unspoiled
place on Earth. It has a very delicate ecosystem that could be
easily upset by hordes of tourists landing in airplanes and using
skimobiles. A difficulty exists because Antarctica is not a country
and therefore has no government to pass laws or guidelines to
control the number of visitors. The Maastricht University team’s
proposal to auction off a fixed number of tourist places seems a
workable solution. It would limit the number of visitors and
therefore contain the amount of environmental damage, and the
money would be used to protect Antarctica’s future. For further
details, consult your local South Pole travel agent.

Source: breaking news english

Giving Polite Explanations Page 30

A. WARM-UPS

1. ANTARCTICA: Walk around the class and talk to other
students about Antarctica. Change partners often. After you
finish, sit with your partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or
words from the article are most interesting and which are most
boring.

solutions / holidaymakers / getting off the beaten track /
hotspots / deep pockets / environmental protection /
wilderness / delicate ecosystems / auctions / travel agents

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and
partners frequently.

3. OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: Do you like to get away from it all
and go somewhere far away from everything? Complete this
table with your partner(s). Change partners and share your
ideas. Where is the best and worst place to go for a holiday?

Destination Good things Bad things
Antarctica
The Moon
Middle of the
Sahara

The Amazon
jungle
The deepest
caves

Giving Polite Explanations Page 31

4. SOUTH POLE: Students A strongly believe no tourists should
be allowed to go to Antarctica. It should be protected forever;
Students B strongly believe people should be allowed to
vacation on the South Pole. Change partners again and talk
about your roles and conversations.

5. HOLIDAYS: What is the best holiday for you? Rank the
vacation types below in order of which you like most. Talk to
your partner(s) about your rankings.

_____ beach _____ adventure

_____ shopping _____ working voluntarily

_____ hiking and camping _____ skiing

_____ cities and culture _____ other (_______________)

6. TOURISM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different
words you associate with the word ‘tourism’. Share your words
with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the
words into different categories.

B. BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess
whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a. Antarctica is a good place for tourists who want to T / F
avoid the crowds.

b. You cannot go to Antarctica without lots of big T / F
pockets.

c. More and more people are going to Antarctica T / F
every year.

Giving Polite Explanations Page 32

d. A major global tour company will soon buy T / F
Antarctica at an auction.

e. There are no more unspoiled places left on Earth. T / F
f. Antarctica became a country more than two T / F

hundred years ago.
g. There is no government in Antarctica to make T / F

laws.
h. Money from auctioning tourist places might help T / F

Antarctica’s future.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the
article:

1. at hand a. Idea
2 sprung up b. Pure
3. gets under way c. Near
4. Pristine d. popped up
5. Limit e. Starts
6. Wilderness f. achievable
7. Delicate g. talk to
8. Proposal h. great outdoors
9. Workable i. Restrict
10. Consult j. Fragile

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the
article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1. A solution may be at a. tourists
2 get off the beaten b. environment
3. get away from c. place on Earth
4. for those with the deepest d. the frozen

5. a negative effect on the pristine wilderness
6. there is a need to protect e. track
7. Antarctica is the last unspoiled f. of tourist places
g. Hand
Giving Polite Explanations
Page 33

8. hordes of h. environmental
damage
9. auction off a fixed number
10.contain the amount of i. it all
j. Pockets

C. WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text!

A solution may be at __________ for holidaymakers negative

who are finding it harder to get off the beaten pockets

__________. For those who really want to get away track

from it all, a new holiday destination has sprung dramatically

up – Antarctica. However, this new __________, or hand

freezing zone, might only be for those with the highest

deepest __________ if a new policy gets under way. combat

Tourism on Antarctica has been increasing hotspot

__________ in the past twenty years, from a few

thousand people in 1985 to more than 40,000 in

2007. The growing numbers are having a __________

effect on the pristine environment of the South

Pole. To __________ this, researchers from Holland’s

Maastricht University have come up with a

possible solution: limit the number of tourists

allowed to visit and auction the vacations to the

__________ bidders.

Many environmental protection agencies __________ future

that there is a need to protect the frozen agree

wilderness from the damage __________ by modern limit

tourism. Antarctica is the last unspoiled place on pass

Earth. It has a very delicate ecosystem that could created

be easily __________ by hordes of tourists landing in consult

airplanes and using skimobiles. A difficulty exists upset

Giving Polite Explanations Page 34

because Antarctica is not a country and therefore off
has no government to __________ laws or guidelines
to control the number of visitors. The Maastricht
University team’s proposal to auction __________ a
fixed number of tourist places seems a workable
solution. It would __________ the number of visitors
and therefore contain the amount of
environmental damage, and the money would be
used to protect Antarctica’s __________. For further
details, __________ your local South Pole travel
agent.

D. LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

A solution may ______________ holidaymakers who are finding it
harder ______________ beaten track. For those who really want to
get away from it all, a new holiday destination ______________ –
Antarctica. However, this new hotspot, or freezing zone, might
only be for those with the deepest pockets if a new policy
______________. Tourism on Antarctica has been increasing
dramatically ______________ years, from a few thousand people in
1985 to more than ______________. The growing numbers are
having a negative effect on the pristine environment of the
South Pole. ______________, researchers from Holland’s Maastricht
University have come up with a possible solution: ______________
of tourists allowed to visit and auction the vacations to the
highest bidders.

Many environmental protection agencies ______________ is a need
to protect the frozen wilderness from the damage created by
modern tourism. Antarctica ______________ unspoiled place on
Earth. It has a very delicate ecosystem that could be easily upset
______________ tourists landing in airplanes and using skimobiles.
A difficulty exists because Antarctica is not a country and

Giving Polite Explanations Page 35

therefore has no government ______________ guidelines to control
the number of visitors. The Maastricht University team’s
proposal ______________ fixed number of tourist places seems a
workable solution. It would ______________ of visitors and
therefore contain the amount of environmental damage, and the
money would be used to protect Antarctica’s future. For further
details,______________South Pole travel agent.

E. AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find
collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the
words ‘hot’ and ‘spot’.

Hot Spot

 Share your findings with your partners.
 Make questions using the words you found.
 Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write
down some questions you would like to ask the class about the
text.

 Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
 Ask your partner / group your questions.

Giving Polite Explanations Page 36

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this
exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the
activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In
groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their
meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your
partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

 hand  frozen
 away  delicate
 pockets  difficulty
 negative  proposal
 combat  money
 bidders  consult

F. STUDENT TOURISM SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about tourism in the table. Do this in
pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own
paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down
their answers.

Giving Polite Explanations Page 37

STUDENT 1 STUDENT 2 STUDENT
3_____________

_____________ _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

 Now return to your original partner and share and talk
about what you found out. Change partners often.

 Make mini-presentations to other groups on your
findings.

G. ANTARCTICA TOURISM DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a) What did you think when you read the headline?
b) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘tourism’?
c) Would you like to go on holiday to Antarctica?
d) Do you like to get off the beaten track?
e) What is the ‘all’ in ‘get away from it all’?
f) Where is your perfect holiday destination?
g) Do you think Antarctica should be set up as a holiday

destination?
h) How long do you think it will be before there is serious

environmental damage in Antarctica?
i) Are there any pristine parts of your country?
j) Is it a good idea to auction holiday places to the highest

bidders?

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Giving Polite Explanations Page 38