1.  Some Workers Say Little to Guests: housekeepers, gardeners, maintenance, shuttle drivers.

• 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.

Travelers come from everywhere and go everywhere. They need people who speak their language.

Direct URL for this page: hhh.Lang1234.com
The translate button in the upper corner of each page will give the text in your language.

• You can practice with a Test for this section.
• The introductory set of Numbers, Time, and Hotel 1 can be downloaded as a group here (6MB).
• Click for comparison of 35 courses in hotel English
• If there are foreign workers who do not know the local language where they work, they also need to (A) have visual cues for their work (Hotel Management  2009), and (B) gradually learn the local language, to avoid isolation. They can use the best courses in the List of Language Courses.

The next lesson, for the front desk, is Hotel 2. There are also courses for Restaurant workers and small stores. Click any course in the upper right corner.

NOTES

The lessons do not explain local public transport, city buses or underground. These are hard the first time, even for visitors who know the local language, and are dangerous if guests miss their stop and are lost. I do not want to encourage beginners in English to describe them. If foreign-language guests are not happy with taxis, tourist buses, or private cars, they need detailed instructions in their own language in a good guidebook or website.

The best hotels may send a young guide when foreigners use local public transport the first time, and be sure they know how to call for help.

Long distance buses and trains are easier, and hotels can send travelers to the station or an agency, or get tickets for them. In many countries travelers will need to negotiate prices and classes, so a guide or translator will help.

The front desk and concierge 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 be needed when the app misunderstands a voice.

Doctors and dentists who speak English can be found through IAMAT and Dental Departures.