Most people know what a receptionist, a bartender and a chambermaid are supposed to do in their line of work at a hotel. But do you have any idea what the primary tasks are of a hotel hostess? Listen to Christina, who works as a hostess at Jurys Inn in Liverpool.
Before you listen to the recording, you should be familiar with the following words:
Supervisor: en som har oppsyn med noe/ein som har oppsyn med noko
Hostess: vertinne
Wages: lønn
Greeting: hilse/helse på
Foreign: Fremmed/frammand
Liverpudlians: folk som kommer fra/kjem frå Liverpool
Expressions: uttrykk
The merchant navy: handelsflåten
Immigrant city: innvandrerby/innvandrarby
Breakfast Supervisor from Liverpool
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Lyd: Morten Serkland, Christina Dixon / CC BY-SA 4.0
Interview text
Interview with Breakfast Supervisor, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool
Interviewer: Here, it is October 31st and we are in Liverpool at Jurys Inn Hotel and here we have met a nice lady. What’s your name please?
Supervisor: It’s Christina Dixon.
Interviewer: What is your job here in the hotel?
Supervisor: I’m breakfast supervisor , em – breakfast and lunch. Make sure all the ---- seating the guests, checking the food, all the way from 6 o’clock till 2:30.
Interviewer: So what are the best parts of your job ,would you say?
Supervisor: Em … Besides the wages?
Interviewer: Mmm
Supervisor: Eh… Meeting the people. That’s … It’s very hard with meeting all the guests and especially the overseas guests. And it’s fun because with us having such a strong accent, it’s fun for them to try and fathom out what we’re saying and most Liverpudlians speak bits of language – bits of German, bits of French. It’s fun, that’s the best part about it.
Interviewer: Talking about a language, do you have any special expressions that you only use here in this area?
Supervisor: No not really, no, no, no. It’s for the foreign guests ..em you just… If it’s German you say Guten Morgen, Bonjour, Bonsoir. You know, it’s little things like that … the foreign guests. Mostly, when people come from around Britain, from Ireland and Scotland, they come for the accent and it’s such a strange accent, I suppose ….. well it’s not. It’s ‘cause it’s like five or six languages all mixed together. ‘Cause Liverpool has always been an immigrant city. We’ve got bits of Norwegian. There’s 25000 Norwegians at sea here in the merchant navy. And along there we’ve got a little plaque dedicated to all the sailors who lost their lives in the Blitz.
Interviewer: That’s interesting.
Tasks and Activities:
After listening to the recording, try the multiple choice task:
Christina works at Jurys Inn in Liverpool. Check out the hotel's website and answer the questions.
Christina works as a breakfast and lunch hostess at Jury's Inn, Liverpool. Bilde: Morten Serkland / CC BY-SA 4.0
How many locations does Jurys Inn have in a) England b) Scotland c) Republic of Ireland d) Northern Ireland?
How many meeting rooms can Jurys Inn in Liverpool offer?
Look at the map provided on the destination guide. A hotel guest at Jurys Inn in Liverpool asks you if you can explain to him/her how to get to a) Albert Dock b) Liverpool James Street Railway station.
You want to book a Superior Room Package with a double room in Liverpool. What does this package include? What do you have to pay for one night? Use the currency calculator, how much do you have to pay in Norwegian kroner?
Role play
You are going to spend two nights in the hotel. Ask the receptionist about the availability of rooms, the Superior Room Package and what it includes, about facilities, prices and meeting rooms.
Christina works as a breakfast and lunch hostess at Jury's Inn, Liverpool. Bilde: Morten Serkland / CC BY-SA 4.0