Hi, everyone!

I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU to speak English fluently and confidently.

Today I'll teach you how to book a hotel room in English.

Later you'll practice your speaking with a funny mini-story with questions and answers.

I know that finding an excellent hotel and making a reservation can be stressful, especially if you're booking a room at the last minute. In this lesson, I'll give you some tips.

I usually search for a hotel online, and after finding the perfect room, I call to get a better rate. When I call, I make sure to ask if breakfast is included and how far is the beach from the hotel. Yes… I love going to the beach when I'm on holiday.

Like I just said, before I make a reservation, I check out the hotel online, where I can see the rooms, the location, and the service lists. Sometimes I call and ask for information about the noise level, the walking distance to the restaurants, the beach, etc.

When I'm on a business trip, I make sure I book a very quiet room. I often check into a single room, which is for one person and has a full-size bed (double bed). I make sure the hotel is equipped with work areas, a gym, a fast Internet connection, and a laundry service.

As I just said, whenever I go on holiday, my main option is the beach, and I certainly choose a room with a view. The last time I booked a room at the beach, it was my birthday. I've booked a suite. A suite is bigger than a standard hotel room, and in some hotels, you'll also find an executive suite or a family suite.

I already mentioned two types of hotel rooms: a single room and a suite, but there are other types of hotel rooms:

You may have already booked a double room or a twin room. Both rooms are for two people. The double room comes with a full-size bed, but in the twin room, the two guests sleep in two separate beds.

Nearly all hotels have a specific check-in time. If you arrive earlier, you can sometimes store your luggage in the luggage area of the hotel until your room's ready. If you wish to check-in early, there's usually an additional charge. When you're ready to check-in, you simply go to the reception (front desk).

And if you need to check out later, you'll have to request a late check-out the first time you check-in. If you're lucky, you won't need to pay anything extra, but in some cases, I had to pay an extra fee to say a little more.

Before I continue, I'd like to clarify that the words check-in and check out have two different meanings:

When we write down the words check-in/check out separately, then it's a phrasal verb.

Example: "We had to check in early last night."

And when they're written down with a hyphen, check-in and check-out are adjectives or nouns.

Example: "Jason signed the check-in sheet in the lobby."

Now let's get back to our reservation.

It's always a great idea to confirm your reservation a few days in advance.

I like calling them to confirm that my room has a view and an en-suite bathroom. An en-suite bathroom is a bathroom attached to the bedroom. I also need a Wi-Fi connection and a full English breakfast; the English breakfast is usually a big breakfast with toast, eggs, bacon, cereals, etc. There's also the continental breakfast, which is a small breakfast with croissant, coffee, and juice.

And one last tip: After you check-in, make sure you inspect your room. Before unpacking and getting comfortable, make sure everything in your room is just the way you expected. Check for cleanliness, sufficient linens, and supplies.

If you aren't happy with your room's location, or noise-level, you can always politely request to be relocated. If they can't place you in a similar room, ask if they'll upgrade you to a nicer room or a room with a view.

Let's continue with a mini-story told with questions and answers. It'll help you to practice some of the new vocabularies that I've covered in the first part of the lesson.