Exchange Hotel, Oiamond Road, Boston, MA 02107, USA.
Christine Lloyd
The International Exchange Hotel
Diamond Road
Boston
MA 02107
USA
36 rue du Bouloi, 33100 Bordeaux France
14 September 199_
Dear Ms Lloyd
I am writing to
for the post of Conference Co-
ordinator as !_ in this month's edition of 'Caterer aiid
Hotelkeeper1 magazine. I am particularly Jin this Job
as I wish to work in America in order to improve my English and *_____ further 5 of hotel work.
I feel I would be * for the job as I have the relevant
experience and training. For the T two years, 1 have
been working as Assistantefor & large International
*_____ of hotels. Reeantkly, I have l0to co-ordinate
a large-scale international conference with over 400 " from thirteen countries, I also have three years' valuable
Frorit-of- '*_____ Management experience and a French
Diploma in Hotel Management.
As well as speaking French, I have a good "__ _ of
English and I speak sonie Spanish and German. I shall be 14for interview from the middls of August.
Tours sincerely
Marie-Vlctolre Dechet Snc.
8 Writing
Unit 3 Staffing and internal organization
Read the advertisement below and write a letter applying for the job, inventing the necessary work experience for a strong candidate. Try to use some of the expressions from 7 Reading.
Ellerton House Hotel, Toronto
290-roomed ****hotel situated in the heart of Toronto requires:
Assistant Front-of-House Manager
The suitable candidate should have a complete knowledge of computer Front Office systems, be a good team leader possessing training and room management skills, have high standards in customer care, sales awareness, and experience of duty management Please contact K, Holcroft, Personnel Director, 53 St. Ermin's Street. Toronto, Ganada.
9 Activity
In this activity you must work in pairs to decide who is going to get the position of Concierge (Head HaU Porter) in a busy hotel. One of you is the Front-of-House Manager and the other is the General Manager of the hotel.
First, remind yourselves of the job requirements by looking at your notes from 6Listening about the role of the Concierge. Then look at the interview notes on the following page and decide who is die best candidate for the job.
Unit 3 Staffing and internal organization
MOUNT ROYAL HOTEL
Name
Age
Education
Languages
Present Job
Skills
Previous Work
INTERVIEW NOTES
Concie^v^ (H&*d HvUt Porter) JuL*
SAN FRANCISCO
14-tk
Name
Age
Education
Coy^p(zt&d- tftqh, S&hovrt
Languages
Present Job
C<r*uuer*& As%^c ct&rk- fk&>< at M#u
Skills
Previous Work
Personality
Comments
Present Job Pvrt&trftCtok. clerk m Men**.t
Skills
M m-b&rn&JburwL
Previous Work Tlvt-tt >i£a*4 m
Personality j
Comments D'udbvlt stAt*. Mvrt i*fkAt
e^tajuU
Unit 3 Staffing and internal organizatio n
Activity
What qualities and qualifications do you think are needed to work in (a) the Housekeeping section and (b) the Maintenance section of a hotel?
Divide into two groups, A and B. Group A should read text 1. Group B should tead text 2.
As you read, make notes about die following:
a qualities needed
b duties
c experience and training
When you have finished, exchange information with a member of the other group.
Which job would you prefer?
Housekeeping
Maintenance
Are you smart? Intelligent? Don't mind hard work? Interested in looking after guests and helping to make their stay enjoyable? You could be just who we're looking for, to join our hotel housekeeping staff.
As a member of the Housekeeping team, you may be given responsibility for one of the bedroom areas. After the guests have checked out, you will then change beds, towels, etc. and generally ensure that everything is clean and tidy.
Housekeeping, however, is not just about cleaning bedrooms, but also keeping every public area pleasant, clean, and tidy for others to relax and worfc in. You may find you have to arrange flowers, displays of materials, publications, and be responsible for ensuring stocks are up-to-date whether In a linen room or a mini-bar. Other duties you may be involved in could be vacuuming, polishing, and tidying other areas in the building. You will certainly need to spend time checking everything is in place.
Whether you work at a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, conference or holiday centre, or a tourist attraction, your guests will judge their accommodation by its appearance. Clean rooms and good service enhance any accommodation and make your guests return.
No previous experience is required and most of your training will be on the job, with extra in-house training given by the company's training personnel.
Just think how many things need doing around the house. Now imagine how many morB there are in a large hotel - or a leisure theme park! Lighting, heating, plumbing, carpentry, even gardening needs taking care of. Courtesy cars and staff buses need driving and many large hotels need grounds staff to look after their golf-courses and keep them in tip-top condition. Whilst some smaller hotels use outside contractors, most larger hotels, motorway sites, and leisure parks employ their own specialized support staff. Because guests and visitors expect everything to work perfectly, maintenance and support staff must be available 24 hours a day. This means you will probably have to work shifts and some weekends.
Many people start in these jobs by applying direct. To get a job as a plumber, carpenter, or electrician you can start as an apprentice, no experience is needed, and you will be trained on the job.
If your interest is in gardening or green-keeping, again no experience is necessary to start, but you will need to have a real love of horticulture, and enjoy working out of doors.
Whenever people travel on long journeys they need to stop for a break. At the sites where they stop, more specialist support staff are needed to look after them - car and coach parks need to be controlled, cloakrooms supervised, and all amenities kept clean and tidy. Obviously, every one of these jobs is different, but they all have one thing in common - looking after the customer!
Unit 3 Staffing and internal organization
Vocabulary
answerable top. 153 (tapescript),
responsible to apprenticep. 40, someone who works
fora skilled employer for a fixed period
in return for being caught the skills
necessary for that job bargainingp. 34, discussing prices, etc.
to gee a result that is to your own
advantage candidatep. 38, person who applies
for a job or wants to be elected to a
particular position carpenterp. 40, person whose job is
making or repairing wooden things chambermaidsp. 3 I, women whose
job it is co clean and tidy hotel bedrooms clientelep. 34, group of customers or
guests comes under the remit ofp. 154
(tapescript), is the responsibility of command ofp. 37, knowledge of courteousp. 36, polite day-to-dayp. 32, planning for only one
day at a time dealings with sbp. 154 (tapescript),
relations with sb, especially in business delegatesp. 37, people who have been
chosen to attend a conference dispatch of luggagep. 154 (tapescript).
sending luggage
dutiesp. 34, tasks chat must be done enhancep. 40, improve entailsp. 39, involves external top. 36. outside heavy workloadp, 34, atotofwork to
do horticulturep.4Q,artofgrowing
flowers, fruit and vegetables hoteliersp. 34, people who own or
manage hotels in-house trainingp. 40, training given in
the hotel by the hotel staff
liaisep. 37, communicate and cooperate log-bookp. 36, official written record of
guests' queries and requests maintenance staffp. 40, people whose
job is to keep things in good condition or
good working order onward travelp. IS4 (tapescript), going
on from one destination to another outside contractorsp. 40, firms used
by other firms (instead of their own
staff) to do jobs under contract overall visionp. 153 (tapescript),
general objectives
personal touchp. 34, personal service personnelp. 31. department that deals
with employees plumberp. 40, person whose job is to fit
and repair water-pipes, tanks, etc. in
buildings profitablep. 153 (tapescript), that
makes a profit
queriesp. 154 (tapescript). questions skillsp. 38, abilities you need to do a job
well
smartp. 40, neat and well-dressed staffp. 34, employees tipp. 32, a small amount of money given
for good service tip-top conditionp. 40, perfect
condition turnover of stock p. 34,rateatwhich
goods are used use his discretionp. 153, decide
himself work recordp. 39, things known about
the work someone has done in the past work shiftsp. 33, take turns working
with other people workaholicp. 34, someone who cannot