Find verbs in the first paragraph to complete these sentences
a) If the person behind the check-in desk says «hello», they ………you. When they look at
your tickets, weigh your baggage and give you a boarding pass, they……..you…….. .
b) If a security official checks your pockets, they ………..you.
c) If a barman prepares and gives you a drink, they ………..you.
3. Match 1-7 with a-g to form expressions from lines ……..
1. touch a) trolley
2. interactive b) train
3. driverless c) contact
4. robot d) recognition
5. voice e) television
6. human f) screen
4. If you divert from Atlanta to Cincinnati, do you go to Atlanta? (line….)
5. If something is far-fetched, is it common? (line….) Does the writer think these things are
far-fetched? How do you know?
6. If you are ambivalent about something, is it clear what your opinions are? (line… )
Why are business passengers ambivalent about what they want?
7. Is clicking your fingers an acceptable way of calling someone in your country? (line….)
Over to you 1
Look again at the list of human contacts you made before you read the article and add
any more people you have thought of. Take each other person in the list and think of something they might say very often during their working day. Examples:
Person behind check-in desk: Did you pack these bags yourself?
Departure lounge barman: Ice and lemon?
Work with a partner. A is one of the human contacts. B is a traveler. Role play a short mini-conversation. During the course of the conversation, A must introduce a typical phrase they wrote down for that person. After the conversation, B must guess which phrase in the conversation it was. Then change roles and have another conversation.
Over to you 2
Look again at your answers to question 3. Which of these things (apart from contact)
already exist? Where can you find them?
Over to you 3
Do you like dealing with machines, for example when you take out money from the bank?
Or do you prefer human contact?
Module 1 Travel
Text 4
Hotels and globalization
Before you read
What sort of hotels do you like when you’re on business? And when you are on holiday?
Do you like hotels that are part of chains, or independent hotels? Why?
Reading
Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions. The article is based on an interview with Jean-Marc Espalioux, Chairman and Chief Executive of Accor, the Paris-based
hotel and travel company, talking about Accor’s global expansion.
The US represents a considerable challenge. It is very structured and hotel chains are very strong. US hotels developed by franchises which were very profitable – perhaps because of the size of the market and the image of the brands – but which are far less profitable in Europe and or Asia.
Our initial experience with our Sofitel and Novotel hotels in the US were disappointing.
Accor was one of the first hotel chains set up in Europe. But in the US, competition was intense and we had limited means. In the service sector, you need critical mass very quickly. US companies can spread their marketing and publicity expenses across an extensive network. We were a small troop coming in against a vast army.
We were leaders in budget hotels, and with our brands such as Formula 1, we are now the world leader. With the acquisition of Motel 6, we have become leader in value-for- money hotels in the US. We initially had US management for Motel 6, but we changed that and now have French executives who have been very effective.
Accor has to be a global company, in view of the revolution in the service sector which is taking place. I do not see any future for purely national hotel chains – except for very specific niche markets with special architecture and locations, such as Raffles in Singapore or the Ritz in Paris. National chains cannot invest enough money. Having globalization as an objective also has the advantage of spreading our risks.
We are expanding in developing countries such as Poland, Brazil, Argentina and Indonesia. There may be economic problems in one to two years to come in one of these countries, but with a good geographical spread we can avoid worrying about the next two years and take a view instead over five to seven years.
Globalization brings considerable challenges which are often underestimated. The main
difficulty is getting our local management to follow the values of the group. Our Indonesian managers must understand our market and culture, for example, and we have o learn about theirs. Our executives use video-conferencing and other technical means to keep in touch and are traveling non-stop on aircraft around the world. Every morning when I wake I think about the challenges of coordinating our operations in many different countries.
1. In a franchise hotel business, do hotel chains own the hotels directly? Can you think of
franchises in other businesses? (line…..)
2. Find the adjectives used to describe these things mentioned in lines……
a) the challenge of getting into the US hotel market
b) the existing US franchises
c) Accor’s first experiences in the US
d) competition in the US
e) the size of US hotel networks
f) the size of Accor’s ‘troop’ in the US (A troop is a small group of soldiers.)
g) the size of the US hotel ‘army’