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A large hotel can employee hundreds of staff, all with a specific responsibility, function, and purpose. Each employee has a specific role to play in meeting the needs of the guests. The specific functions of particular employees are usually describe under job descriptions or duties. Although the role of most hotel staff may be obvious, there may be times when a guest may ask about an employees job or his duties. Certainly these kinds of questions may be asked on job interviews. There are a couple of standard expressions that can be used when asking about a person occupation. Look at the example below.        

          What do you do?                      

          What's your job?                         

          What's your occupation?   

          What do you do for a living?

Once a person knows what your job title is, they may want to know a little bit about your specific job duties. Sometimes it is hard to tell exactly what a person does just from the job title. Look at the expressions below that can be used to inquire about job duties.

          What are your job duties?

          What exactly do you do?

          What does your job entail?

Dialogue

Guest: What do you do?

Staff: I'm a events coordinator for a hotel?

Guest: What exactly does an events coordinator do?

Staff: Well, we arrange and set up all the things needed for a conventions

           and conferences for various groups. We try to ensure that every thing

           runs smoothly and efficiently during the event. For example we

           schedule rooms, arrange for set up of any needed equipment required

           (such as audio-visual equipment, microphones, etc.), and solve

           problems that may come up.

Guest: That's sounds interesting.

Staff: It has its moments.

Guest: What's your job:

Staff: I'm a chef.

Guest: Are you a head chef?

Staff: Well, I'm the head pastry chef.

Guest: Sounds sweet. Where do you work?

Staff: At the Hilton Arcadia Spa and Resort.

Guest: What do you do for a living?

Staff: I'm employed at a hotel as a bell man.

Guest: So you take people's luggage to their rooms.

Staff: Yes that, but I also arrange things like taxis for guests. One of my most

            important functions is to be a source of information. I provide a lot of

            information to guests, such as the kinds of facilities and there location

            in  the hotel, places to eat in the area, and places to go and see on the

            island.

Guest: Just out of curiosity- do guests tip well?

Staff: Some do, some don't.

Here are some of the jobs that are available at a hotel.

clerk/receptionist                 bell man

tram driver                            cook

chef                                       pastry chef

waiter/waitress                     hostess

wine steward                        bar tenders                         

pool attendant                      security staff

department managers        assistant managers

general manager                 personnel director

staff trainer                           supervisors

promotion and sales           events coordinators

guest relationship agent     children's program staff

spa staff                                masseuse

health center staff                health center trainers

grounds keeper                   engineer

maintenance worker           house keeper

medical staff

Practice

Practice using the above expressions by having a dialogue similar to the ones above with a partner, one partner taking the role of the guest and the other the role of the staff. For additional practice, switch roles. Practice the dialogue several times, trying to use all of the expressions noted above.  

Although guests may seldom to ask a hotel staff to describe the function or purpose of something, it's nice to know how to respond just in case they do. Look at the expressions below that can be used when asking about functions or purposes.

        How does it work?

        What does it do?

        What is its' function?

        What is its’ purpose?

        What is it used for?

Dialogue

Guest: What is that thing on the wall in the bathroom next to the shower?

Staff: It’s the water heater?

Guest: How does it work?

Staff: Water passes through hot pipes heated by electricity to make the water

           hot.

Guest: How do use it?

Staff: First, press the lever at the bottom of the unit to turn it on. Then, turn the

           temperature setting dial to the temperature desired. After that, just turn

           on the water.

Guest: Does it take long to heat the water?

Staff: It takes only a couple of seconds.

Guest: What is this?

Staff: It is the remote control for the TV.

Guest: What does it do?

Staff: It can be used to control the TV, to turn it on or off, to change channels,

           and to adjust the  volume. With this device you don't have to get up from

           your chair or bed to use the TV.

Guest: How does it work?

Staff: It operates on batteries and sends a signal from the remote to sensors

           in the TV that control the different functions.

Guest: How convenient!

Guest: What is a FAX machine and how does it work?

Staff: A Fax machine is an electronic device that transmits copies of written

           materials over a telephone line to distant locations. The sending

           machine reads the text or pictures and converts these images into

           electronic impulses. The receiving machine converts the impulses back

           into written form and prints the documents out.

Practice

Practice using the above expressions by having a dialogue similar to the ones above with a partner, one partner taking the role of the guest and the other the role of the staff. For additional practice, switch roles. Practice the dialogue several times, trying to use all of the expressions noted above.

More Practice

Work with a partner and explain what the following items are and how they work. The listening partner should ask questions to get more detail or clarification.

Obviously most (if not all) people already know what these things are and how they work, but the purpose of the exercise is to practice using the language. So... the partner asking about the items should pretend to be very, very, stupid or from a very remote, uncivilized location that has never been exposed to these modern conveniences.      

 Pencil sharpener                   Bicycle

             Toaster                                   Clock

             Calculator                               Camera

             Stethoscope                           Bow and arrow

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