VI. Read an extract from the lecture given by the staff trainer. Make notes of the key points in his lecture.

Very often staff don't realize that the people who run the hotel are part of the hotel 'product' too. So you should know the names of the people in charge of different departments. You should know the owner of the hotel, and the General Manager. Often the owner will actually be a company, not an individual.

Now of course, rooms are very important. You should know everything a customer might ask. Obviously, you have to know the types of room, and the rates beside them. Some hotels train their staff by having them stay in the rooms for the night and getting to know the rooms that way.

Now, one very important thing to know about is transport connections. You ought to know the transport connections for the hotel — how to get to it by road, by bus or by rail. You should know about taxis, too, and how much the fare is likely to be.

And you should know where guests can park their cars — if they come by car. In the example we have the heading "parking";,and under it the two car-parking facilities — the ordinary car park, and the lock-up garage which guests pay £ 5 a night for.

What else about the hotel? You should know if the hotel is mentioned in any guide books — guide books like the AA guide or the RAC guide. Also how many stars it rates from any large tourist or motoring organisations. Well, these are the main points, but there's just one other thing to remember and that's any restrictions that guests must keep to. You should know about any rules that have to be followed — restrictions about payment, etc. Some hotels might not allow payment by certain credit cards, or they might demand payment in advance for certain categories of guest. In our example on the fact sheet we have the heading "restrictions"... guests must give proof of identity, such as passport or driving license, or they must pay in advance if they are chance guests after a certain time of night — that is, if you just drop in to the hotel after nine o'clock you should either prove who you are or pay for your night's stay beforehand.