Business Travel

PLANNING A TRIP

Travelling

Do you travel a lot?

Where do you mostly go?
Why do you travel? What is your
purpose of going to different
countries? What do you like about
travelling? What do you not like?
And what is more fun in your
opinion: traveling on business or
traveling for pleasure? Why?

Introduction

Business today is international. Business

people often have to travel a lot. They
have to plan an itinerary for a foreign
business trip to make good use of their
time. On a business trip people may
meet colleagues and business partners
for the first time. It is usual for colleagues
from different countries to experience
cultural differences. In other words they
may be surprised by foreign social
conventions, that is the different ways
that other nationalities or different
cultures do things.

Brainstorm

itinerary
colleagues
nationalities
foreign business trip
cultural differences
social conventions

Itinerary

Do you ever make an itinerary

before a journey?

Is it a complex task? Why?

Before reading

Are you a
spontaneous
traveler?
Have you ever
tried to plan
your trip?

Do you always
plan your trip?
Can you give us
a glimpse of
how you do it?

Text Tips for Terrific Travelling

After reading

What do you think of these

pieces of advice?
Which do you consider a) good
to follow b) not very useful?
Why?
Do you agree with all the tips
suggested by the author?

Draw a poster with a list of

must-have things for a business
traveller. Include a list of useful
tips for a business traveller.

Debate To plan or not to plan

that is the
question?!

Prepare your arguments for or

against the statements above.
Divide into two groups pro and
con, and try to persuade the
other group that your point is
reasonable.
Use the active vocabulary from
the article.

Individually

How often do you travel by air,

rail, underground, road and
sea?
What do you enjoy about
travelling? What don't you
enjoy?
Which is the best/worst airline
you have flown? Why?

 Work in groups
Problems sometimes arise
when people are away from
home. Discuss these problems
with your partners and decide:
What ACTION would you take in
each situation?
Who would you speak to?
What EXACTLY would you say
to that person?

Problem solving

You arrive in good time at the

airport but discover that you have
lost your ticket. The ticket clerk says
your name is not on the computer.
'Could you check again, please?
My name may not be spelt right on
the computer. If you still can't find
it, could I speak to your
supervisor, please?'

Problem solving

You find that your travel agent has

entered the wrong check-in time on
your itinerary and you have missed
your flight. Your hosts are meeting
you at the airport but by now they will
be on their way there.
You are a non-smoker but the only
seat available on the plane is in the
smoking section. After take-off you
find that your neighbour is a chain
smoker and he doesn't speak
English.

Problem solving

You arrive at an airport in a foreign

country expecting to be met but
there is no one there to meet you.
You have a meeting in a couple of
hours in the centre of the city.
Your train has missed the
connection and now you're going to
be an hour late for your appointment.
You have only five minutes to find a
phone and make one call.

Youre seeing off a visitor. You

arrive at the airport for his/her
flight home and discover that
the check-in desk for his/her
flight is closed. You go to Airport
Information. They tell you that
that airline is on strike.

Most and least irritating things

diversions
sitting next to
someone who
talks non-stop
dirty toilets
jet lag
no baggage
trolleys available
strikes
flight delays and
cancellations

not enough room

lost or delayed
luggage
long queues at
check-in
poor-quality food
sitting next to
children
delays for security
checks

Listen to three people talking about

their travel experiences.

What problems do they mention?

Which of those things irritate you

most? Which irritate you least?

Match the words and phrases which

have the same meaning. For each
pair, decide which is British English
and which is American English.

1 subway
2 city centre
3 carry-on baggage
4 one-way
5 return
6 freeway
7 rest room
8 elevator
9 coach class
10 timetable
11 car park
12 queue
13 check
14 reservation
15 ground floor

a) line
b) lift
c) public toilet
d) schedule
e) economy class
f) single
g) first floor
h) bill
i) booking
j) round-trip
k) downtown
l) motorway
m) underground
n) hand luggage
o) parking lot

Use the American English words or phrases to

complete this text.
My last overseas business trip was a nightmare from
start to finish. First of all, there was a delay on the way
to the airport, as there was an accident on the
1)_________. When I got there, I found the lower level
of the airport 2)_______________ was flooded. Next,
my 3)____________ was too big and heavy, so I had
to check it in. When we arrived, the 4)______________
was closed, and there were no cabs at all. After a long
time trying to figure out the 5)__________________
and waiting in 6)______________ for 40 minutes, we
finally got a bus 7)_________________ and found the
hotel. Then there was a problem with our room
8)_________________ and, would you believe it, the
9)___________________ wasnt working, and our
rooms were on the fifth floor.
Listen to the recording and check your answers.

Market Leader p.15, ex. A, B, C

+ vocabulary from Travel
(fill in the gaps in the text)

Study the
vocabulary

Do the
translation from
Russian into
English

Complete two
tables

At the airport

You wait in the

departure
lounge.
You board the
plane.
You get a trolley
for your
luggage.
1. You arrive at
the airport.

You check in
your luggage
and get a
boarding pass.
You go through
passport
control.
You check the
departures
board for your
gate number.

Listening to the
flight
information

At the airport

What is your flight number?

Who is boarding the plane first?
Are you allowed to smoke while
boarding?
When are green card holders
boarding the plane?
Your number is 42K. What do
you do?

On board the plane

a) meals
b) taking off
c) safety
instructions
d) belt fastening
e) captain
speaking

f) hand luggage
accommodation
g) reading/
sleeping/
entertaining
h) flight
attendant
welcoming

Match these phrases to the

definitions

an assault

a cabin crew

to be frustrated

a septuagenarian

to ban something

to be compelled

someone between
70 and 79 years
old
to forbid something
to be forced to do
something
an attack on
someone (physical
or verbal)
flight attendants /
steward,
stewardess
to be annoyed

Behaving badly

1. Have you ever witnessed

someone misbehaving in public
transport?
What happened? How was the
incident settled?
2. How would personally you react if
a person next to is misbehaving?
3. What know-how of dealing with
passengers misbehavior can you
suggest?

Behaving badly

4. In what kind of transport do people

misbehave more often? Why?
5. What Government regulations
would you suggest to control
misbehavior in transport?
6. In what ways do people behave
badly when flying?
7. Have you ever seen or heard about
someone misbehaving on a plane?
What happened?

Behaving badly

Flights don't leave

on time.
Passengers don't
feel safe.
Airline staff don't
put the customer
first.
Flight attendants
aren't polite.
Some terminals
are too crowded.

Passengers feel
worried and
nervous.
The airline food is
poor quality.
Some passengers
get drunk.
Some airlines don't
have no-smoking
policies.
Passengers don't
respect authority.

Text
Passengers
behaving badly

Vocabulary

someone who treats other people in a cruel or

violent way, sometimes using offensive or insulting
words;
ask the permission to leave present employment for
different reasons before the official age;
a thick rubber cover round the wheel
bags and suitcases you take on a journey;
an amount of chemical in your blood that
invigorates you when youre angry or frustrated;
when you have very little space and too many
people in it;
when you suddenly become angry with someone
and shout at them;
to be caused by something;
say that someone or something is responsible for
bad situation.

Questions

What are the reasons for the cabin

crews being unhappy about their
duties and seeking early
retirement?
Is it a good idea to ban on-board
smoking?
What else is to blame according to
the author for passengers
misbehavior on board the plane?

Replying to
letters of
complaint.

Write a
suitable letter
to deal with
one of these
situations.
Invent an
address for the
people and
companies
concerned.

Colin Knapp

How often does Colin travel on business?

Which country does he visit regularly?
How long is the flight?
What two things does he do during the flight?
Does he suffer from jet lag?
Is jet lag different traveling west-east and eastwest?
Why does he travel to the Far East instead of
doing business by telephone or fax?
What example of culture gap does he give?
What three tips does he give for visiting this
country for the first time?

 Work in small groups

Whats your favourite way of traveling? Why?

What do you like to do during a long journey?
Do you like or dislike flying?
Do you sleep on a plane or do you prefer to
read? Do you always watch the in-flight film?
If you have to travel a long way, what time of
day do you prefer to travel? (e.g. early in the
morning, overnight etc.)
What do you know about jet lag?
Have you experienced cultural differences
when you travel?
What are the advantages of face-to-face
meetings compared to doing business by
telephone, fax or computer?

Listening

1. David Creith is the Customer Service

Teaching manager:
a) for which airline? b) at which terminal?
c) at which airport?
2. Some people want:
a)................. b)................. c) to sit next
to their colleague
3. Why is it not possible to give everyone
the seat they want?
4. Why do airlines have to oversell flights?
5. Who are Gold Card holders?
6. What do Gold Card holders often ask
for?

Text Human Contact

Texts and a presentation about

airlines

Make a good match

storage space
tapered
sleek-line
chef
raves
mlange of
a la carte
shrimp
ergonomic
upholstery
full-flat position
seat pitch

available on the menu, that

are priced separately
narrower at one end
Horizontal
a place to keep things in
the maximum size of your seat
soft covering on furniture
a professional senior cook
a mix of different food
very smooth
very enthusiastic responses
designed to improve
conditions, make them
ultimately comfortable
a small shellfish with a lot of
legs

Finding out

What product is on offer?

What benefits of the product
does each company
emphasize?
Is there any difference between
First Class and Business Class
seats?

Decide for yourself

Which seat would you choose if you
traveled a lot?
Which one would you choose for
your business trips?
What is the USP of each company?
Vocabulary note:
USP Unique Selling Proposition
is developed when promoting a
product; the Features and Benefits
which make it unlike any of the
competing products.

Text Yotel
1) Read and answer the
questions.
2) Work with a partner. Discuss
the advantages of staying at a
Yotel. Think about
the location
the facilities
the time

Listening

Listen to Sholto Smith, Area

Sales Director for Hyatt Hotels,
talking about how the company
meets the needs of business
travellers. Listen to the first part
and tick which of the following
he mentions.

Location of hotels
Good links with underground networks
Close to the airport
Totally non-smoking
Good restaurant
Close to client's office
Technology
The Internet
Business centre
Swimming pool
Translation services
Free transport to hotel

Listen to the second part and

complete the notes on the ways
hotels are adding value to their
guests' stay.

1. .... on a daily basis

2. Membership to the .................
3. Newspapers
4. Transportation to and from the
...
5. A shuttle service to:
a) the ..
b) the ......... in which the
client works

Listen to the third part and

summarise the future
developments in the business
travel market that Sholto
mentions.
In groups, discuss what is
important for you when staying
in a hotel, for either work or
pleasure.

Assignment
Your company sends you to participate in a
conference held in Vilnius. You are offered
three hotels to consider. Scan the
information below and decide which hotel
suits you best. Compile your answer
according to the following rating:

location
proximity to airport/station
facilities
privacy
catering

Individual project

You are back in the office after your

business trip. You have to give a
report on it to your boss.
Draw up a report according to the
following plan:
your detailed itinerary;
air company that you used, why;
air trip (your experience);
hotel accommodation
(facilities/location/etc);
overall impression.