Hotel Owners – Teach Your Staff English

By Author: james
Total Articles: 6
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Do you own a hotel? Guest house? in an area frequented by English, Australian, or American tourists? Have you considered teaching your staff English? You may think it’s up to them to learn for themselves or that you can’t afford it at the moment but can you really afford not to?
If you visit any of the travel community sites on the internet, one of the things that gets mentioned more than any other is that the staff at the hotel being reviewed spoke good English and were very helpful. That kind of comment will make more English and Americans choose your business over your competition. That has to be worth a small investment doesn’t it?
Of course, there are companies that offer courses tailored to the needs of the tourist industry.
But did you know some language academies will send English teachers to your hotel so that the man- hours lost to the training will be minimised as will any unwillingness on the part of staff to have to go away on a course. Not only that, but it also means that the teachers, all of whom are fully qualified, can see first-hand the type of establishment you run and the current ...
... levels of proficiency of your staff. It’s a novel approach, and, more importantly, it means that the teachers can design the course EXACTLY to the requirements of you and your staff.
Your staff will be happier (and this can only be a good thing!) because they can provide a better service, there will be less awkward situations where there is an inability to communicate, or worse still, a terrible misunderstanding, and your staff will feel that you actually care about them and their personal development too.
It must be expensive though isn’t it? No,not at all. In fact some of these companies only require room and board plus internet access etc in exchange for up to 20 hours of lesson time. So, if you choose a less busy time of year, you are actually getting some benefit from a room that might otherwise be empty. How can you lose?
Why would they send qualified teachers all that way for so little in return? And why would these qualified teachers agree to do it? That’s quite simple, and novel, too. If the teachers are providing 20 hours of classes over a week, they will have a fair bit of free time, so it is a way for these companies to give their teachers a bit of a perk. Whilst they are still working, they also get a vacation with their expenses paid into the bargain. It is a win-win situation for all concerned.
With the economy as it is at the moment, every advantage, however small, needs to be exploited. So, surely, if having a workforce that can provide noticeably a better service than your competitors can be achieved at so little cost to you, how can you (or any other sensible businessman) not see the benefits.