C5, 11-12am, Ep15, Booking a Hotel 24 Authentic Chinese

Hello everyone, this is Jack. Tianjin was feeling 30 degrees yesterday. I felt like I need air conditioning already. It definitely feels like summer is coming, which is my favorite season of the year. How about you? Today, let’s continue with our morning work. Follow me, and if we see or think of anything, let’s say it in Chinese.

Today's new content:

Hotels are 酒店 (jiǔ diàn). To book a hotel is 定酒店 (dìng jiǔ diàn). 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels are 三星级酒店 (sān xīng jí jiǔ diàn), 四星级酒店 (sì xīng jí jiǔ diàn), 五星级酒店 (wǔ xīng jí jiǔ diàn). Budget hotels are 快捷酒店 (kuài jié jiǔ diàn). Others ways to say hotels are 旅馆 (lǚ guǎn) and 宾馆 (bīn guǎn). Hotel California’s Chinese name is 加州旅馆 (jiā zhōu lǚ guǎn). Single room and double room are 单人间 (dān rén jiān), 双人间 (shuāng rén jiān). Presidential suite is 总统套房 (zǒng tǒng tào fáng). Front desk is 前台 (qián tái). ID card is 身份证 (shēn fèn zhèng). Passport is 护照 (hù zhào). Deposit is 押金 (yā jīn), and room card is 房卡 (fáng kǎ).

In the last episode, we talked about a few beverages in Chinese. 咖啡 is coffee and 茶 is the tea, right? So after I took a coke, 可乐 from the break room, 茶水间, I went back to my desk. I looked at my to-do list and found that there is one client coming to visit our company this afternoon, and I need to book him a hotel. Let’s get that done!

A hotel is called 酒店 (jiǔ diàn) in Chinese. To book a hotel is called 定酒店 (dìng jiǔ diàn). When it comes to hotels, there are many types. The 3-star hotels are 三星级酒店 (sān xīng jí jiǔ diàn). Similarly, the 4-star hotels are 四星级酒店 (sì xīng jí jiǔ diàn) and 5-star hotels are 五星级酒店 (wǔ xīng jí jiǔ diàn).

Now when I hang out with my foreign friends to get a beer, they all know that liquor is 酒. But make no mistake my friend, 酒店 isn’t a place to get drinks, it means hotels. I mean, you can still get drinks in some hotels but you get what I mean with 酒店.

When it comes to my own hotel choices, the doctor from the last episode already said it, I’m not rich right? So I often choose the budget hotels or inns. In Chinese, we call them 快捷酒店. 快捷 means express.

I remember there was one time, I got a 快捷酒店 (kuài jié jiǔ diàn) on my business trip. Bad Don! Cheap Don! Yup, Don is my boss. Anyway, this particular room smells so bad. It was like a group of people just smoked in there. I called the front desk and the lady said, no worries sir, we are sending people there to eliminate the smell for you. I was like OK, that sounded very cool. Soon a cleaning staff arrived at my room, alone, not with any fancy equipment, just by himself. I was like, hello there what’s you plan eliminating the smell? He said no word, walked straight up to the windows and he opened them... yea, very cool.

Hotels also have some other ways to say in Chinese, such as 旅馆 (lǚ guǎn) and 宾馆 (bīn guǎn). I’m sure you know the song Hotel California by Eagles. It is such a famous song that it has an official Chinese name, 加州旅馆 (jiā zhōu lǚ guǎn). There you go, 旅馆 is hotel.

In a hotel, there are many types of rooms. A single room is 单人间 (dān rén jiān). A double room is 双人间 (shuāng rén jiān). And the Presidential suite or Royal suite is 总统套房 (zǒng tǒng tào fáng). I wish I could get that one day, maybe after getting Don fired.

When you check in your hotel, you need to go to the front desk. It is 前台 (qián tái). 前 is the front and 台 is the desk. You need to show them your ID card in China, which is 身份证 (shēn fèn zhèng), or as a foreigner, you need to show your passport, 护照 (hù zhào). You also need to pay for a deposit, which is 押金 (yā jīn). After you are all set, the front desk will give you your room card, th