Part 2: Hospitality Conference

Section 2 – Questions 11–20

Questions 11 and 12

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO kinds of people are the scholarships intended for?

A      people working as temporary staff

B     people with management experience

C     people straight from college

D     people with at least three years’ experience

E     people with or without qualifications

Questions 13 and 14

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO things does Marie say about the hospitality industry in Scotland?

A     It mainly attracts UK tourists

B    It pays high wages

C    It is very important for the Scottish economy

D    It is highly regarded by visitors

E    It is attracting a lot of investment

Questions 15-20

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

15    Why did Marie start working at the Rock Hotel?

A     It was the only job available

B    She needed a job with flexible working hours

C    She wanted a job working with people

16    What did the scholarship application process involve?

A    giving a presentation

B   writing a report about the Rock Hotel

C   researching the role of hotel manager

17    What does Marie say about the other winners she met?

A   They were not as old as she expected

B   They were doing a variety of jobs in the hotel sector

C   Most of them had applied for scholarships before

18    Marie says that at the Florida Beach Hotel, every member of staff

A   takes part in annual customer service training sessions

B   is responsible for providing an efficient service

C   is expected to interact with visitors

19    What did Marie find out about people’s attitude to visiting Scotland?

A   Most people would be interested in visiting it

B   People knew a surprising amount about it

C   People only wanted to see a limited number of places

20    What improvement has Marie introduced at the Rock Hotel?

A   getting better feedback from customers

B   providing more information for customers

C   making contact with more customers

Keys

1. D

2. E

3. C

4. D

5. B

6. B

7. A

8. C

9. C

10. A

Transcript

Marie: Section 2: You will hear a woman called Marie talking at a conference to a group of people who work in the hospitality industry in Scotland.

Marie: First, you have some

time to look at questions 11 to 14 on page 3.

Marie: Thank you.

Marie: Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

Marie: Hi my name’s Marie Cooper and I’m here to tell you about the scholarships offered by the hospitality industry in Scotland.

Marie: The scholarship scheme supports people currently working in hotels, resorts and tourist attractions.

Marie: Each year a hundred people are selected to go and work in some of the leading hospitality organisations in the world.

Marie: This time last year I was wondering whether to apply for a scholarship and not sure if I had enough experience to be successful.

Marie: I needn’t have worried.

Marie: The scholarship is open to people of all ages working full time in the industry.

Marie: The only stipulation is that you need to have worked for three years in hospitality, not necessarily for the same organisation.

Marie: Of course they’re looking for ambitious people who want to get on but you haven’t had the chance to work in management or studied at college.

Marie: So there are no minimum qualifications required and you’re just as likely to be offered a scholarship if you work for a large fancy hotel in Edinburgh or a small family hotel in the highlands.

Marie: As we all know Scotland is famous for its fishing, golf, coastline and unspoilt countryside which is why it’s always been a popular destination for tourists from all over the world.

Marie: Something like 10% of people in Scotland depend on the Scottish hospitality industry for their income so it’s vital that it continues to attract large numbers of visitors each year.

Marie: The scholarships are a way of maintaining Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination so that visitors to Scotland continue to have a very positive experience.

Marie: Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20 on page 4.

Marie: Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

Marie: I currently work at the Rock Hotel in Perth as a trainee manager but I joined as a receptionist five years ago.

Marie: At the time I was looking for work that fitted in with a young family and I was lucky to get the perfect job for me where I could take time off during the school holidays.

Marie: I realised soon after I started that I loved working with people and enjoyed working in a hotel environment.

Marie: Last year I was lucky enough to be a scholarship winner.

Marie: The application process was actually quite simple.

Marie: I was worried I’d have to give a presentation in front of loads of people but you just have to produce a report on your current place of employment saying how you think you could make a difference there.

Marie: My manager at the Rock Hotel was very supportive and gave me time off to do the writing and the research.

Marie: Then all the winners were invited to an awards ceremony.

Marie: They were mostly working in different sorts of hotels although a few were working at tourist attractions and one was involved in the Edinburgh Festival.

Marie: I’d expected I’d be one of the youngest but at least half the people were younger than me.

Marie: All the people I met couldn’t believe their luck that they’d been successful as it’s not unusual to fail the first time.

Marie: I was sent to the Florida Beach Hotel.

Marie: Here the emphasis is on customer service, making sure that staff are trained to give customers a really personal service, checking that guests are enjoying their stay so they’re encouraged to chat with them even if their job is just clearing tables.

Marie: Quite a different atmosphere to some hotels I know where the emphasis is on efficiency which can make the guests feel in the way.

Marie: One of the things we were encouraged to do while we were on our placements was to find out what people thought about visiting Scotland.

Marie: That was quite interesting.

Marie: Although everyone I spoke to knew a bit about Scotland, the majority had never considered a holiday there and of the people who were thinking of visiting Scotland they were really only interested in visiting Edinburgh and St Andrews.

Marie: Anyway on my return to the Rock Hotel my manager asked me to introduce some improvements and the first thing I did was to redraft our customer survey form to get guests detailed opinions.

Marie: This used to be given to customers at the end of their stay when they’re in a rush to leave so I decided it would be better to email them to customers at home so they have more time to complete them.

Marie: It’s another way of staying in contact with them too.

Marie: That is the end of section 2.

Marie: You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Marie: Now turn to section 3 on page 5.