Warm-up
Business Travel & Hosting Visitors
Business Travel & Hosting Visitors
After this lesson you'll be able to...
- Use key business travel and hospitality vocabulary
- Explain what is required, forbidden, allowed or not necessary
- Welcome a visitor and talk about their schedule
- Handle expenses and receipts correctly
Get to know each other (3 minutes)
- Have you ever been on a business trip? Where did you go?
- What is the most difficult part of travelling for work?
- Have you ever hosted a visitor from another country? How did it go?
- What rules about business trips exist at your company?
Say it out loud
Practise welcoming a visitor. → Welcome to Kyiv! How was your flight? I'll take you to the hotel first.
Fact worth knowing
Vocabulary
Business travel vocabulary
Useful travel and hospitality phrases
| Welcome! How was your flight? | Ласкаво просимо! Як минув переліт? |
| I'll pick you up from the airport. | Я зустріну вас в аеропорту. |
| You'll need to bring your passport. | Вам потрібно взяти паспорт. |
| You must keep all your receipts. | Ви повинні зберігати всі чеки. |
| You don't have to wear a suit. | Костюм одягати не обов'язково. |
| Visitors aren't allowed to take photos. | Відвідувачам не можна фотографувати. |
| Could I have a receipt, please? | Можна чек, будь ласка? |
| Is there anything I can do to make your stay easier? | Чи можу я чимось полегшити ваше перебування? |
Try out the new words
Say what you do first when you arrive at a hotel. → First, I check in and ask for …
Say how your company pays for business trips. → We get a per diem and the company reimburses …
Which word is it?
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct word
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English. Several answers are possible.
Grammar
Obligation, prohibition, permission
| Obligation | must (the speaker or the rule says so) / have to (an outside rule): You must sign in. Visitors have to wear a badge. Also need to. |
| Prohibition | mustn't / can't / aren't allowed to: You mustn't take photos here. Visitors can't enter without a badge. |
| No obligation | don't have to / needn't / don't need to: You don't have to wear a suit. (You may, but it is not necessary.) |
| Permission | can / may / be allowed to: You can use the Wi-Fi. Guests are allowed to park for free. |
| Past forms | had to (obligation), didn't have to (no obligation), was/were allowed to, couldn't (prohibition): We had to show our passports. We weren't allowed to take photos. |
| Careful! | mustn't ≠ don't have to! "You mustn't park here" = forbidden. "You don't have to park here" = it is not necessary. Must has no past: use had to. |
Choose the correct form
Open the brackets
Mustn't or don't have to?
Rewrite with the word in brackets
Rewrite the sentence with the word in brackets.
Correcting mistakes
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Say it about your own work
Name one rule at your company: something you must do, something you mustn't do and something you don't have to do. → At my company we must …, we mustn't … and we don't have to …
Reading
Read: a welcome email for a visitor
Subject: Your visit to our Kyiv office, 12–14 March
Dear Mr Hansen, welcome! We are delighted to host you next week. Here is some practical information. I'll pick you up from the airport at 15:30 on Monday, and the shuttle will take you to the Central Hotel, where we have a reservation for three nights. You will have to show your passport when you check in. You don't need a visa for a visit of less than 90 days.
On Tuesday you'll visit our production site. All visitors must wear a badge and a safety helmet, and you mustn't take photos in the production area. You don't have to wear a suit — smart casual is fine. You can use our Wi-Fi in the meeting room, and guests are allowed to use the canteen at lunchtime.
We'll cover your travel expenses. Please keep all receipts, because we can only reimburse documented costs, and you will get a per diem of 40 euros a day for meals. The business lunch on Wednesday is on us, of course. Is there anything I can do to make your stay easier? Best regards, Natalia Boyko, Sales Manager
True or false?
Mr Hansen will take a taxi from the airport.
He needs a visa for this visit.
Visitors may take photos in the production area.
He has to wear a suit.
He must keep all receipts.
He pays for the Wednesday lunch.
Answer the questions
How long is Mr Hansen staying at the hotel?
What must visitors wear on the production site?
How much is the per diem?
Why must he keep receipts?
Find the modal verbs
Write the phrase from the email.
Fill in from the text
Why is this a good welcome email?
Your own opinion
- What would you add to this welcome email?
- Is it a good idea to say "smart casual is fine"? Why?
- What is the most important thing to tell a visitor before they arrive?
Practice
Picture the trip
Arrive → Check in → Work → Keep receipts → Say thank you. A good host plans every step.
Match the phrase to its function
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Fill in the missing phrase
Choose the best reply
Translate into English
Write each sentence in English. Several answers are possible.
A travel fact
Speaking — Welcome the Visitor
How to use this section
Your tutor plays a visitor, a colleague or a hotel receptionist. React in real time — welcome, explain rules, check in, handle expenses. Keep the modal verbs accurate: required, forbidden, allowed or not necessary.
Welcoming a visitor at the airport
Task: meet a visitor from another country at the airport and make small talk on the way to the hotel.
Starter: "Welcome to Kyiv! How was your flight? Is this your first visit? I'll take you to the hotel first, and we'll have dinner at seven."
Checking in at a hotel
Receptionist: "Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"
Starter: "Yes, I have a reservation for three nights under the name … Could I have a late check-out on Wednesday, please?"
Explaining the rules of a visit
Task: explain three rules of your company to a visitor: one thing they must do, one they mustn't do and one they don't have to do.
Starter: "Before we start the tour: you must wear a badge, you mustn't take photos, and you don't have to wear a helmet in the office."
Talking about the schedule
Task: present a visitor's three-day itinerary and check that it works for them.
Starter: "On Monday you'll meet the team, on Tuesday we'll visit the site, and on Wednesday we'll have a business lunch. Does that work for you?"
Handling expenses
Employee: "Can I claim a taxi from the airport?"
Starter: "Yes, we reimburse reasonable travel expenses, but you have to send the receipts to Finance within ten days."
A problem on the trip
Task: your flight is delayed and you will miss the first meeting. Call your host, apologise and suggest a solution.
Starter: "I'm so sorry, my flight has been delayed by two hours. Could we start at 12 instead, or would you prefer to reschedule?"
Thanking your host
Task: thank your host at the end of the visit and say what you will do next.
Starter: "Thank you so much for your hospitality. I really enjoyed the visit. I'll send you the summary by Friday."
Full visit simulation — no stopping
Play a full visit with your tutor: welcome at the airport, rules of the company, a small problem and a polite goodbye — entirely in English.
Let's talk — reflection
- Which modal verb did you use most often?
- Did you separate "mustn't" from "don't have to" correctly?
- What would you add to your own company's welcome pack?
Cool down
Now I can...
- Use key business travel and hospitality vocabulary
- Explain what is required, forbidden, allowed or not necessary
- Welcome a visitor and talk about their schedule
- Handle expenses and receipts correctly
Quick self-check
What is the difference between "mustn't" and "don't have to"?
What is the past of "must"?
What does "to reimburse" mean?
One more thing before you go
Tell your tutor one rule you always follow on a business trip. → On a business trip I always …
Homework
- Do the exercises below and press Check in each one. Green = correct. Red shows what was expected.
- Do the writing and speaking tasks and tick them when they are done.
- Write your name and press Copy my result, then send the text to your tutor.
Words to remember
| an itinerary | програма / маршрут поїздки |
| a reservation | бронювання |
| to check in | зареєструватися (на рейс, у готелі) |
| to check out | виселитися з готелю |
| a boarding pass | посадковий талон |
| a visa | віза |
| customs | митниця |
| a shuttle | трансфер |
| travel expenses | витрати на відрядження |
| a receipt | чек, квитанція |
| to reimburse | відшкодувати |
| a per diem | добові |
| a host | приймаюча сторона |
| a business lunch | діловий обід |
| to pick someone up | зустріти, забрати (з аеропорту) |
| punctual | пунктуальний |
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct modal
Rewrite the sentence
Rewrite the sentence with the word in brackets.
Correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English. Several answers are possible.
Write it yourself
Write a welcome email (6–8 sentences) to a visitor: pick-up, hotel, the schedule, two rules (one must, one mustn't), one thing that is not necessary and an offer of help.
Practise out loud
Say the key rules of your welcome email aloud, as if you were meeting the visitor.
Read aloud
Read the welcome email from the Reading section aloud twice before the next lesson.
- 8.7 I wrote a welcome email (6–8 sentences)
- 8.8 I said the key rules aloud
- 8.9 I read the welcome email aloud twice