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Interviews

“Budget Travel Accommodations”

Level

Intermediate

Pre-Listening Question

What are the top five amenities that you look for when choosing hotel accommodations? Look at this list to help you decide:

  1. Free Wifi
  2. Room Service
  3. Parking
  4. Complimentary toiletries like soap and shampoo
  5. A free hot breakfast
  6. Pet-friendly rooms
  7. A flexible or late checkout time
  8. Exercise facilities
  9. Pool, spa, or hot tub
  10. A mini-fridge and microwave
  11. A free daily newspaper

Vocabulary and Expressions

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

sketchy (verb): not completely safe or honest
– I stayed at a sketchy hotel on my last trip. The door locks didn’t work, and it looked like the room hadn’t been cleaned recently.

fatigue (expression): extreme tiredness
– After a long day of driving, we decided to stop because of fatigue and stay at a hotel for the night.

seek out (verb): look for
– I don’t seek out the first hotel I can find. Instead, I look carefully at reviews to find the best fit for my family.

(a little) bit of something (noun): a small amount
– We have a little bit of time this morning before we leave the hotel if you want to jump in the pool.

Listening Comprehension Questions

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.


Transcripts

Randall: In this video. Aubrey, let’s talk about finding budget motels and hotels. And when people think about that, they’re also  . . .often thinking about location. They’re thinking about services, amenities, and so forth, but for you, what do you look for in the ideal hotel or motel?

Aubrey: Yeah. I mean, I guess the minimum requirements would be free Internet, um, a fridge and microwave. Right. You know, other things are nice. Like pool is nice. Breakfast is nice. What I really want is a fridge, microwave, and Internet. Now, I’ve definitely stayed in some sketchy places. I live a few hours away from . . . from you guys, right? My parents. And sometimes because I suffer from daytime fatigue, sometimes I don’t quite make it home all the way before I start falling asleep in the car, so my rule is if you start falling asleep in the car, you pull over, right? If it’s during the day, then I might just pull over into like a parking lot and take a nap, but at night, I’m going to pull over and stay in a hotel. And there’s one hotel I’ve stayed at twice. It’s a little embarrassing that it happened in the same spot, and they’re okay. But, you know, it’s not the cleanest. You know, it’s better than dying in a car accident, but it’s definitely not a hotel I would seek out. Right.

Randall: So you mentioned again a little bit about cost. You mentioned having a microwave, having Internet connection, and cleanliness, I think is really important as well. All right. Well, thank you for sharing some of those ideas.

Conversation Questions

Describe both a good and bad experience you had at a hotel or other similar accommodation. Explain your ideas.

Related Language Activities on Randall’s Web Site

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

Try More Free Listening at Dailyesl.com