# The Luxury End of the Hotel Business: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 7, Test 3, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 7, Test 3, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 31 | B | when even the most expensive surroundings can seem empty and dispiriting |
| 32 | B | the need to feel at home in surroundings which are both familiar and inviting |
| 33 | A | The company's research covered a whole range of different hotel types |
| 34 | C | what was outside the hotel building simply didn't matter |
| 35 | business | dispense with all the unwanted and expensive hotel services that business travelers don't want |
| 36 | kitchen | but also a sleek modern kitchen. |
| 37 | world | manages to establish a trend all over the world and make a lasting impact |
| 38 | escape | hotels exploit people's need to escape the predictability of their everyday lives. |
| 39 | baby | It's almost as if we return to being a baby when everything was done for us |
| 40 | chocolate | The chocolate on your pillow at night |

## Why these answers are right

**31. B.** The question asks how a guest might feel in a luxury hotel. The lecturer describes waking in a strange hotel, disoriented by jet lag, when even expensive surroundings seem empty and dispiriting; dispiriting matches depressed, so B is right.

**32. B.** This asks what luxury hotels overlook. The research says they underestimate customers' most basic need, to feel at home in surroundings that are familiar and inviting. That describes a comfortable environment, B, not special treatment for important guests.

**33. A.** The question asks what the research focused on. The lecturer says it covered a whole range of hotel types, independent and chain, city boutique hotels, country mansions and beach hotels, so a wide variety of hotels, A, is correct.

The why and the trap for questions 34 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-luxury-end-of-the-hotel-business/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4, you will hear part of a lecture about hotels and the tourist industry.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully, and answer questions 31 to 40.

**Lecturer:** Good morning everyone.

**Lecturer:** Today's lecture forms part of the hospitality and tourism module.

**Lecturer:** Last week I looked at the economy end of the hotel business, this week I'm going to discuss the luxury end of the market.

**Lecturer:** Let's consider the following scenario.

**Lecturer:** You wake up in the middle of the night.

**Lecturer:** In a strange hotel, miles away from home, disoriented most probably from jet lag, when even the most expensive surroundings can seem empty and dispiriting.

**Lecturer:** You have paid a great deal of money to stay in this first class hotel with its contemporary technology, but according to recent research carried out by an international travel and public relations company.

**Lecturer:** All is not well.

**Lecturer:** The research suggests that even the most opulent, luxurious hotels seem to have underestimated the most basic needs of their customers.

**Lecturer:** Be they traveling for work or pleasure, the need to feel at home in surroundings which are both familiar and inviting.

**Lecturer:** Do these findings, however, apply only to hotels situated in particular areas?

**Lecturer:** Is it possible that the external environment can affect a guest's well-being?

**Lecturer:** The company's research covered a whole range of different hotel types, both independent hotels and those which are part of large chains.

**Lecturer:** They investigated chic, so called boutique hotels in the heart of downtown business districts, stately mansions located in the depths of beautiful countryside.

**Lecturer:** And plush hotels built at the edge of tropical beaches surrounded by palm trees and idyllic blue ocean.

**Lecturer:** And the research concluded that what was outside the hotel building simply didn't matter.

**Lecturer:** This is a fascinating revelation, and those of you hoping to move into careers in the travel and leisure industry would be well advised to look at the findings in more detail.

**Lecturer:** But back to the main point of this lecture, the need to feel at home.

**Lecturer:** What can the hotel industry do about it?

**Lecturer:** And is the very idea so subjective that it's impossible to do anything about it on a global basis?

**Lecturer:** However, nothing stands still in this world.

**Lecturer:** One company has come up with a slogan, 'Take Your Home With You', and aims to provide clients with luxury serviced apartments.

**Lecturer:** Those in the business travel industry maintain that these serviced apartments dispense with all the unwanted and expensive hotel services that business travelers don't want.

**Lecturer:** While maximizing the facilities they do want.

**Lecturer:** For example, not only sleeping and living accommodation, but also a sleek modern kitchen.

**Lecturer:** That allows guests to cook and entertain if they wish at no additional cost.

**Lecturer:** The attractions of such facilities are obvious, and it'll be interesting to see whether the company manages to establish a trend all over the world and make a lasting impact on the luxury accommodation market.

**Lecturer:** Now finally, I want to consider the psychology underpinning the traditional holiday hotel industry.

**Lecturer:** As a hotelier, how do you go about attracting people to give up the security of their own home, and entrust themselves to staying in a completely strange place?

**Lecturer:** And sleeping in an unfamiliar bed.

**Lecturer:** Firstly, hotels exploit people's need to escape the predictability of their everyday lives.

**Lecturer:** For a few days, people can pretend they are free of responsibilities.

**Lecturer:** And can indulge themselves.

**Lecturer:** Secondly, there is something very powerful in our need to be pampered and looked after.

**Lecturer:** It's almost as if we return to being a baby when everything was done for us, and we felt safe.

**Lecturer:** And secure, and not far removed from this is the pleasure in being spoiled and given little treats, like the minuscule bottles of shampoo and tiny bars of soap.

**Lecturer:** The chocolate on your pillow at night, and we actually forget that we are paying for it all.

**Lecturer:** Next week, I'm gonna look at eco-hotels, a fairly new phenomenon, but increasingly popular...

**Announcer:** That is the end of section 4.

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

[Practice The Luxury End of the Hotel Business](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-luxury-end-of-the-hotel-business)