Business English : Entertainment

1- Imagine you have to entertain a group of foreign businesspeople.
Which of these activities would you choose? What would you add?

historic site(s) • an opera I a concert • motor racing • tennis • a bar I a nightclub • wine tasting • a game of golf • a restaurant • the theatre • horse racing • a football match • an art gallery



2- Many companies are spending less on corporate entertaining. Do you think
this is a good idea? Why?  Why not?

 Which adjectives in the box form partnerships with the words below ?

1- convenient _________

Discuss 

You plan to take a foreign visitor out for dinner. How important are the above factors for you when entertaining guests? Discuss your ideas in pairs.

 Select the words with the appropriate foods category

Meat

Think of a typical or unusual dish from your country. How would you describe it to a foreign visitor? Use these phrases to help you.

It's a meat/fish/rice/vegetarian dish.
It's a kind of seafood/vegetable/dessert, etc.
It's quite spicy /rich/hot/ sweet/ salty /bitter I sour.
It's called . . . . . . . . . . . . and tastes a bit like chicken/cabbage, etc.
It comes with I We usually eat it with ...
People often have a glass of . . . . . . . . . . . . with it.
It's got an unusual taste.
It's served with rice I pasta I a salad I a side dish, etc.
It's quite healthy/fattening/unusual, etc.

Imagine a small group of foreign visitors is coming to your city.


1 Decide where you would take them for dinner. Choose a menu and a location to give them a 'taste' of your city /region/country.
2 Explain your choices to a partner.
3 join up with another pair and compare your ideas.

Listen to the final part and answer these questions.



1 Which two events were offered together on the same day?
2 How did people travel from London to the first event?
3 How did people travel from London to the second event?

In groups, discuss these questions.

1 What event would you most like to be invited to? Why?
2 How does entertaining affect a company's image?
3 When can corporate entertainment become bribery?

Multiword verbs

A multiword verb is a verb and one or two particles (prepositions or adverbs).

• It is sometimes possible to guess the meaning from the context.
August is too early for our conference. Let's put it off until October.
(= to delay, to arrange to do something at a later date)

• However, sometimes the meaning is difficult or impossible to guess.
I turned down their offer. ( = to refuse)

Match the multiword verbs in bold (1-8) with their definitions (a-h).

1 Who's going to look after our guests tonight?

2 We have two hours to look around the city.

3 We're really looking forward to the Tokyo trip.

4 Let's take the clients out to a Chinese restaurant.

5 Seventy staff took part in our fundraising events.

6 We were delighted that so many sponsors turned up at the event.

7 The CEO would like to take up your kind offer.

8 As we had another engagement, we had to turn  down their invitation.

1- Listen to two colleagues in the marketing department discussing the planning of the conference. take notes. 




Hotel 1 

Seagreen Hotel, Miami, Florida {US)
• location: seafront, close to beach
• Access: half an hour from airport, no shuttle service
• Conference facilities: one conference room (capacity 200), two meeting rooms, a large lounge (capacity 60 people) could be used for workshops if necessary
• Bedrooms: small, all with sea views, well-designed with modern furniture/facilities
• leisure: Olympic-size swimming pool, gift shop, art gallery, small fitness centre (not much equipment)
• Price: $2,200 per participant, including meals and all entertainment
• Restaurant: spacious (capacity 250), mainly Spanish and Mexican dishes, famous Hispanic chef.
• Entertainment: local musicians and singers, lively and noisy at night
• Guest reviews: excellent service, business centre - limited hours

Hotel 2 

Bamboo Conference Centre, Macau (south-east China)
• location: city centre
· Access: 40 minutes from the airport, shuttle service, taxis, buses
· Conference facilities: conference room (capacity 300), eight meeting rooms (extra reservation charge $100 per room per hour)
• Bedrooms: spacious, luxurious, satellite television, free mini bar
• Leisure: casinos, night clubs, shopping mall (five minutes from hotel)
• Price: $3,100 per participant, including meals and two guided tours
• Restaurant: private dining hall (capacity 1 50), chef James lee offers Cantonese cuisine, many unique dishes
• Entertainment: wide range available in the area
• Guest reviews: beautifully furnished rooms, reception desk slow to respond to service calls

Hotel 3
Hotel Porte Ouverte, Monte Carlo (Monaco)
· Location: on a hill overlooking city, 10 minutes to the Palace and beach
· Access: at least 45 minutes from Nice airport, longer if traffic jams, no shuttle service
· Conference facilities: conference room (capacity 500), many meeting rooms, with up-to-date equipment
• Bedrooms: award-winning designs, well equipped, some have balconies/sea views
• Leisure: outdoor swimming pool, spa and fitness centre, free trips to old town of Nice
• Price: $4,000 per participant
• Restaurant: capacity for 250 diners, international cuisine
· Entertainment: pianist plays every night in the hotel lounge
· Guest reviews: service OK, but not outstanding; bars very busy at night, expensive drinks

Hotel 4
Hotel Steffanberg, rural area (Sweden)
• Location: a modernised castle, 200 kilometres from Stockholm Airport
• Access: regular hotel bus service from the airport to the castle (three-hour journey)
• Conference facilities: conference room (1 SO capacity), five meet1ng rooms, all rooms large and bright
• Bedrooms: bright and comfortable, antique furniture, well equipped, no mini bar
• Leisure: nine-hole golf course near the castle, extra charge for pool and sauna, excellent spa
· Price: $3,600 per person
• Restaurant: dining hall for 200 people, two other smaller dining rooms, Swedish dishes, other dishes if requested
Entertainment: evening entertainment by young Swedish musicians, class1cal music at lunch
• Guest reviews: beautiful views of castle grounds; owners
friendly/helpful, but staff need more training on customer serv1ce

The marketing team sent out a questionnaire to find out what type of venue the participants preferred. They have selected four to choose from . All prices include the costs of the flights. 

Seaside 31 %        City 28 %             No preference   6 %    Rural area 35 % 

Task
You are members of GFDC's marketing department.
1 Work in small groups. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each hotel as the venue for the conference.
2 Rank the hotels 1-4 (1 = the most suitable hotel for the conference, 4 = the least suitable).
3 Meet as one group and listen to each other's ideas.
Make your final choice. Take a vote if necessary.