Five areas to elevate your teams’ luxury service language
In our last post, we talked about how the media organisation Forbes measure the standards of luxury experiences with regard to staff language skills (full post here). One of the standards Forbes talk about relates to staff using a luxury, formal register when interacting with guests, rather than colloquial, casual English. Or as Forbes put it:
“Staff is highly articulate and avoids slang and excessive use of phrase-fragments.”
Being “highly articulate” refers to speaking in complete sentences with polite phrasing (“may I…?”, “please”, “certainly” etc). “Phrase fragments” are short, incomplete phrases that could be considered impolite or disinterested – for example, “sure”, “no problem”, “yeah”, “all good”. Speaking in complete, articulate sentences leads to more polished, confident, and welcoming communication.
In addition to the obvious benefits of increased clarity and reduction of confusion, having highly articulate staff is especially important as guests will make assumptions about the overall level of quality of service from just a few seconds of interaction with the staff. What’s more, high-end guests expect a luxury experience - and casual speech can break the illusion of this. Clear articulation conveys competence and professionalism.
In this post, we will look at a few word swaps to help team members adapt their regular style of communication to the elevated interaction style of luxury service.
Let’s get started!
What to say when…
1. Acknowledging or confirming a guest request
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“Okay”
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“Sure”
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“Yeah"
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"All good"
✅ Instead say:
When acknowledging guest requests...
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“Certainly.”
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“Absolutely.”
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“Right away.”
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“I’d be happy to.”
When confirming arrangements to guests...
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“Everything has been arranged for you.”
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“Everything is in order for you.”
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“That has been arranged.”
These expressions all convey a sense of care and dedication which casual phrases like "sure" and "all good" do not.
Don’t talk about problems!
Important: don’t use any expressions which related to problems or suggest what the guest is asking for is a cause of inconvenience. Guests expect a luxury service experience. There request should not be viewed as "problem" or a "worry". Even expressions as innocent as “that’s fine” can carry this undertone (why wouldn’t it be fine?)
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“No problem”
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“No worries”
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“That’s not a problem”
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“That’s fine”
✅ Instead say:
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“Certainly.”
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“My pleasure.”
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“Of course.”
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“I’d be happy to.”
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“I’ll arrange that for you.”
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“I’ll take care of this for you.”
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“Of course.”
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“I understand.”
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“It’s my pleasure to assist.”
2. When a guest asks you something you don’t know how to assist with
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“I don’t know”
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"I'm not sure"
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"No idea"
✅ Instead say:
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“Let me find that information for you right away.”
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“I’ll be happy to check and get back to you immediately.”
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“I’ll connect you with a colleague who can assist.”
These expressions demonstrate that while the team member might be personally limited in how they can respond, they are nonetheless committed to providing an excellent experience to the guest and will find a way to satisfy the guest’s request.
Note uses of “right away” and “immediately” to signal the importance placed on resolving the issue.
3. When a guest asks for something which is against company policy
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“That’s the policy”
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“That’s not our policy”
✅ Instead say:
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“I understand, and here’s how we can assist you…”
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“I understand, and what I can do for you is…”
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“I understand. Let me see what options are available.”
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“While we cannot do ABC for XYZ reasons, may I suggest <insert alternative solution>?”
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“I completely understand your request; to ensure the best experience for all guests, we recommend…”
Expressions like "that's not our policy" can sound defensive or dismissive and signal that you are looking to end the conversation abruptly, whereas these alternatives demonstrate that the staff member has listened to the guest’s request and is determined to satisfy them as best as possible. They might even make the guest aware of options they didn’t even know existed.
Note the use of “I understand” to reassure the guest that they are being listened to.
4. When you are too busy to deal with a request
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“We’re very busy right now”
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"We can't help with that now"
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"Can you come back later?'
✅ Instead say:
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“I’ll be happy to assist you as quickly as possible; thank you for your patience.”
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“One moment, please; I’ll ensure this is taken care of for you right away.”
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“Thank you for your patience; I’ll make sure this is arranged promptly.
Rather than making the guest feel like they are inconvenience, these expressions make the guest feel valued and reassure them that even though the operation is busy, their comfort and happiness will not be unattended to.
Note again, the use of “as quickly as possible”, “right away” and “promptly” to reassure the guest their request is a priority.
5. When you give a guest instructions
🔴 Expressions to avoid:
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“You’ll have to…”
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Any use of imperatives
✅ Instead say:
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“May I ask you to…”
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“The next step would be…”
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“It is kindly requested that you… I’ll guide you through the process.”
Imperatives (“do this”, “go there” etc) are direct instructions. These can sound commanding and removes sense of service. In a service conversation, the guest should feel that they are in the position of authority, not the other round. It is better to frame the instructions as requests. This way, the guest feels like they are in charge, and the staff are there to support the overall experience of their stay.
How we can help
At The English Way, we help luxury hospitality businesses excel in Forbes-level service audits with English language training that reinforces the language, tone, and professionalism expected in Forbes-rated guest experiences.
Our trainings are aligned with Forbes standards with scenarios and role-plays which reflect Forbes key listed priorities: anticipatory service, emotional intelligence and flawless guest interaction.
For more information about how we support luxury hospitality businesses with Forbes-aligned hospitality language, please free to get in touch.
You can reach Matthew on the email below:
matthew@theenglishway.co.uk
