Lesson 24 Hotels of the future

Interviewer: Good evening, on this week’s Business Unusual, I’m talking to Aisha Ghadir, the chief executive officer of Hydro Palace Hotels. Now, Ms Ghadir, from the name of your company, we can clearly understand that you are in the hotel business. But I believe there is something rather special about Hydro Palace Hotels.

Aisha: Well, we provide a luxury service for an exclusive clientele. But what is unusual about our hotels is the fact that they’re underwater.

Interviewer: When you say ‘underwater’, I assume you mean on the coast or at the water’s edge?

Aisha: No, our hotels are really underwater – a true submarine holiday experience!

Interviewer: Indeed! And not for the average family holiday budget, I suspect.

Aisha: Well, the hotels are not cheap to build, and maintenance and running costs are higher than hotels on land. So of course, if we want to make money, we have to charge more than normal hotels.

Interviewer: So, how much does it cost to stay in one of your hotels?

Aisha: Well, let’s consider the Anemone, which we opened two years ago in Florida, in the USA. One night costs $940 per person. There are 20 double rooms, so the hotel can accommodate up to a maximum of 40 guests.

Interviewer: I see, I understand you’ve just opened a new hotel in Fiji.

Aisha: Yes, that’s right. The Nautilus opened a month ago. One night there costs $1360 per person.There are 78 double rooms, so the hotel can accommodate up to 156 guests. And there’s a theater with live show every night.

Interviewer: The hotels are both underwater. But exactly how far down are they?

Aisha: Well, the Anemone is 10 meters below the surface of the water, and the Nautilus is 14 meters below.

Interviewer: And how much did the hotels cost to build?

Aisha: The Anemone cost $47 million and the Nautilus $190 million.

Interviewer: And your next hotel? Where is that going to be?

Aisha: In Dubai. Building started 18 months ago. It’s going to open early next year. This is a larger project than the other two; the Atlantis will have 160 double rooms, and it will be at a depth of 23 meters below the surface. The cost of construction is estimated at $520 million.

Interviewer: So, how much will a night in the Atlantis cost?

Aisha: We expect to charge about $1900 per person per night.

Interviewer: Well, that does indeed sound like a very exclusive hotel. Thank you for coming

 

Vocabulary 词汇：

interviewer 采访者；面试者

chief executive officer (CEO) 首席执行官

luxury 豪华

exclusive 专门的

clientele 高端客户

assume 猜想，假设，认为

coast 海岸

edge 边缘

submarine 水下的

budget 预算

suspect 怀疑

maintenance 维护，维修

running costs 运营成本

accommodate 住宿，膳宿

maximum 最多

live show 现场表演

surface 表面

project 项目

construction建筑

estimate 估计；评估