How do you make business travel arrangements in English?
You need two request frames and the right tenses. With "I'd like to book …" and "Could you book me …?" you ask for a flight, a train or a hotel. You usually state fixed plans in the present continuous: "I'm flying to Manchester on Monday." For timetables the present simple often fits: "The train leaves at 7:15." Finally, you change or confirm the booking.
- You usually state a firmly arranged plan with the present continuous: "I'm flying on Monday."
- For trains and flights you usually say "on": "a seat on the 7:15 train".
- Ask for the confirmation "by email"; "per email" is understandable but less idiomatic here.
B1 · Business Travel · 10 minMaking travel arrangements in English, taught brick by brick.
A structured lesson for B1 learners who organise business trips themselves or arrange them with a travel desk. Hear a booking request in context, meet the sentences for booking, stating fixed plans, and changing and confirming, then practise them in interactive drills and a final quiz. Typical stumbling blocks for German speakers are included. It takes about ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelB1 · Intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsGrammar, Vocabulary, Listening, Writing, Speaking
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What making travel arrangements involves
Organising a business trip has three steps, and each step needs only a few fixed sentences. First you book: a flight, a train journey, a hotel, perhaps a hire car. Then you talk about your plan, with your company travel desk, with colleagues or with the client you are visiting. Finally you change something, cancel something or get the booking confirmed. Imagine you are travelling to a client meeting or a trade fair. You do not need to write long explanations. You need two request frames, I'd like to book … and Could you book me …?, and one tense for fixed plans, the present continuous: I'm flying, I'm staying, I'm meeting. The details, such as the destination, the day, the time and special requests such as an aisle seat, fit into these frames like bricks. This lesson follows the three steps in exactly that order. By the end you will also know three places where German speakers often translate word for word.
02 / 06
Step 1: Booking
When you book for yourself, for example on the phone or at a counter, you start with I'd like to book …: "I'd like to book a return flight to Manchester, leaving on Monday morning." When someone else books for you, such as the travel desk or an assistant, you ask with Could you book me …?: "Could you book me a room near the venue for two nights?" Then you give the details in a clear order: where to, when you leave, when you come back. A return is a ticket there and back; a single or one-way covers one direction only. Add any special requests at the end and soften them with if possible: "An aisle seat, if possible." or "A hotel within walking distance of the office, if possible." For trains and flights you use the preposition on: "Could you book me on the 7:15 train?" or "Could you book me on the later flight?" The travel desk may ask follow-up questions, for example "Which airport would you like to fly from?" or "When are you coming back?". Short answers are perfectly fine: "From Hamburg.", "On Wednesday evening."
03 / 06
Step 2: Fixed plans and timetables
Once something is booked or agreed, you usually talk about it in the present continuous: "I'm flying to Manchester on Monday.", "I'm staying at a hotel near the venue.", "I'm meeting the client on Tuesday morning." This form tells the other person that the plan is in place: ticket, room and appointment are organised. For timetables and programmes that do not depend on you, the present simple is common: "My flight lands at 9:40.", "The train leaves at 7:15.", "The trade fair opens on Wednesday." When you make a decision during the conversation itself, will often fits: "The 7:15 is full? Then I'll take the 8:30." Three prepositions help with times. Before a day of the week or a date you use on: on Monday, on 14 May, and also on Monday morning. Before a clock time you use at: at 7:15. For parts of the day without a weekday, learn the whole expressions: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, but at night. If you place these three words correctly, the travel desk understands your details straight away and does not need to ask again.
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Step 3: Changing, cancelling, confirming
Plans change, and there are fixed sentences for that too. For a change you ask "Could I change my booking to the later flight?" or ask someone: "Could you book me on the later flight?" When you have to cancel something, I'm afraid softens the bad news: "I'm afraid I need to cancel the hotel for Tuesday night." That sounds polite without a long apology. Finally you ask for written confirmation: "Could you send me the confirmation by email?" For important details a quick check is worth it, so that no misunderstandings arise: "So the flight leaves at 7:15 from Hamburg, is that right?" or "Just to confirm: two nights, Monday and Tuesday?" Checks like these are completely normal in English and sound professional, not unsure. Whether a change costs anything and how quickly it can be made depends on the provider and the fare. This lesson gives you the language to ask about it. A useful question is: "Is there a fee for changing the booking?"
05 / 06
The first trap: "Ich fliege am Montag"
In German you often talk about the future in the present tense: "Ich fliege am Montag nach Manchester." Translated word for word, this becomes "I fly to Manchester on Monday." That sentence is not wrong in English. However, it tends to sound like an entry in an itinerary or a timetable. When you tell someone about your arranged plan, the present continuous is the usual choice: "I'm flying to Manchester on Monday." In the same way you say "I'm meeting the client on Tuesday." rather than simply "I meet the client on Tuesday." A simple rule of thumb helps: if you have an entry for it in your calendar, the present continuous usually fits. If a timetable or a programme sets the time, the present simple fits: "The train leaves at 7:15." Will is possible too, as in "I'll fly to Manchester on Monday.", but it often sounds more like a decision made in the moment than a finished plan. With the present continuous you sound clear and natural about travel plans.
06 / 06
Two more traps: "im Zug" and "per E-Mail"
The second trap is in the preposition. In German you sit im Zug or im Flugzeug, so in the train feels natural. In English you usually say on for trains, flights, buses and ships: "I'm on the train.", "a seat on the 7:15 train", "Could you book me on the later flight?" For cars and taxis it stays in: "I'm in a taxi." The third trap is about the confirmation. In German you receive it per E-Mail. In English, per email is understandable but less idiomatic here than by email. The usual phrase is by email, just like by phone or by post: "Could you send me the confirmation by email?" Once you know these three traps, the present continuous for fixed plans, on for trains and flights, and by email, your messages to the travel desk will sound confident and natural. Finish with the politeness you have learned. Could you …? and I'd like to … are friendly, if possible softens your requests, and I'm afraid helps you with bad news.