This section is cut out for individuals who like to go backpacking or travel solo in Taiwan. Accommodation is always on the top of the minds of travelers. First, location: whether the place is located where public transit is convenient. Second, price: whether the hotel has competitive prices or offers affordable deals. By and large, people would book hotel rooms way in advance of the actual check-in date. However, if you are the type who wants to enjoy larger travelling freedom that doesn’t want to be tied to a single place, then booking a hotel room in a different city with the locals becomes a crucial skill. In what follows, I’ll walk you through the procedures by which a person books a hotel room in Taiwan.

Basically, the receptionist will discuss the following details with you:

• Number of guests
• Room type
• Duration of stay (how many nights)
• Price

After these have been confirmed, they will move on to ask for your name and phone number. Some hotels might require you to pay the deposit fee upfront.

Guest:

嗨！你好，我想要訂一間房間

hāi ！ nǐ hǎo ， wǒ xiǎng yào dìng yì jiān fáng jiān

Hi, I’d like to book a room.

訂 dìng: to book (a room)

Number of guests

好的，請問…

hǎo de ， qǐng wèn …

有幾個人要住？

yǒu jǐ ge rén yào zhù ？

How many guests?

Room type

訂幾人房？

dìng jǐ rén fáng ？

Which room type are you booking?

單人房 dān rén fáng: single

雙人房 shuāng rén fáng: double

四人房 shì rén fáng: 4 people

…

經濟 jīn jì: economy

標準 biāo zhǔn: standard

豪華 háo huá: luxury

Duration of stay (how many nights)

你要住幾號到幾號？

nǐ yào zhù jǐ hào dào jǐ hào ？

You’re staying from which date to which date?

你要住幾晚？（幾個晚上）

nǐ yào zhù jǐ wǎn ？（ jǐ gè wǎn shàng ）

How many nights are you staying?

Price

價格是一晚…塊，所以這樣子總共是…塊

jià gé shì yì wǎn … kuài ， suǒ yǐ zhè yàng zi zǒng gòng shì … kuài

The price is $… per night, so it would work out to a total of $…

價格 jià gé: price

Receptionist:

那在這邊我要跟您留個姓名跟電話號碼

nà zài zhè biān wǒ yào gēn nín liú ge xìng míng gēn diàn huà hào mǎ

Then here I’d like to have your full name and number.

留 liú: to keep (sth. for later use)

請問您叫什麼名字？

qǐng wèn nín jiào shén me míng zì ？

What is your name?

電話號碼是什麼？

diàn huà hào mǎ shì shén me ？

What is your phone number?

Paying deposit

訂金 dìng jīng: deposit

我們預訂房間需要支付___塊的訂金，

請您在___號結束前匯款到 (銀行帳號)

wǒ mén yù dìng fáng jiān xū yào zhī fù ___ kuài de dìng jīn ，

qǐng nín zài ___ hào jié shù qián huì kuǎn dào ( yín háng zhàng hào )

We have to pay a $… deposit when we book a room. We would like to ask you to wire the deposit to (bank account) by (date).

我們預訂房間需要支付___塊的訂金，

請您在___號結束前用信用卡付款

wǒ mén yù dìng fáng jiān xū yào zhī fù ___ kuài de dìng jīn ，

qǐng nín zài ___ hào jié shù qián yòng xìng yòng kǎ fù kuǎn

We have to pay a $… deposit when we book a room. We would like to ask you to pay the deposit with credit card by (date).

預訂 yù ding: to book

支付 zhī fù: to pay

匯款 huì kuǎn: to wire payment

銀行帳號 yín háng zhàng hào: account number

信用卡 xìng yòng kǎ: credit card

付款fù kuǎn: to pay money (to give payment)

Bonus

You could also straight up specify the date and ask about the availability of any rooms on that particular date. Then, you proceed to negotiate time, duration of stay, room type, and so forth.

您好，我想預訂…月…號的房間，請問還有沒有床位？

nín hǎo ， wǒ xiǎng yù dìng … yuè … hào de fáng jiān ， qǐng wèn hái yǒu méi yǒu chuáng wèi ？

Hi, I would like to book a room on (date). Is there any available?

床位 chuáng wèi: bed (in the context of room booking)

Check-in time

辦理入住bàn lǐ rù zhù: check-in

我們辦理入住的時間是當天(time)以後/以前

wǒ men bàn lǐ rù zhù de shí jiān shì dāng tiān (time) yǐ hòu / yǐ qián

Our check-in time will be before/after (time) on that day.

當天: on the same day

所以您可以在(time)以後/以前任何時間辦理入住

suǒ yǐ nín kě yǐ zài (time) yǐ hòu / yǐ qián rèn hé shí jiān bàn lǐ rù zhù

So, you could check in at any time after/before (time).

For instance,

我們辦理入住的時間是當天下午六點以後

wǒ men bàn lǐ rù zhù de shí jiān shì dāng tiān xià wǔ liù diǎn yǐ hòu

Our check-in time will be after 6pm on that day.

我們辦理入住的時間是當天晚上十點以前

wǒ men bàn lǐ rù zhù de shí jiān shì dāng tiān wǎn shàng shí diǎn yǐ qián

Our check-in time will be before 10pm on that day.

我們辦理入住的時間是當天下午六點和晚上十點之間

wǒ men bàn lǐ rù zhù de shí jiān shì dāng tiān xià wǔ liù diǎn hé wǎn shàng shí diǎn zhī jiān

Our check-in time will be between 6pm and 10pm on that day.

A和B之間: between A and B