español · A2 · vocabulary · 4 minutes

Checking into a hotel

Check in smoothly and solve basic problems at reception.

Understand the choice

Check in, locate your room, and solve the most common hotel problems. The highest-value chunks are tener una reserva, a nombre de…, ¿a qué hora…?, and no hay…, because they open complete exchanges at reception.

Core rule: A nombre de identifies the person whose name appears on a reservation.

Notice it in context

Tengo una reserva a nombre de Ana López.

I have a reservation under the name Ana López.

A nombre de identifies the person whose name appears on a reservation.

¿A qué hora es el desayuno?

What time is breakfast?

A qué hora asks for an event time.

La habitación no tiene toallas.

The room does not have towels.

No directly precedes tiene.

What to remember

  • A nombre de introduces the name used for a booking, not necessarily the person speaking.
  • Habitación is a hotel room; llave is a physical key, while tarjeta may be the electronic room key.

Common trap: Do not translate “under my name” with debajo de. Reservation names use a nombre de: una reserva a nombre de Kowalski.

Practice this lesson with recall