Workers of the world, relax!

Chvez takes over Hilton

Level 2 Intermediate
1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

assets landmark decor dump rip-off

dilapidated decree condemn ally suite

1. A ____________ is an official order or decision made by a government or by a leader.

2. If a place is described as a ____________, it is dirty or unpleasant.
3. If a building is ____________, it is old and in a bad condition.
4. An ____________ is a country that makes an agreement with another country to work together to help
each other.
5. If you ____________ someone, you say publicly that you think they are bad or wrong.
6. ____________ is the style of decoration and furniture in a building.
7. A ____________ is a set of rooms, especially in a hotel.
8. A ____________ is a situation where you are cheated by being charged too much for goods or services.
9. A ____________ is a famous building or object that you can see and recognize easily.
10. ____________ are the money and/or property that a company owns.

2 Find the information

Find the following information as quickly as possible.

1. Who is the president of Venezuela?

2. How many rooms and suites does the former Hilton on Margarita Island have?
3. In which other country is there an Alba hotel?
4. How many people work in the Caracas Alba hotel?
5. How many rooms does the Caracas Alba hotel have?
6. What percentage of the rooms at the Caracas Alba hotel have been filled this year?
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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009

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NEWS LESSONS / Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton / Intermediate
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 Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton
Level 2 Intermediate
Workers of the world, relax! Chvez
takes over Hilton
Socialist hotel empire grows as Venezuelan
president seizes second property
Rory Carroll in Caracas
22 October, 2009
1 At reception there is a portrait of the president
of Venezuela, Hugo Chvez. The managers
support socialism, the guests wear red T-shirts
and the decor promotes Latin American
solidarity: welcome to Hotel Chvez. The hotel
used to be the Caracas Hilton but today the
36-storey building towers over Venezuelas
capital as a symbol of Hugo Chvezs
leftist revolution.
2 The government took it over from the US
hotel chain two years ago as part of a move
towards greater state control of the economy.
The hotel was renamed Alba dawn in
Spanish and now it hosts summits which
condemn US imperialism and chart a brighter,
leftist future.We are the first socialist hotel
but hopefully not the last, said Katiuska
Camaripano, its general manager.
3 Last week the hotel acquired a sister: the
government seized the Hilton on Margarita
Island, Venezuelas tourist playground. Chvez
had been angry during a meeting of African
leaders he hosted at the hotel. The owners
tried to impose conditions on the revolutionary
government. No way. So I said, Lets seize it.
And now it is government property.
4 A presidential decree transferred the hotels
assets, including 280 rooms, 210 suites, shops,
restaurants and a casino to the tourism ministry.
A Hilton spokeswoman said the company was
evaluating the Venezuelan governments action.
5 The states Margarita hotel may also be
renamed Alba, consolidating the brand name.
Venezuela has also partly funded a small
Alba hotel in Managua, capital of its leftist
ally Nicaragua, said Camaripano. It would be
wonderful if we became part of a socialist chain.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
NEWS LESSONS / Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton / Intermediate
6 Two years after it became a political as well
as geographic landmark, the Caracas Alba
gets mixed reactions. Managers say it is a
combination of socialist values, business sense
and first-class service. Critics say it is a dump in
which nothing works.
7 There have been some striking changes. The
American and European managers and rich
foreign guests who used to buy jewellery and
cosmetics in the shops are gone. Government
officials dressed in red and Cuban delegations
have mostly taken their place. Business is
dead. All we sell now is chewing gum and
antibiotics, said one store owner sadly. The
Italian restaurant now serves more Caribbean
food. The gift shop offers a range of Chvez
ceramics costing from $20 to $240. The
bookshop which sold glossy magazines and
Dan Brown novels has been replaced by a
culture ministry shop offering cheap political
books, with some costing the equivalent of just
50p. The problem is people buy the books and
sell them on for profit, said Nicola Castilla, the
bookshop clerk.
8 The top floors of the hotel have superb views
of downtown Caracas, the vila mountain
and hillside slums but the hotels surrounding
district, an area full of theatres and museums,
has become dilapidated and crime-ridden.
Many middle-class Venezuelans who used to
visit the area now go only when participating in
opposition marches. As they pass the Alba they
chant out, apparently with reference to
the Cubans.
9 Managers say the 400 staff who used to
work in the old Hilton hotel reflect socialist
values by doing voluntary work such as rubbish
collection on their days off. The hotel says it
gives its staff generous benefits which are not in
their contracts, such as paying for babysitters.
A basic room costs $286 a night but discounts
are offered to the poor, said Rayneth Oleaga,
a spokesman for the government agency that
administers the hotel. It is for the people. It is
open to all.
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 Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton
Level 2 Intermediate
10 The hotel has 900 rooms but under Hilton
management only 545 were used, a number
the Alba has increased to 782. Last years 90%
occupancy rate owed much to government
delegations, said Camaripano. Occupancy this
year has fallen to 65% but the hotel still makes
a profit. We are getting a lot of ordinary tourists
as well as official delegations.
11 Travel agents dont agree. Venezuelas capital
has a shortage of hotel rooms but foreign
tourists often refuse to stay in the Alba, because
of bad service, credit card rip-offs, musty smells,
tatty furniture and overpriced food. There are
not many online reviews of the hotel now but
the few that are posted are extremely critical. I
would never under any circumstances go back
there, even if it were free, said one former
guest. It reminded me of Eastern European
hotels in the 60s, very depressing. I was glad
to leave.
Guardian News & Media 2009
First published in The Guardian, 22/10/09

3 Comprehension check
Are these sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the text?

1. The Hilton hotel company sold their hotel on Margarita Island to the Venezuelan government.
2. The Margarita Island Hilton hotel now belongs to the Venezuelan tourism ministry.
3. The Caracas Alba hotel is full of Americans managers and rich foreign guests.
4. The area around the Caracas Alba hotel is a rich area full of expensive restaurants.
5. All the workers who worked at the old Caracas Hilton lost their jobs.
6. The Caracas Alba hotel has more rooms in use than the Caracas Hilton had.

4 Find the word

Find the following words and phrases in the text.

1. a noun meaning a meeting or series of meetings between the leaders of two or more countries (para 2)
____________________

2. a verb meaning to take something using official power and force (para 3) ____________________

3. an adjective meaning attracting your interest or attention because of some unusual feature (para 7)
____________________

4. an adjective meaning printed on shiny paper with a lot of bright pictures (para 7) ____________________

5. a noun meaning a poor area of a town or city where the houses are in a very bad condition (para 8)
____________________

6. an adjective meaning smelling unpleasant and not fresh (para 11) ____________________

7. an adjective meaning old and in a bad condition (para 11) ____________________

8. an adjective meaning worth less than the price that is being charged (para 11) ____________________
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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009

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NEWS LESSONS / Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton / Intermediate
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 Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton
Level 2 Intermediate
5 Two-word expressions
Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make two-word
expressions from the text.

1. general a. review
2. brand b. work
3. mixed c. magazine
4. glossy d. manager
5. crime e. reaction
6. voluntary f. delegation
7. official g. ridden
8. online h. name

6 Word building
Complete the table.

verb noun
1. react
2. oppose
3. collect
4. manage
5. receive
6. combine
7. refer
8. review

7 Discussion
Should governments take over businesses run by international companies like Hilton? Why? Why not?
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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009

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NEWS LESSONS / Workers of the world, relax! Chvez takes over Hilton / Intermediate
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