Germany is one of the world’s major nine languages and is spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and also in Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. Although it is considered to be a major worldwide language, it is only really spoken by a population majority in one large but localised part of Europe. German speaking people do form minority communities in other parts of Europe however; such as Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Many other parts of the world outside of Europe also have a German speaking population, with substantial communities existing in Brazil, North America and Argentina. This makes for a total of about 100 million native German speakers and about 80 million non-native speakers. Because Germany is so close to so many European countries that do not have a German speaking population, translation into other languages should always be a big concern for the German tourist industry.

Hotels are one obvious example of places that have to remain accessible to as large a group of people as possible. It is common place for a hotel in Berlin or a hotel Hamburg to have visitors from many other nations who speak many other languages. It is a lot easier for international visitors if the common hotel texts such as information brochures, menus and websites are translated and updated in other common international languages as well as German. Transalation to English is often crucial for any business that is big enough and wants to remain relevant to an international market. Translation into French may also be important for a German run business in order to service a larger group of potential visitors.

Hotel translation services are one of those things that are not necessary, but can be incredibly helpful from a visitors perspective. It is still possible for non-German speaking people to stay and spend money in a German hotel with no translation service whatsoever. Many international visitors however, find it stressful and difficult when having to read information in a language in which they are not fluent. If a business decides to employ the services of a translation professional, they may be able to pick up a much larger percentage of the market share. Translating for a hotel in Berlin, Hamburg or indeed anywhere in Germany would be a relatively simple procedure for the right person.

For example, a hotel in Hamburg such as the one featured at the zleep.de website would have to decide exactly which hotel texts that they would want to be translated. The initial information that a international visitor will come into contact with will be the hotel’s website and those brochures that are often handed out in travel agents and at tourist centres. These will be the first texts that a hotel would probably want translated, possibly followed by thse texts that remain at a specific hotel environment.

These may include room information like television and telephone texts, menu texts, and the separate texts regarding hotel rates and services. If any hotel business in Hamburg or anywhere in Germany really wants to grow and service as large an international market as possible, it would be a great idea to translate at least this basic information into English and French.