When the hotel, taxi or airline calls you: answering phone calls abroad

By the Travel's Calling team · Updated November 10, 2026

Most advice about phone calls abroad assumes you're the one dialing, so you can write your request down and call when you're ready. Incoming calls don't give you that. The phone rings while you're unpacking or on a train, someone speaks quickly in the local language, and you have to work out who it is and what they want. The good news: these calls are short, predictable and very manageable once you know the pattern.

Who calls travelers, and why

• Your hotel or host: confirming your arrival time, a room problem or a room change, an extra bed or futon for a second guest, room cleaning, or a check-in detail like a door or lockbox code.
• A taxi or pickup service: a dispatcher calling back with your car's number and the wait time, or a driver who can't find you at the pickup point.
• An airline: a schedule change, a delay or a gate change. Most airlines notify you by email or app, but some also call, especially for big changes.
• A restaurant: confirming a reservation, sometimes asking you to reply or lose the table.
• A tour operator or guide: a change of meeting point or time, weather cancellations, or a pickup at your hotel.

Almost every one of these calls is doing one of a few jobs: confirming something, giving you a time, a code or a number, offering an extra, or reporting a problem. Work out which job it is and the details become much easier to follow.

Answer, then buy yourself time

Pick up with the local greeting (see the table below) or a simple "Hello?". Then, before they get far, ask for what you need: "Sorry, could you speak more slowly, please?" Most callers will slow down and simplify straight away, because they talk to visitors all the time. It also helps to ask who's calling: "Sorry, who's calling, please?" Once you know it's the hotel or the taxi, you can guess most of what comes next.

If you're somewhere noisy, say so and move somewhere quieter, or ask them to call back in five minutes. That's normal on any phone, in any language.

Ask them to repeat, spell or send it in writing

The parts that go wrong are names, numbers and codes. Ask for them one at a time:

• "Could you repeat that, please?"
• "Could you spell that, please?" For names, spelling with words ("B as in Bravo") helps both sides.
• "Could you send that by text message or email?" Many hotels, airlines and tour operators will happily follow up in writing.

None of this is rude. Getting a booking right matters more to them than a fast call.

Confirm times, names and numbers by reading them back

The most useful habit on an incoming call is to repeat back what you understood as a question: "Car Roma twenty-three, five minutes?" or "Cleaning tomorrow at ten, yes?" The caller will either confirm or correct you, and both are useful.

• Times: many countries use the 24-hour clock on the phone, so "eighteen" or "twenty" means 6 pm or 8 pm.
• Dates: in most of Europe and Latin America dates are said day first; in Japan it's year, month, day.
• Numbers and codes: write them down as they come, in your notes app or on paper, and read them back digit by digit.
• Names: confirm the name of the person or company calling, and what they called about.

Don't say yes to a question you didn't understand

"Yes" is the most expensive word on a travel call. It can mean you just agreed to an extra charge, declined something you wanted, or confirmed the wrong time. If you aren't sure what you're agreeing to, repeat back what you think you heard, or ask them to send it in writing before you say yes.

Watch out for scam calls

Some scammers call travelers pretending to be the hotel front desk, an airline or a booking site, often late at night or just after check-in, and ask you to "confirm" your card details. A real hotel or airline that needs payment details can wait while you check by calling back on the official number.

• Never give a card number, security code, PIN or one-time code to someone who called you unexpectedly.
• Hang up and call back on the official number: the one on the hotel's or airline's own website or app, or on your booking confirmation. Don't use a number the caller gives you.
• At a hotel, the simplest check is to walk down to the front desk and ask in person.

See it happen: two short, dramatized calls

We made two short comedy videos about exactly this kind of call. They are dramatized and scripted, with AI voices. They are not real calls and not recordings of Travel's Calling.

• Rome taxi mix-up (YouTube Short): a dispatcher calls back with "Roma twenty-three, in five minutes", and the traveler hears twenty-three people. The number was the car's code.
• Tokyo hotel futon mix-up (YouTube Short): the front desk calls to offer a futon for a second guest, and the traveler hears "food".

Both mistakes come from saying yes too fast. A read-back ("Car Roma twenty-three?" or "Futon? A bed?") would have fixed them in two seconds. For more on these two cities, see our guides to Rome taxi phrases and Japanese phone phrases.

Short phrases to keep on your phone

• "Hello, this is [your name]."
• "Sorry, who's calling, please?"
• "Could you speak more slowly, please?"
• "Could you repeat that, please?"
• "Could you spell that, please?"
• "Let me check: [time / number / name], is that right?"
• "Could you send that by text message or email, please?"
• "I'll call you back in five minutes."
• "Thank you, goodbye."

Phrase table

Quick answers

Who might call me while I'm traveling abroad?

Usually your hotel or host, a taxi or pickup service, an airline with a schedule change, a restaurant confirming a reservation, or a tour operator with a change of plans.

What should I say if I don't understand the caller?

Ask them to speak more slowly or repeat, ask who's calling, and ask them to send the details by text message or email. Don't say yes until you know what you're agreeing to.

Should I give my card details to my hotel if they call me?

Not to an unexpected caller. Hang up and call the hotel back on the number from its official website or your booking confirmation, or ask at the front desk in person.

More phone call guides

• Fear of phone calls abroad, and how to get past it
• How to call a taxi in Rome (Italian phrases that work)
• Japanese phone phrases for travelers
• How to practice phone calls before you travel
• All guides