General Training Writing Task 1 · formal · request

Letter to a Hotel Manager regarding lost property

You Recently Went on A Business Trip and Stayed in A Hotel. On Getting Home, You realize You Left Some Things at the Hotel.

Write a Letter to The Hotel Manager. In your letter:

details of your stay?
the Items You left behind?
what do You Want the Manager to Do?

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to report that I inadvertently left some personal belongings in my room following my recent stay at the Grand Plaza Hotel. I was a guest in room 402 from the 12th to the 15th of October under the name Arthur Penhaligon.

Upon returning home, I discovered that I had left a leather-bound notebook and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones in the hotel. The notebook was sitting on the mahogany desk, while the headphones were tucked away inside the bedside drawer. Given that the notebook contains several sensitive project notes for my company, I am quite anxious to recover these items as soon as possible.

Could you please check with your housekeeping team to see if these items have been retrieved? If they have been found, I would be very grateful if you could arrange for them to be couriered to my home address in London. I am more than happy to cover all shipping costs incurred and can provide my credit card details over the phone at your convenience.

Thank you for your assistance in resolving this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur Penhaligon

188 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

This letter achieves Band 8 by addressing all bullet points clearly with a professional, consistent tone and appropriate vocabulary. A common mistake for Band 6 candidates is failing to provide specific details about the stay, such as room numbers or dates, which makes it difficult for the hotel to actually assist.

Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.
If you know the person's surname, use Dear Mr or Ms and close with Yours sincerely.
No contractions, no slang; polite indirect requests such as I would be grateful if you could.

Useful phrases from the letter

inadvertently: without intention; accidentally or unintentionally
leather-bound: covered or bound with a layer of leather
sensitive: requiring careful treatment due to confidential information
housekeeping: the department responsible for cleaning hotel rooms
couriered: delivered by a professional express delivery service
incurred: become subject to as a result of one's actions

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

On your phone? Get the BandLadder app.

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Formal. Write to an organisation or someone you do not know: open with Dear Sir or Madam, close with Yours faithfully.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.