Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A főnök üzleti találkozóra megy a szállodába. - The boss goes to the hotel for a business meeting.

A is the definite article in Hungarian, equivalent to “the”.
Hungarian normally repeats the article in front of each definite noun phrase, so you get A főnök … a szállodába = “The boss … to the hotel.”
Before words starting with a vowel sound, a turns into az (e.g. az orvos = “the doctor”), but here both főnök and szálloda start with consonants, so a is used.

Why is there no separate word for “to” in a szállodába?

Hungarian usually does not use separate prepositions like “to” for direction; it uses case endings on the noun instead.
The ending -ba on szállodába means “into / to (the inside of)”, so szálloda (hotel) + -ba → “into the hotel / to the hotel.”
So a szállodába literally means “to-into the hotel,” and that replaces “to the hotel” in English.

What’s the difference between -ba in szállodába and -ra in találkozóra?

Both endings express direction, but they’re used differently:

-ba / -be = “into” a place (movement into an interior):
- szálloda → szállodába = (to) into the hotel.
-ra / -re = originally “onto”, but it’s also used for events/occasions:
- találkozó → találkozóra = to/for a meeting.

So üzleti találkozóra megy is “(he) goes to a business meeting,” while a szállodába megy is “(he) goes into the hotel.”

Why is it üzleti találkozó and not just üzlet találkozó? What does -i do?

Üzlet means “shop” or “business” as a noun.
The suffix -i often turns a noun into an adjective with the meaning “related to / of / about X.”
So üzleti ≈ “business-related” or simply “business” as an adjective, and üzleti találkozó is literally “business meeting.”
Without -i, üzlet találkozó would be wrong; you need üzleti to modify találkozó correctly.

Why is találkozó in the form találkozóra?

The base noun is találkozó = “meeting.”
When you add -ra/-re to a noun, you usually get “to / onto / for (that)” in a directional sense.
So találkozóra means “to a meeting / for a meeting.”
In this sentence, üzleti találkozóra megy = “(he) is going to a business meeting.”

Why is megy used here, and what tense is it?

Megy is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb menni = “to go.”
Hungarian doesn’t have a separate present continuous (“is going”) form; simple present covers both “goes” and “is going.”
So A főnök … megy can be translated as either “The boss goes …” or “The boss is going …,” depending on context.
A common variant is elmegy (“go(es) away / off”), but here megy alone is perfectly natural.

Why isn’t there a word for “is” as in “The boss is going …”?

In Hungarian, present-tense action verbs (like megy) don’t use an extra “to be” verb.
The single word megy already expresses “is going / goes.”
You only see a separate form of “to be” (e.g. van) in certain structures, such as “He is a boss” – Ő főnök (and even there, van is usually omitted in the 3rd person present).
For progressive meaning (“is going”), context plus the present tense verb is enough.

Could I also say egy üzleti találkozóra? What difference would that make?

Yes, Egy üzleti találkozóra megy a szállodába is grammatically correct.
Egy is the indefinite article (“a / an”).
Hungarian often omits the indefinite article with certain kinds of events and roles (e.g. meetings, lessons, jobs) when they’re not being emphasized.
Adding egy can sound a bit more like “to a (certain) business meeting,” while leaving it out is more neutral and generic.

Why is a szállodába at the end? Is that the normal word order?

The neutral Hungarian word order is often Subject – (other info) – Verb – (destination) or simply Subject – Verb – Other, but in practice it’s quite flexible.
Here, A főnök üzleti találkozóra megy a szállodába is a normal, neutral sentence:

A főnök = subject
üzleti találkozóra = purpose
megy = verb
a szállodába = final destination.

You could move parts around for emphasis, but this order sounds natural and unmarked.

How would I say “My boss is going to a business meeting at the hotel”?

You add a possessive ending to főnök:

főnököm = my boss (főnök + -öm).

So the sentence is:
A főnököm üzleti találkozóra megy a szállodába.
Literally: “The my-boss business-meeting-to goes the hotel-into.”

How would this sentence look in the plural, “The bosses are going to a business meeting at the hotel”?

You pluralize both the noun and the verb:

főnök → főnökök (bosses)
megy → mennek (they go / are going)

So the full sentence is:
A főnökök üzleti találkozóra mennek a szállodába.

What do the accents on főnök and szállodába mean for pronunciation?

In Hungarian, the acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú, ő, ű) marks long vowels, not stress.

főnök: ő is a long front rounded vowel; it’s held longer than ö.
szállodába: á is a long a; again, held longer than a.

Word stress is always on the first syllable in Hungarian, so: FŐ-nök, SZÁL-lo-da-ba.