Questions & Answers about A receção não diria isso ao hóspede.
Why is the verb diria and not "dizeria"?
Diria is the conditional form of dizer (to say). Usually, you form the conditional by adding endings to the whole infinitive, but dizer is irregular. Its stem changes to dir-, and then you add the regular ending -ia for the "ele/ela/você" form, since a receção counts as a single entity ("it").
Why do we use isso for "that" instead of aquilo?
Both mean "that", but isso refers to something just mentioned in the conversation or something related to the person you are listening to. Aquilo means "that over there", pointing to something far from both speakers. Here, they are referring to a statement that was just brought up, so isso fits best.
Why is it ao hóspede instead of just o hóspede?
The verb dizer requires the preposition a (to) when you are saying something to someone. We combine a with the masculine word for "the" (o) to get ao. So, ao hóspede literally translates to "to the guest".
Can a receção refer to the staff, or just the physical front desk?
It refers to both! Just like in English, you can use a receção (the reception) to talk about the physical area in a hotel or the people working there.