Citytrip Barcelona

Placement organization

Name of organization: Citytrip Barcelona
Town/city: Barcelona
Country: Spanje
Website: http://www.citytripbarcelona.com

Name of student: Sander Geers

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Accommodation
Organization’s activities: Renting apartments for leisure and business
Target group of the organization: Families (with children)
Company culture: Informal, friendly and open.
Number of employees: 10
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? I am working at the reception, where I do all tasks of frontoffce and backoffice. Because it is a small company, you have to deal with everything you can think of in an apartment rental company. Also, you get to know everyting what is going on this business. A perfect opportunity to know how a company really runs.
Brief description of your daily activities: The daily activities are mainly all possible ways of customer service.
This means: answering phone calls and mails, making new reservations and offers, do check-ins and check-outs and deal with complaints. Make the stay of the clients as good and comfortable as it can be and help them with any needs they may have.

Brief description of your company assignment: Competitor analyse, I have to compare other apartment rental companies in Barcelona with Citytrip Barcelona to improve the company. Also I have to investigate how they can improve the marks on Booking.com.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: If you have questions, you don’t have to be afraid to ask your supervisor or anyone who is near you. At moments that you will be alone, you can call.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? You have to be independent and social, because you will have lots of contact with clients. You will get a lot of responsibility and you have to be stress-proof.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Outlook, Word, Excel and writing skills.
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: If your Spanish is basic, they really appreciate it when you take a Spanish course during your internship

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Agency: www.happycasa.es
How did you go to work every day? Metro

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Yes

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 200 retour
Accommodation (monthly): € 430 (incl. water, gas, internet and light)
Local transport (monthly): € 120, metroticket for 3 months
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation of €250 a month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Not, you get used to it really quick and it is not very different to Holland.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: sander_geers@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: There is a lot to discover in Barcelona (Parc Güell, Sagrada Familia, Arc de Triomf, Tibidabo, Montjuïc etc.), but you find the real Spanish culture in the outskirts of Barcelona. Visit the small cities outside of Barcelona: Castelldefels, Sitges, Mataró.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Daytrips, going out, football, relaxing on the beach.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link