Abbey Ireland and UK

Placement organization

Name of organization: Abbey Ireland and UK
Town/city: Edinburgh
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.abbey.ie/

Name of student: Max Muijrers

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2016-2017

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: DMC
Organization’s activities: Abbey Ireland & UK is the biggest DMC of Ireland and Scotland and upcoming in the rest of the UK. B2B model, handling and organizing tours for groups and group series from all over the world.

Target group of the organization: Individual, Groups, Conferences and Events
Company culture: Although there is a formal dress code (except for Fridays) and a certain hierarchy within the company structure, the communication is rather informal and very friendly. The management team apply an open door business culture which means (except for important meetings or phone calls) they keep their doors open and everyone is free to enter and address them personally.
Number of employees: 30 FT + 12 Interns
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Accommodation department.

Brief description of your daily activities: In our department we make sure all the groups who want to travel to / through the UK get accommodation in the area they requested it.
On a daily basis you’re working with the system, contacting accommodation suppliers, negotiate and take care of contracts.
Brief description of your company assignment: I needed to do research about how the company could imply the use of social media in their current B2B-model.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: From what I have experienced I can tell that all interns’ supervisors are very friendly and helpful. Everyone of them takes the time to explain something and as an intern you are always free to ask questions. Moreover they keep track on your progress, help you when necessary and guide you through the placement.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, team player, flexible , stress-proofed, reliable, communication skills, geographical knowledge and fluent English is required.
Additional company requirements for this placement? computer literacy (excel foremost)
English: Intermediate
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Language requirements depend on the department you are working in!

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? by myself (facebook groups and gumtree)
How did you go to work every day? by foot

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? No.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 200.00
Accommodation (monthly): € 550.00 (depends on area)
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 500.00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Monthly salary: £250.00

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
not
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Strong liver is required.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 162610@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you can’t find any accommodation before going to Edinburgh, don’t hesitate to move in a hostel first and then go and visit accommodations while you are here.

I recommend looking for private landlords and no renting via brokers since they want you to fill in three pages of documents with too many personal information regarding income and living addresses of the last three years and other.

Please do not pay any ‘rent’ or ‘deposit’ before you’ve seen your room. Some colleague-interns got scammed for a few hundred pounds…
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Edinburgh has tons of different things to offer. Glasgow within an hour by train and the rest of Scotland is in reach of 3-4 hours driving.

If you’re doing your internship during the summer make sure you’re in Edinburgh during August: Festival month !

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link