Kanaha Kai Maui

Placement organization

Name of organization: Kanaha Kai Maui
Town/city: Kahului, Maui, Hawai
Country: United States of America
Website: http://www.kanahakai.com

Student

Name of student: Petra Hompus

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Wind surf surf sup (and soon kitesurf) company
Organization’s activities: Kanaha Kai is a windsurf and stand up paddle rental and retail centre on Maui. Maui, one of the islands of Hawaii, is the best-known destination for its surfing and other water sports activities. Therefore it attracts many tourists from all over the world in this highly competitive nice market. Top of the line equipment is offered to provide customers in everything they need and to share the enthusiasm about water sports.
Target group of the organization: International tourism (US, Europe, Canada, Oceania)
Company culture: Open door policy, very informal
Number of employees: 2 fulltime, 3 parttime
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Sales, Marketing, Accounting a bit
Brief description of your daily activities: Day-to-day operations, partly front office, partly back office. Helping customers, organization of windsurf and other gear, providing customers with information, updating and improving databases, innovating online activities, social media, getting appliances sometimes, answering the phone.

Brief description of your company assignment: Marketing report regarding the set up of a new product, namely kitesurf department (rental gear).
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Open door policy, is very helpful but also expects you to work independently. Sometimes it’s too busy in which case they don’t have time to help or guide you.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, sociable, flexible, representable, initiative, open-minded. Driving license is a big plus. You kind of need a car to get around from your accommodation to work and all the other places on the island. Sometimes you also need to go out to get appliances or go to the bank to deposit checks etc. The bus is a possible transportation mode, and I used it as well in the beginning
because I couldn’t get one first, but it’s definitely easier to get around with
one. You need to be 21 to rent a car here or otherwise buy one.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, excel
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company and previous intern helped, but also looked myself first on craigslist.
How did you go to work every day? First bus because I could not rent a car yet, afterwards a car which is highly recommended. In the morning bus is okay, but in the afternoon doesn’t always drive on time

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Via Killroy
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? about 1-2 months. Depends on the timing, I had to wait 2 weeks during Christmas.
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? n/a

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € Don’t remember
Accommodation (monthly): € Don’t remember
Local transport (monthly): € Don’t remember
General costs of living (monthly): € Don’t remember
Costs of visa: € 1280,00
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation and sometimes a drink

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Not really, because the company supervisor is Dutch and I am as well. Sometimes people outside of work are not really straight-forward, which can be difficult to see through in the beginning. Americans can be a bit over friendly.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 113112@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you like water sports there is always something to do, windsurfing, surfing, stand up paddling, kitesurfing, snorkeling etc.
Beach is always good, and there are quite some adventurous activities here as well, such as hiking, helicopter rides, boat trips, mountainbiking.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Near Kahului there is Kanaha beach which is good for beginners for windsurfing, kitesurfing and sup. Near this place is paia which is also good for surfing. furthermore lots of other things to do here.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link