Santiago Backpackers

Placement organization

Name of organization: Santiago Backpackers
Town/city: Santiago
Country: Chili
Website: http://www.santiagobackpackers.com

Name of student: Sita de Wilde

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Hostel
Organization’s activities: Accommodation
Target group of the organization: Backpackers
Company culture: Informal
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 worked mainly in the department management and sometimes I helped the departments reception and cleaning.
Brief description of your daily activities: Every day I processed the reservations that came in by email. I checked and changed availability of the beds on every online booking engine. I also answered emails and had contact with companies the hostel collaborate with. Furthermore I was in charge of the prices and promotions from the hostel. I had to analyze the occupancy, competitors and other factors to adjust prices and add promotions based on that. I had to make charts ans graphs to analyze the occupancy and check the payments that were being made by guests. Other regular activities during the day, were helping reception, checking cleaning and other small tasks to help the manager.
Brief description of your company assignment: To analyze and improve the procedures from the employees of Santiago Backpackers. ‘How to make sure that all the procedures there are, are done by the workers, in order to give the guests a similar experience’.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Most of the time I worked independent and when I needed help I always asked my colleagues. My supervisor was the owner of the hostel and I had daily contact with him through email and chat. Once a week I had a meeting with my supervisor.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, team player, social, flexible and sometimes stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word and Excel
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I arranged the accommodation by myself. I choosed to stay somewhere else, it was also possible for me to stay in the hostel.
How did you go to work every day? By bus. Public transport is quite good in Santiago.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? You do need a visa, but this visa is really expensive and there is another way you can do it. Everyone gets a tourist visa when entering Chile. It’s only valid for three months, so you will have to extend the visa in Santiago or travel to another country. I travelled one time to Argentina and when I got back to Chile, they gave me a new tourist visa.
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? There are some vaccinations that are not required, but recommended. I already had most of these vaccinations, but I think you will have to start three months before.

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Yes, it’s a good way to start your stay in Chile. You will not only learn more Spanish, but you also learn about the way they speak in Chile. The Chilean people speak a bit different, than for example in Spain.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1300
Accommodation (monthly): € 380
Local transport (monthly): € 50
General costs of living (monthly): € 250
Costs of visa: € 600
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? They gave me USD240 a month to pay for my rent, my own accommodation. If I had choosed to stay at the hostel during my internship, I would get accommodation and meals.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I read travel guides, like lonely planet and searched information on the internet.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No, the culture didn’t influence me.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 112934@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Chile is a beautiful country and there is a lot to see. If you have time, you should definitely travel to some places in Chile. I’ve been to San Pedro, Patagonia, Valparaíso and other places and it was great. Unfortunately I didn’t got a lot of time to travel, so if it is possible you should stay a few weeks before or after your internship in Chile, so you have more time to travel.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do in and around Santiago, like partying, visiting markets, shopping, wine tasting, horseback riding and hiking.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link