Lifestyle Experiences Group

Placement organization

Name of organization: Lifestyle Experiences Group
Town/city: Barcelona
Country: Spanje
Website: http://www.lifestylebarcelona.com

Name of student: Liesbeth van Hoppe

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Incoming touroperator, DMC
Organization’s activities: The Lifestyle Experiences group offers approximately 30 different activities in and around Barcelona. One part of the company offers these experiences, hotels and restaurants to businesses and large groups. The other part of the company offers these experiences to individuals.
Target group of the organization: Companies, groups and individual travelers
Company culture: Here at the Lifestyle Experiences Group we are fairly informal. It is a young team we are working with and a lot of them are interns.
Number of employees: 3
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 in the bookings department for the individual travelers, but when needed I am also working in the marketing department or on the DMC side of the company. It just depends on what needs to be done.
Brief description of your daily activities: I am working on the computer the whole day. I mostly send emails to potential clients and to providers. Besides that I also answer the phone and talk on the phone with my clients and providers. Beside these activities I also work update the social media and write some blogs.
Brief description of your company assignment: I need to write a company manual complete with SWOT analysis and at the end I need to give recommendations.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision by the organization is good. They are always willing to help you and you can ask anything you want.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Teamplayer, sociable, flexible, representable
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, good written skills
English: Intermediate
Spanish: Basic
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane or car

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet
How did you go to work every day? Public transportation, bike or on 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? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Yes

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 150
Accommodation (monthly): € 400
Local transport (monthly): € 30
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Transportation.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I had a language course in which we also discussed the culture in Spain.
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: liesbethvanhoppe@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you would like to do an internship at the Lifestyle Experiences Group you should make sure your English is proficient, because this is the language most used in the office and I recommend to have an intermediate level of Spanish at least. This makes it easier to contact providers on the telephone.
Be honoust in your resume and show that you can take initiative.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is so much to do in Barcelona, I do not even know where to start. The city is always alive and you will never get bored. Just walk around the city and enjoy. You will find what you will want to do.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link