Santiago Backpackers

Placement organization

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

Student

Name of student: Iines Korsi

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Accommodation
Organization’s activities: The hostel hosts tourists in Santiago for overnights.
Target group of the organization: Tourists
Company culture: International environment. Almost half of the staff is volunteers and therefore not counted as employees. In total we are 11 people.
Number of employees: 5
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes and no

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Sales and reservations manager
Brief description of your daily activities: Bookings, emails, any contact with the guests. Helping at the reception. Controlling of prices and promotions. Analysing occupancy for better results than last year.
Brief description of your company assignment: I have to make a manual for the next reservations manager, in order to transfer the information as clearly as possible. Also to criticize the importance of the position and how the person can make better sales in future.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Only by email, very weak. I see him 2 times in a month.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independency, social skills with guests, initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself, looked for an agency online.
How did you go to work every day? Public transport, bus.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Not necessary, can leave the country after 3 months to renew tourist visa.
Do you need a work permit? No.
How did you arrange the necessary documents: No need. You will receive the tourist visa paper on the plane.
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, helps if Spanish not advanced

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1100€
Accommodation (monthly): € 400€
Local transport (monthly): € 200€
General costs of living (monthly): € 150€
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Half of the accommodation rent.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Looked through some articles of experience and read about the culture from a travel guide.
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: iines.korsi@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: I recomment the people to see the south, so plan your stay so that you have time travelling.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Possible to bike and run in and around Santiago. Nice hiking in the hills.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link