One2Surf Bali

Placement organization

Name of organization: One2Surf Bali
Town/city: Padang Padang, Bali
Country: Indonesië
Website: http://www.one2surfbali.com/

Student

Name of student: Florian Castor

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Surf Accommodation Agency
Organization’s activities: Through the website, One2Surf Bali offers various handpicked accommodations for surf minded travellers on Bali. Most of the accommodations are located in the southern Peninsula, the Bukit, where the surf life is most evident. Besides, the company serves also with Villa Management, meaning that local or international Villa owners can hand over the marketing, sales and management of their properties to One2Surf. Activities then include all financial administration, updating and monotoring online platforms such as flipkey or airbnb as well as all managerial tasks down to check in and check outs of guests. Furthermore, the company has established itself as a sub agent organizing transportation, tours, surf lessons, flights and ferries as well as visa extensions.
Target group of the organization: Surf minded travellers aged 18-50
Company culture: The company culture can be described as very informal and portraying the the surf lifestyle. A common philosphy applied is the Indonesian saying ”Santai Saja”, which means ”Just Relax”, which is mirrowed in the companies laid back and direct way of communication with its customers. Within the office, no official uniform is required and daily beach clothes is standard.
Number of employees: 2
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? I was expecting other collgeues to work with and learn from but found myself working alone most of the time until an office guy was hired. After that only 4 more interns which I supervised were working with me. I amworking 6 days a week while actually agreed was an occassional weekend.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? No clear department as I have been working on everything.
Brief description of your daily activities: Email correspondance, replying on booking requests and inquire with suppliers
Office administration
dealing with walk in customers, ferries, flights and visa extensions
supervison of all other interns and office staff
coordination of operational activities, check ins and outs
having a general overview of daily issues
problem fixing concerning villa management
guest relations
supplier relations
direct contact to owner and CEO

Brief description of your company assignment: marketing and developement plan:

How can the company increase its marketing activities taking the low budget in consideration and what possibilities are there for further developments in the company and its product line.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Like I said, I was alone in the beginning witb only the company supervisor. We have a good working relationship but the supervison is limited to few hours a week. Certain things were explained to me but I had to pick it up quickly and mostly do things the way I thought it was best. Mina, the CEO was mostly available for me if I called and needed help. Two weekly meetings were held where the week ahead and things were dealt with that needed discussion. besides private casual talks are quite frequent and I approached her several time with things on my mind. I believe if I would not have had a proactive as well as laid back apporach to it my time there would have been compromized. You need to be active, able to work independently and should not need constant supervison. many problem I faced needed to be dealt with immidiatly rather than later and no time to consult the supervisor. If you are energetic, proactive and dedicated this with be a good internship for you. If you need someone to double check every step or decision that you make, please do not do it. You will be running the company preety much and have loads of responsibilities. I needed to find my way of dealing with the working approach and succeeded but it surely is not for everyone.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, self confident, problem solving and social skills
Additional company requirements for this placement? writing skills
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? yourself
How did you go to work every day? Motorbike

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Social Cultural Visa, max 6 months stay
Do you need a work permit? Tricky, as working is not permited unless an official working permit is granted. Meaning that I first arrived on a Tourist Visa ( 30 EUR), valid 30 days and extended for another 30 days( 30 EUR). Then left the country for Singapore ( Return roughly 100 EUR) where the Social Cultural Visa ( 175 SGD) was granted for another 60 days. After that each month the visa needs to be extended ( 30 EUR) for a max stax of 6 months. Working is officialy not permited with either of these visas but it is simply common practise that all interns have to go though. Immigrations is not be told that you will be working, you are just on holiday enjoying the sun…
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Read through official embassy information concerning visas and agrred with my company supervisor how to proceed. As my total stay was longer than the max visa i combined a tourist visa with the social cultural visa. As for the latter a sponsorshipp letter needed to be obtained which the company did not provide but you can buy them at the agancies for roughly 50 EUR. In singapore a guy is met that you pay and give you passports to and he drops them later at the hotel lobby with the visa in place. If trip needs to be done in one day its possible but then earliest flight to SIngapore and latest back is necessary. Please be aware that the Sat and Sun Embassies are closed.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? A lot of reading and trust as well as good nerves through customs. Time, several weeks before departure if social cultural visa will be obtained beforehand.
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? Check with your GGD

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? A Bahasa course is not required but would definatly come in handy. Do it if you you have time beforehand and you will win the hearts of each Indonesian you meet!

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 800
Accommodation (monthly): € 180, can be cheaper or more expensive depending on your standards
Local transport (monthly): € 30-40 for monthly motorbike rental, no public trabsport available unless you would like to spend all your money on Taxis
General costs of living (monthly): € 200-300, just an estimate, food is very cheap and life can be very cheap
Costs of visa: € roughly 300
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Nothing

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Been on Bali before, so no cultural shock. Read online and buy a good travle guide, Lonely Planet or such. Preparing yourself can forecome shocks and problems if never been to Asia. Balinese are extremely friendly and as soon as you smile at them they will smile back! Behave positive and respectful to their culture and religion and you have nothing to worry about!!
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes for sure. You need to adapt to your working environment and things simply work differently here. Be patient and stay respectful.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: florian.castor@gmx.de

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: If you are not able to drive an automatic scooter in crazy traffic or are capable of being very open minded dont come to Bali unless you have the money to spend on daily taxis. Besides, Bali is simply a magical place, with friendly people that warm you heart. So much to explore, so much to see and experience.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: In the Bukit, life eveolves around surfing, surfing and surfing and the atmosphere is very laid back. People gather on different days at different venues and the more crazy tourist places such as Kuta and Seminyak are just roughly 40 min away by scooter or 1 hr by taxi.

Media

Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ObpOY-pEg