Solecu Travel

Placement organization

Name of organization: Solecu Travel
Town/city: Quito
Country: Ecuador
Website: http://www.solecu.com

Name of student: Haske Megens

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: The activities are very diverse at the company. I have been working at putting together tours for the clients, developing a new marketing plan, and maintaining their social media.
Target group of the organization: Mostly 45-70 year-olds.
Company culture: Solecu is a family-owned company, which makes the company culture very informal. A lot of the decisions are made via group-meetings, which makes the interns’ input just as important as from the others that are working there.
Number of employees: 5
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 sales and marketing.
Brief description of your daily activities: The daily activities vary from day to day. Right now, the company is planning on targetting a new market. For me, this means that I am developing their marketing plan, and together we are developing a new website and brand image for the company. Furthermore, I am working on offers for clients and also my activities include maintaining their Social Media.
Brief description of your company assignment: “Setting up a marketing plan for Solecu to target the North-American market. This also involves research prior to the development of the actual plan and it involves the actual execution of this plan.”
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision at the company is good. If there are any problems, you can always ask for help. And also for problems or questions about living in Ecuador, you can go to your supervisor.

Requirements for students on placement

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

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Airbnb.com
How did you go to work every day? Public transport / Taxi

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, you need a 12-IX visa, which is valid for 91-180 days.
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The Dutch embassy
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? The visa took me around 2 weeks in total.
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? 3 months

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

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 800-1000, depending on period and airline.
Accommodation (monthly): € 200 euro’s will get you a nice appartment in Quito.
Local transport (monthly): € 25 – 50 euros
General costs of living (monthly): € 150 – 200 euro’s
Costs of visa: € 161 euro’s
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? They provided me with a monthly compensation of 300 dollars, which should roughly be enough to pay for accommodation and groceries.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I prepared by reading blogs and forums on the internet about the city and country.
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: 132525@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Visit the coast, the Amazon and the Southern Highlands if you can. The country is known for its diversity and all aspects are worth the effort of going there. In the city of Quito you should try out as much as you can. The options are endless and there are nice bars and areas where you can meet lots of backpackers and students. And regarding safety; use common sense. Some areas might be a bit more dangerous, but common sense will get you a long way.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: The whole country is beautiful and from Quito it is really easy to visit the rest of the country during the weekends. Buses are really cheap and can take you everywhere. Furthermore, the city of Quito is amazing because of the fact that it is located in the middle of vulcanoes and mountains.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link