An Óige – the Irish Youth Hostel Association

Placement organization

Name of organization: An Óige – the Irish Youth Hostel Association
Town/city: Dublin
Country: Ierland
Website: http://anoige.ie

Name of student: Femke Keunen

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Accommodation
Organization’s activities: An Óige is a not-for-profit organisation that provides budget accommodation for young people. They have 24 hostels in Ireland and offer accommodation and activities for individual travellers as well as groups.
Target group of the organization: Young people, aged 18-35
Company culture: The company culture is very informal. There is an open-door policy and everyone is very approachable.
Number of employees: 15
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Marketing department as well as reception.
Brief description of your daily activities: As a marketing assistent I had to help with updating the website, create ads on social media and write blogposts. Part of the job was also reception work, which included answering phone calls, emails, dealing with walk ins and making membership cards.
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment was to promote the package tours to the Dutch market. I made a competitor and market analysis and came up with ideas to promote the packages to the Dutch market. Afterwards I got to create a Facebook ad (which was one of my ideas) and analyse the results.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Every week there is a marketing meeting to see what everyone is working on and if they need any help with it. If you have any questions you can always ask your supervisor or another colleague.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, flexible, teamplayer, communication and writing skills
Additional company requirements for this placement? WordPress and SEO (helpful, but can also be learnt during the placement)
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? It was provided by the company (the office is in the hostel)
How did you go to work every day? By 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: n/a
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? n/a
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? n/a

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? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 70 euro (Ryanair)
Accommodation (monthly): € n/a
Local transport (monthly): € n/a
General costs of living (monthly): € 300 euro
Costs of visa: € n/a
Costs of work permit: € n/a
What did the company pay for/to you? I received free accommodation in the hostel + breakfast. You also get several tourists attractions and day tours for free because you’re working at the hostel.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t. It’s similar to the Dutch culture.
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: femkekeunen94@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Just be yourself and you’ll be fine – or grand, as the Irish would say.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Dublin is the capital so there is lots to do. There are many pubs with live music and the beautiful Irish scenery is just a short train ride away.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link