Cashel Travel

Placement organization

Name of organization: Cashel Travel
Town/city: Edinburgh
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.casheltravel.com/

Name of student: Raili Tõniste

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Inbound tour operator organizing Incentives, Conferences, Groups and FIT travel to United Kingdom and Ireland.
Target group of the organization: Business and leisure travel, mainly from Spain, France and Italy
Company culture: The company has a few different departments but the office plan is open and everyone (also directors) sits together in one space. Therefore the atmosphere is quite friendly and informal.
Number of employees: 30
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 group operations department that is responsible for operating leisure group travel. Since the company is not too big, you may be occasionally asked to help out other departments as well, like FIT or accounts, so you will get a good overview of the whole business.
Brief description of your daily activities: Entering bookings in the system
Contacting suppliers for bookings or availabilities
Searching for suitable/new suppliers
Calling to check existing bookings
Greeting clients in the airport

Brief description of your company assignment: You can pretty much choose whatever you want to do yourself, there was no assignment from the company itself. I am for example researching common challenges when doing business with China, because the company is now targeting clients from China and is struggling with the cultural differences.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision is generally good, but do bear in mind that you have to be active yourself, show interest and ask questions.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independence, good verbal skills, flexibility
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Spanish, Italian and French are a big plus but not required.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Easyjet flies straight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself, company will not help you
How did you go to work every day? I live in the same street as the company so I walk, but public transport is really great in Edinburgh, there is a bus in front of the company every 10 minutes

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? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No, if your English is advanced

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € € 100 – € 150
Accommodation (monthly): € £ 350 / € 490
Local transport (monthly): € £ 50 / € 70 Monthly bus card
General costs of living (monthly): € £ 250 / € 350
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Monthly compensation of £ 250

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not, UK is similar to the Netherlands, just a bit more polite
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: 121821@nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: The UK is quite expensive so do make sure your finances are in order (stufi, Erasmus grant)
When looking for accommodation, be prepared to live the first week in a hostel/couchsurfing because nobody is going to rent you a room over the internet, you have to be physically here for a viewing. I advise not to try with agencies, although they do not have fees, the prices are way higher than when renting from a private landlord. Check Facebook groups, also spareroom.co.uk.

If you think about applying to this company, I do advise you to contact me with any questions you might have.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Edinburgh is a great and beautiful city, there is a lot to do. Also the surroundings are great, I recommend to travel around as much as possible. In August, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival takes place, which is amazing as well.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link