Big Worldwide – Guestcentric

Placement organization

Name of organization: Guestcentric
Town/city: London
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.guestcentric.com

Student

Name of student: Roxanne Jeronimus

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2016-2017

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Technology travel company
Organization’s activities: GuestCentric is the all-in-one hotel digital marketing solution: website design, social and mobile marketing, booking engine and channel management.

Guestcentric provides distribution, reservation and digital marketing solutions to discerning hotels around the world, and has a reputation as one of the most innovative technology companies in the marketplace. Their mission is to give independent properties and small chains the chance to compete with hard brands with massive budgets. Guestcentric has leveled the playing field with its smart, user-friendly, groundbreaking and affordable technologies.
Target group of the organization: Independent Hotels and small chains – Corporate Business
Company culture: The company culture is great. Everyone is very friendly and willing to help if you just ask! The communication within the company is quite informal. However, when clients are approached, they are approached in a very formal way.
Number of employees: 60+
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Corporate Sales – Agency
Brief description of your daily activities: The corporate department focuses on their corporate hotel members. These hotels focus on business travel.

My daily activities differ per day. I prepare reports for hotels, get in touch with them, help them if they encounter a problem regarding their rates, GDS or booking engine, inform them about potential promotions, write weekly emails , and I provide them with tips on how to optimize their website/booking engine.

Brief description of your company assignment: As company assignment I had chosen to do a qualitative research on which amenities could attract more business travellers to hotels targeting business clients.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision by the organisation is great. My supervisor is very kind and is always willing to help if you just ask!

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? teamplayer, sociable, flexible, stress-proof, independent.
Additional company requirements for this placement? writing skills, MS Office (Especially Excel), communication skills
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane, train, but, boat and car are all possible. I preferred by Eurostar train

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet, on Spareroom.com
How did you go to work every day? Public transport

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

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 120 for a return ticket with Eurostar train
Accommodation (monthly): € 700
Local transport (monthly): € 220 (compensated by the company)
General costs of living (monthly): € 100
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation for lunch and transport

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
It is 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: roxannejeronimus@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Londoners are very polite, try do be as polite as possible as well to fit in the culture.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are a lot of sightseeing places in London, but you can also go shopping or visit museums for free!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link