Abercrombie & Kent

Placement organization

Name of organization: Abercrombie & Kent
Town/city: Cheltenham
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: https://www.abercrombiekent.co.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4b7qxZP72gIVBp3tCh17kQT-EAAYASAAEgJFbvD_BwE

Name of student: Tessa Schneider

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Luxury Tour Operator
Organization’s activities: Creating tailor made holidays for individuals and groups.
Target group of the organization: Older Americans which are Highly affluent
Company culture: The hierarchy is informal, although they provide some rules. Everyone is very nice and open and they are always willing to help.
Number of employees: 80
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yess

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Brochure groups tours

Brief description of your daily activities: – Chasing Suppliers
– Calling Suppliers
– Using Travel Studio to built a itinerary
– Assisting colleagues
– Making reservations with Hotels and Restaurants
– Update suppliers with passenger details
– Making Guide packs
– Cancellations
Brief description of your company assignment: The brief assignment is a competitive analysis for a family group tour.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervision of the organisation is that is a good place to do an Internship if you are sure you like tour-operating. The organisation it self if have my doubts, it is a luxury tour operator but if you work there you will never notice that they make a lot of money. I also noticed that most of the employees are complaining, and a lot off them are leave the company during my Internship. So I think it is a good place for a internship, but not to be an employee.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, Team player, Good communications skills, Detailed orientated, Stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excel, Formal 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? Myself, (do not go to a letting company)
How did you go to work every day? by foot, 20 min walk

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Not
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Not
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? Not

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? If you speak good English > Not

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 90
Accommodation (monthly): € 395 pound
Local transport (monthly): € 0 pound
General costs of living (monthly): € 795 pound
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Compensation – Accommodation : 280 pound
Compensation – Accommodation: 280 pound

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Read a bit on the internet. But there are no mayor culture differences. It is important to keep in mind that English people are very polite and less direct then Dutch people.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes, being more polite and learning to work with other cultures

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 160586@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: First, if you decided to go to Cheltenham rent a room with a private land lord and not with a letting company. Try to go before the internship starts and view the room before you move into the property.
Second, the company did not give me much time to work on my assignments so try to be very clear in that matter.
Third, try to do so much as possible during the weekends, there are really nice places to visit around Cheltenham.
Last, make sure that you can open a English bank account, that make's life much easier and a bit cheaper ass well.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot in the little City, it off course depends what you like. There are many Sport facilities, parks, restaurants, pubs and some clubs. It is also very easy and cheap to take the bus to other places such as London, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link