GuideandGo

Placement organization

Name of organization: GuideandGo
Town/city: Willemstad
Country: Nederlandse Antillen
Website: https://guideandgo.com/nl/

Student

Name of student: Romi Apperloo

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Online travel agency
Organization’s activities: GuideandGo is an online tour operator offering tickets for activities, tours and attractions in world destinations.
Target group of the organization: Mainly Dutch travellers
Company culture: The company culture is very informal. Because the team is very small, there is a relaxed atmosphere.
Number of employees: Three employees and two interns (Location Curacao)
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Content management

Brief description of your daily activities: My daily activities vary from:
– Processing bookings (manually with local tour operators)
– Contacting clients when needed
– Contacting tour operators worldwide to discuss bookings
– Maintaining customer service
– Doing availability checks with local tour operators
– Writing new tours for the website

Next to that, I also contact local suppliers to look for new partnerships. Sometimes, I make sales calls with companies from different destinations to discuss the options.
Brief description of your company assignment: I’m doing research on why many people abandon their shopping cart in order to find out what the company can do to ensure that these visitors complete their order.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: We have a close team and our desks are next to each other so you can always discuss and ask questions. The employees are always happy to help you.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? You must have problem solving skills, communication skills, creativity and independency
Additional company requirements for this placement? You must have writing skills to write descriptions for tours and it’s recommended to have knowledge of MS Office, HTML and SEO.
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? Via internet
How did you go to work every day? By car and/or by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? Yes, you need a “Verklaring van Rechtswege”
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I arranged it myself. Please be aware. You need many documents to arrange the “Verklaring van Rechtswege” so start in time!
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Approximately two months
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, only if you have a very low level of English

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € €650
Accommodation (monthly): € €365
Local transport (monthly): € €300
General costs of living (monthly): € €500
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: € +/- €300
What did the company pay for/to you? The company paid me approximately €230 per month.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I spoke with people who have been to Curacao and searched the internet.
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: romiapperloo@outlook.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: It’s recommendable to share a car with someone who is working and living near you in order to decrease the costs. The cost of living in Curacao is very high.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: On the island of Curacao there is plenty to do if you like to party. There are many happy hours and beautiful beaches to go to in the weekends.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link