Barrio Life

Placement organization

Name of organization: Barrio Life
Town/city: Barcelona
Country: Spanje
Website: https://barrio-life.nl/

Student

Name of student: Iris van den Bogaard

Specialist area: Tourism Management (NL)
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: Barrio Life is a personal travel company specializing in individual tours for the destinations Andalusia, Portugal, Morocco and the Sahara.
Target group of the organization: All target groups
Company culture: The company culture is very informal. Everyone is equal and everyone is listened to. In this company you do not feel like an intern, but as a full employee. This all makes Barrio Life a great company for a first internship experience.
Number of employees: 3
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 on the sales department. I am responsible for customer contact before, during and after their trip.

Brief description of your daily activities: My daily activities include:
– answering emails and phone
– create and send invoices to customers and partners
– purchase activities for partners
– analyze the sales results
– create travel plans and route descriptions
– etc.
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment is to do a research about the target group and their wishes and needs. This to analyze in which phase of the sales process customers drop out.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision is very personal. Because it is a small organization, there is a lot of room for personal attention and guidance.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, team player, flexible, stress-proof.
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office
English: Intermediate
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: –
Italian: –
Other languages: The official language of this company is Dutch, so it is desirable to speak Dutch.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? My boyfriend lives in Barcelona
How did you go to work every day? Bicycle

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 needed
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? None
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? Not

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € €100 – €150
Accommodation (monthly): € €250
Local transport (monthly): € €0
General costs of living (monthly): € €300 – €350
Costs of visa: € €0
Costs of work permit: € €0
What did the company pay for/to you? A financial compensation of €250 per month, with a bonus of €50 per month at the end of the internship.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I spend the whole summer in Barcelona before I started my internship. The culture is not the hard to get used to.
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: 160013@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Really enjoy the city, meet local people and act like you’re one. This will really enrich your stay.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to see in Barcelona. You can visit all the famous sights as the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, but there is much more to see. Visit a market, visit the Montjuic, visit another city by train for example.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link