Abbey Tours Scotland

Placement organization

Name of organization: Abbey Tours Scotland
Town/city: Edinburgh
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.abbeyscotland.co.uk

Student

Name of student: Nathalie Hahn

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: DMC
Organization’s activities: The company provides the full range of services (accommodation, visits, coach companies, guides) for a tour in Scotland for Groups, Individuals and corporate travelers. The company designs programs that suit the needs of her clients. There is an accommodation department that books the hotels. Customer Care department has contact with the clients and they solve problems. The operations department books visits, lunches, guides and coach companies.
Target group of the organization: Especially the German market and French market but also Mediterranean market and other international countries.
Company culture: Your colleagues are always willing to help you if you have a question. The atmosphere within the company is informal. As a student you have different task than the other staff, but they will let you know that they need you.
Number of employees: 13-21
Dress code: smart casual. You are not allowed to wear jeans from Monday to Thursday, only on Fridays.
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? There are two departments. One for groups and one for FIT (individual travel). The group department is also divided in 3 departments; accommodation, customer care and operations. Customer care is divided in German markets, French markets and Mediterranean/ International markets.
I worked in groups-operations.
Brief description of your daily activities: Sending booking requests is one of the main tasks. You will use the (booking) system Tourplan on a daily basis. You have to prepare final documents for tour groups when they are almost travelling. You will work a lot with itineraries. You have to record information in the system, answering the telephone, keep contact with suppliers by email, fax and telephone and assist the operations manager
Brief description of your company assignment: Doing research for new visits and suppliers for Abbey Tours and giving an advice of these new services: What are the best new services that Abbey tours can offer for their clients?
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Every intern has a monthly meeting with their manager. You can always ask if you want to know something or if you want to talk about something.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? You have to work independent but it also important that you know how to work in a team. Flexibility is important as it can be busy sometimes. You should not be afraid to ask things even if people are busy. When you work with the system Tourplan, you have to have an eye for detail. Communication with the staff is important.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word (when you work on itineraries)
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: , if you work in a department where you have to speak another language (for example French) then it is important that you are good at speaking and writing.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I used Spareroom.co.uk which is free. A lot of other people also use Gumtree.
How did you go to work every day? By foot, 35 minutes 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:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes

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? n/a

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 160,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 500,00
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 50,00 – 75,00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? EUR 300,00 per month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not.
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: 111297@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: There is a lot more to see than only Edinburgh, so explore the whole country! The Highlands for example are different and the nature is beautiful. It is a good thing to go out of the city sometimes.

Sometimes you can get complimentary tickets for visits from suppliers the company works with. It’s worth a try and you see a lot!

Be prepared that the United Kingdom can be expensive as they do not have Euros but pounds. You will always spent more money than you get.

The weather is not always good so be prepared and take warm clothes with you.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: The main (shopping) street Princess Street is nearby Abbey tours. There is also a park (Princess Gardens) close to the company. A lot of people go there during lunchtime or after work.
The centre of the city is not that far away.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link