Altis Belém Hotel & Spa

Placement organization

Name of organization: Altis Belém Hotel & Spa
Town/city: Lisbon
Country: Portugal
Website: https://www.altishotels.com/pt/hotelaltisbelem/hotel-design-lisboa/

Student

Name of student: Vera Scheepers

Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2019-2020

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Design Hotel
Organization’s activities: Altis Belém belongs to one of the 6 units of Altis Hotels Group, all of them with unique features and privileged locations. Each one of the 45 rooms and 5 suites at Altis Belém has a different panel with an illustration representing the territories explored by the Portuguese from the western coasts of Africa, up the east coast to the Red Sea, then round the Persian Gulf, Siam and Burma to Canton and Shanghai, and across South America. In this luxurious hotel, you can also find the signature Restaurant Feitoria (One Michelin Star) and the Spa BSpa by Karin Herzog, an awarded signature SPA that is unique in Portugal.
All the Altis Hotels have been distinguished among the clientele, for the friendliness of their employees who create a familiar and welcoming environment, in which each guest becomes a friend for many years. The group proudly uses ‘A Alma de Lisboa’ (which means Lisbon’s Soul) as its signature, not only because they feel a profound knowledge of Lisbon but also due to the fact that they are always striving to join the wide variety of initiatives and events that promote the city’s cultural, social and sportive activities contributing to a steady improvement in the quality of life in Lisbon.
Target group of the organization: MICE
Company culture: There is clearly a hierarchy. However, as the hotel is small (50 rooms), everyone knows and talks to each other every day and it’s very easy to reach the residential director whenever needed.
Number of employees: +/- 70
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
Groups and Events

Brief description of your daily activities:
– Daily morning meetings with the managers of each department where we discuss the occupancy rate of that day and the day after, the budget of accommodation and F&B, the RevPAR, reviews, the VIP’s arriving on that day, the events planned for the day, and the problems and difficulties each department is facing.
– Check availability for groups & events
– Write event proposals for customers
– Send proposals follow-ups
– Answer all the emails and phone calls
– Close events accounts

Brief description of your company assignment: I am doing a competitor analysis. The goal is to analyze the price differences when it comes to the MICE market (meeting rooms, F&B menus, AV materials and so on)

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: They are very friendly, helpful and always in a good mood

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, Organised, Customer-oriented, Communicative, Problem solving
Additional company requirements for this placement? Writting skills
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: Basic
Italian: Basic

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Family
How did you go to work every day? By car

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? Yes, Portuguese

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € € 150.00
Accommodation (monthly): € € 400.00
Local transport (monthly): € € 40.00
General costs of living (monthly): € € 200.00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner if needed)
They wash your working clothes

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t prepare because I am Portuguese.
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: 171588@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do:
To Do:
Buy a WTF card for your phone, it’s only €3.99 per week and you get:
– 5GB
– Unlimited usage of all social media
– 5GB for Netflix and YouTube
– 2 cinema tickets for the price of 1
– Uber discounts
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are so many things to do in Lisbon.
Amazing and cheap nightlife, nice and cozy restaurants and bars, many monuments and museums, a lot of art and architecture, and the landscapes are beautiful

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