Diethelm Travel Malaysia

Placement organization

Name of organization: Diethelm Travel Malaysia
Town/city: Kuala Lumpur
Country: Maleisië
Website: https://www.diethelmtravel.com

Student

Name of student: Alisha Prasad

Specialist area: Associate degree
Placement period: 2019-2020

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Destination Management Company
Organization’s activities: Diethelm Travel is an award-winning inbound tour operator servicing Asia. Their focus on delivery, heritage and local experience has enabled them to maintain a high level of service, which is reflected in all aspects of their operations. They offer hotel services, tours and excursions, ticketing etc.
Target group of the organization: European market
Company culture: Everybody in the office works very closely with each other and I experienced that the company has a great family-feeling to it. The workspace itself is quite informal and you are allowed to dress however you like, but still professional and representable. The working hours are between 8:30 and 17:30, and you can have a one-hour break at around 12:00.
Number of employees: 30-40
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
One of the reasons why I chose this company was because you get to work in 4 different departments. These departments include the sales and marketing, data management, reservations and operations department. It is an important objective for the Diethelm Travel Management team that the trainee gets to experience the entire process of how the inbound business works. By going through each department, you can see and experience how everything is connected. Plus you gain a lot of work experience and the work will not be monotonous because you are constantly rotating.

Brief description of your daily activities: I started at the operations department where I got to experience some logistic aspects of a DMC. My main task was to prepare welcome kits for the arriving guests. I also got tasks that mainly had to be done in Excell. Furthermore, I got to help with making some changes in the office. At the reservations department you are responsible for managing bookings in the system. You also get to call other hotels for their availability and help administrational work. When I worked here the company was implementing a new system so I helped with the migration activities. At the data management department you have a everyday close out of hotels which you need to keep up to date. You also get tasks that have a lot to do with entering or transferring data. At the sales department you help with preparing itineraries. You can also make quotations and help with product development.

Brief description of your company assignment: For my company assignment I did a competitor analysis in which I analyzed 6 of Diethelm Travels’ main competitors.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision of the company is great. You are always allowed to ask questions and your colleagues are more than happy to help. The supervision regarding my company assignment was great as well. She helped me in a lot of aspects and made sure that I felt comfortable with the work that I had to do.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Social, independent, pro-active, flexible, adaptable, not too shy
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft Word & Microsoft Excel
English: Advanced

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Via AirBnB
How did you go to work every day? To work: with the Monorail (sky train) From work: by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, a work visa
Do you need a work permit? Yes, the work visa
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The company arranges it and pays for it for you.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? A month of staying in contact with the companies’ Admin to provide the documents necessary, and upon arrival I got it within a week.
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? Had them years ago since I visit Asia quite often

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 have doubts about your English language and skills, you can decide for yourself whether you need a language course or not. English is a common language here in Kuala Lumpur. Also, try to learn some basic Bahasa words!

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € I’m not sure since my parents paid for it.
Accommodation (monthly): € €740 (but you find cheaper, I made the mistake to book during high season!)
Local transport (monthly): € €10,50 per month
General costs of living (monthly): € €500
Costs of visa: € The company provides it for you
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? The company provided my work visa. I also got 800RM per month, which is about €175. This means that you have 40RM to spend per workday and considering that a meal costs you around 10RM, that’s plenty! Every two weeks we have a company lunch where they pay for your meal.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t since I had already been to Kuala Lumpur a few times before. However, I was surprised by how modern and ‘western’ the city is. You can easily adapt here and because everybody speaks (basic) English you will be just fine. I’m not sure about other parts of Malaysia. The only way I adapted to the Islamic culture of the country was to wear long sleeves and over-knee skirts.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Only in positive ways!

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 183504@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Book your accommodation in advance, especially via AirBnB. Stay in the Bukit Bintang area because it’s vibrant and lively. Have your lunches and dinners at foodcourts since it’s cheap and delicious. Do explore some of the (fancy) restaurants too since it’s SO much cheaper than back home. Take advantage of the discounts many food delivery apps have to offer. Install the app ‘Grab’ before you come here (it’s the Uber of SE Asia). Way cheaper than taxi’s and I do not recommend taking a street taxi at all.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: You’re in SE Asia! Go explore as much as you can and have the best time. Together with my fellow intern we went on trips during the weekends. We have been to Singapore, Langkawi, Penang, Belitung (Indonesia), Thailand (islands), Bali etc. Just do your research and plan everything, and then it is possible! In KL there is tons to do. Visit the beautiful malls, explore foodcourts and eat ALL the food, go to the movies, have drinks, book an AirBnB for a night to experience rooftop infinity pools etc… Or around KL; Go to Malacca, Genting Highlands.

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