Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena

Placement organization

Name of organization: Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena
Town/city: Bansko
Country: Bulgarije
Website: https://www.kempinski.com/en/bansko/hotel-grand-arena/

Student

Name of student: Viara Kaltcheva
Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2020-2021

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Accommodation
Organization’s activities: Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko is a ski-in/ski-out hotel (part of a 5star hotel group), located in the most popular winter resort on the Balkans, offering multiple additional services (events, kids club, beautician, transfers, etc.) alongside the large variety of luxury rooms and apartments.
Target group of the organization: Families (with children)
Company culture: The company culture is formal, with informal attitude between colleagues. It is a people-oriented organization, which has its hierarchical levels (employee-head of department-general manager) but the verbal communication itself is rather informal.
Number of employees: 120 (155 with seasonal staff)
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Accounting; Human Resources

Brief description of your daily activities: Creating celebration posts for the Facebook group; preparing photo collages and text for vacancies; completing employee files; check-in of new employees; checking expiration dates of employee documents; writing disciplinary punishments; monthly labour market presentations; translating job descriptions and declarations; desk research of on-site engagement activities; sending out and responding to emails to/from clients and colleagues; preparing daily revenue report, credit notes and writing in the cash register, etc.
Brief description of your company assignment: Creating a LinkedIn content plan, based on preliminary desk research.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor would always help with anything, give me feedback and make sure I have interesting tasks to do. He also always fills out documents I need for my placement on time.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? team player, sociable, customer service-oriented, friendly, stress-proof
Additional company requirements for this placement? English knowledge, communication skills
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Car (accessible by bus and train too)

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? My boyfriend arranged it through a family friend who leased it to us.
How did you go to work every day? By foot (as I live 5min away from the hotel) and sometimes by car too.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No (for EU citizens)
Do you need a work permit? No (for EU citizens)
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? It is an international company, so everyone speaks English, even if at different levels.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € –
Accommodation (monthly): € 250
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 150
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation and meals.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not have to.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No, because I was already aware of the local culture since I am Bulgarian and I had already been to this part of the country.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 180847@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Always come on time, smile, be proactive and creative because it makes a good impression.
Be open, empathetic and interact with others (colleagues and locals, when on the street) – people here love to talk, even if it is only small talk.
Dress for success 😉
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Hiking, city trips, bowling, ski and ice-skating (in winter), free tennis, railway (a train experience), theater, adventure tours, horse-riding, etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link