Wannie Short – Hospitality in Thailand

Before the trip

What are you studying?

Sustainable Tourism.

Why did you choose to do a Hospitality placement in Thailand placement as part of your degree?

I wanted to gain decent work experience before I had finished university and also wanted to travel because that’s what I love to do. This was the best of both worlds.

How did you first discover us?

I found the website online after looking for placement agencies.

Were you finding it hard to find a placement?

Yes, I had applied and just didn’t know who to look for or what was trustworthy.

Did you think this was unachievable on your own?

No because I know other people had done it but I thought if I wanted to go abroad I would need some external help.

Why did you choose Placement Year International over other services?

The price was decent for what they said they would provide and I found people who had been with them before who said they enjoyed their time so it seemed trustworthy.

How easy was the process from interview to getting to your placement with our help?

Pretty easy as I only had to do two interviews for the same place and then I got the job. Placement Year International did all the work for me and that’s what I had asked them to do so I was happy.

Wannie at her hotel in Thailand where she’s doing a Hospitality placement through Placement Year International

On placement

What are you doing for your placement?

I’m a Management Trainee working in the Front Office.

What is your role?

At the moment they have me supporting the guest service centre which is the operators room, they handle all calls from the room and transferring lines, ordering buggies to pick people up and answering any questions guests or external people might have about the hotel.

In the afternoon I work as a receptionist at the front desk, this means checking in guests, answering any questions they have, escorting them to their rooms and dealing with any complaints or small requests in person.

What skills or knowledge have you gained so far during your placement?

Using the Opera system, remembering large amounts of detailed information, communication skills depending on who you are talking to, quick problem solving, also I would say simple customer service skills like smiling at the right time or responding the correct way and grooming

Did you find it difficult adapting to a new working environment?

Culturally yes, the people I work with have standards I’ve never had to meet before and small things I must still get used to.

Physically yes as well as I’ve never had a full time job before so working a significant amount was difficult at first, especially in a considerably different climate to what I’m used to.

The job itself was less difficult to understand, however I still sometimes struggle with the language barrier if I am confused or questioning something I want to know more about so that slows things down a bit.

Wannie at the beach near her hotel in Thailand while doing a Hospitality placement arranged by Placement Year International

Have you received good support & advice from your work colleagues at the host company?

I have, my colleagues are polite and helpful and encouraging. Some are more helpful than others.

How has your placement helped you develop as a person so far?

Definitely learning a new layer of professionalism; I feel I’m delivering a type of customer service I’ve never done before.

Since joining Placement Year International, what have we done well?

Given me the information I need quickly, I always feel I can ask anything and get the answer soon. The longest it’s taken anyone to reply to me is two days which is brilliant because that only happened once.

If you were to recommend us to friends, what would you say?

I would say do it, ask all the questions you need and trust in the company. Just make sure you do everything right on your end and they’ll deliver on their side. After that its up to your host to help you have a beneficial experience

Visiting islands along the coast during time off, during a Hospitality placement in Thailand arranged by Placement Year International

Wannie exploring her local town in the evening after work during a Hospitality placement with Placement Year International

Find out more about our Hospitality placements in Thailand.

More info: Click here to read more about Hospitality placements in Thailand, or click here to send us a question or email us at: info@placement-year.org for more information.