hostel volunteers and interns needing hostels to work in around the world

[firstfootlondon]

Hello,
My Name is Katie Gibson and about 10 years I set off to backpack around Australia, and from then on I was hooked!

Since then I have travelled around the usual backpacker trail: Australia, New Zealand, parts of Asia, America and Europe. I have had the opportunity to work in many different hostels around the world in varying roles and settings. I eventually settled in London and have for the past few years been running a large hostel and bar in the city centre.

I have, however recently left this position to run my own business which helps people looking for voluntary placements or internships within the backpacker industry. There are a few reasons I wanted to pursue this as a business:

A) I wanted to give people the opportunity to get real life working experience, not just hospitality courses, which I think are mainly ineffective in teaching the skills needed to run a hostel in comparison to hands on work!

B) I wanted to give people the chance to travel and work in a country that they might not have been able to afford or thought of doing without being offered the help. (placements are required to offer free accommodation to the interns and some meals if possible which is a huge saving on their resources)

C) I wanted to give hostels to opportunity to have access to free staffing of people who are focused and dedicated to learning and to this industry specifically.

There are SO many people wanting to open their own hostel, or at the very least work in this amazing industry. Like so many managers I know I started off at the bottom and was given an opportunity by a hostel who I am forever greatful to...I started with promotions, working for a bed and a meal, I have made beds along the way, fitted bathrooms, run pub crawls, started a cafe, organised fund raising, anything and everything because this is where my passion lies. There are many more people out there that need a foot in the door , a way in, a break to learn from the bottom as I honestly believe that the best way to be a part of this industry and to eventually be able to manage or own your own hostel is to learn it by doing it.
I know that many people are involved in this industry for the very same reason that they love it! And would like to give others the opportunity to be involved too, or get more people seeing more of the world. Please get involved!!

I am in a position currently however that I have more interns and volunteers than companies willing to take people on!!!!

I have people from around the world looking for a variety of roles from front desk, to housekeeping, to maintenance, to events, marketing, sales, IT, web design and many more....And I need hostels around the world to be involved.
So I am currently trying to get more hostels involved in this great opportunity to procure some voluntary staff.....please let me know if you are interested (you are not committed to anything if you are a company who is a partner, you simply get a list of requests which you are able to interview)

I look forward to hearing from you........

[martelgeneve]

Hi

I am going to open Hostel in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is not so big, only 12 bed(24guests). However, I really need someone european to help me to contact with guest. It is possible to introduce me one?

Thank you and looking forward from you.


Best regards.

[Shannon]

Hi Katie,

We love working with Interns! some of the people we have had over the years have gone on to have senior positions with us. I suggest you get in contact with Dev Penny from our company who helps co-ordinate intern placements at Nomads... dev@nomadsworld.com

Cheers
Shannon

[firstfootlondon]

Thanks Shannon!

[Karen]

Hello Katie,

I am a moderator of the first "gap year" forum in China. The aim of my sub-board is to introduce hostel volunteering into China. I want to collect stories from abroad and set them as examples to the Chinese. Your experience touches me. If you could have a talk with me? I would like to ask a few detailed questions on what you have done and your opinions. Then I will compile our conversation into Chinese and post it on the forum. If you are willing to cooperate, please contact me by email: karenhu1988@gmail.com. Thanks!

Best,
Karen

[Brad]

Hello Everyone,
My names Brad and I'm opening a Hostel in Harlem, NY. I have about 40 beds and I'm interested in having someone with knowledge in operating Hostels work with me. We plan on opening in 2 weeks. If your interested please contact me asap. Thanks.

[irish_guy]

I have people from around the world looking for a variety of roles from front desk, to housekeeping, to maintenance, to events, marketing, sales, IT, web design and many more....And I need hostels around the world to be involved.
So I am currently trying to get more hostels involved in this great opportunity to procure some voluntary staff.....please let me know if you are interested (you are not committed to anything if you are a company who is a partner, you simply get a list of requests which you are able to interview)

I look forward to hearing from you........

Hi Katie... When you say intern do you mean free labour or working for a dorm bed and a meal?

I've done quite a bit of backpacking myself, and have seen ads up in some hostels, mainly in Sydney, looking for backpackers to work for for beds... I often bumped into hung over backpackers hoovering or cleaning up common rooms... they didn't look like they were learning much or having fun, more like broke backpackers with little choice or sense....

it was usually 3 hours work for a night in a dorm... not sure of the minimum wage in australia, in ireland it's about 10euro an hour, so they'd be doing 30euro's worth of work for a room that's about 10euro a night... good deal for the hostel, not so good for the backpacker......

that said, i have done some work for food and board on my travels... i actually offered to do the work, helped out in the bar and dj'd a bit, also did some graphic design work.. the design work was for a charity they were setting up... so obviously didn't want any money for that... i just had some spare time... gladly accepted a meal ... but see, in the above jobs you list "housekeeping" i don't see how anyone would want to clean rooms for allot less than minimum wage....

how about a fair day's pay for a fair days work... i'm an experienced web/graphic designer... i wouldn't do work for any hostel for free or for a dorm room... i'd do it for the going rate... or going rate less the cost of room and board.....

i really don't see what's in it for the backpacker... am i missing something here?

[firstfootlondon]

Hi Irish_Guy,

(Brace yourself, it's a long reply!)

I can see your point, and I think there is a fine line between finding people internships where the applicant can learn and have a valuable experience and one where the hostel is just exploiting backpackers for cheap labour.

So far I have only have positive experiences relayed back from any of the people we have placed, and this is the reason I do it.
I have however had one guy who felt that his placement was not helping him learn and was actually just cheap labour and so we found him an alternative position and do not use that hostel anymore.

There are a variety of reasons why people take these placements on, and I honestly believe that is is important for hostels to offer volunteer/internships for people to understand and be part of this industry.

The three main categories of people who take the placements on are:

1. Students currently studying travel/leisure/hospitality and must take an internship in this field as part of their course - this is common in mainland Europe mainly. They come to get a practical experience of what they are learning on their courses.

2. People who are needing work experience in this area of work, or are wanting to get into this line of work and are wanting to try it out. Or people who are looking to gain new skills for employment.

3. People who are looking to move to a new country and find work OR people who are coming to a new country to travel and have experience in this field.
These people are using the experience to settle somewhere with the security of knowing they have a place to stay and food, while they look for full time paid work, or while they stay in that country and explore what it has to offer without the cost of accommodation and food.

I do think for all categories the hostel and the intern gain something from the experience.

All the placements are for 3 months or more generally, so they are not short term placements where the applicants get "stuck" housekeeping or such like. They get trained in an area of work and commit to it for that period of time.
It is not a situation where by anyone who walks in the door gets offered a placement, it is a process involving applications and interviews and only suitable people are accepted.

I think the key is ensuring that the intern is getting trained in an area of work and that they are getting something from it.

I think this is slightly different from the "work for stay" situations you mention.

On the note of hostels who offer this type of work (a sort of free stay for work, with no training - changing sheets, cleaning, painting etc - and this is not the sort of internships we offer), I think there are a couple of ways you can look at it.....

Many people may see it as exploitation. I personally would not really - though I do understand your point, but I think that people choose to do these jobs and I think it is a fairly important part of hostelling.
This is all subjective to your experience, BUT I have found from my experience of backpacking that being able to work for stay has opened many doors for me:
Namely it allowed me to travel for a longer period of time before I can out of cash! Granted, if I got a paid job I would have walked away with a little more cash in pockets when a wage was paid but then accommodation was taken out of this, but then it is not always easy to get a job particularly quickly, or for a short period of time.
I also found the experience valuable in terms of what I learnt - I ended up working in this industry for the last 10 years, managing various hostels, and what I learn while working from the ground up was invaluable to me. I spent a great deal of my first few years of travel, changing sheets, standing on streets and in bus terminals handing out flyers, painting walls, dealing with bed bugs, running pub crawls, cleaning toilets and all for no wage. Was I stupid and exploited. I personally don't think so, but I guess it is up to the individual to decide. Now though, I understand how valuable all staff members jobs are, and what is involved with their jobs, there is not a job I would ask someone to do that I have not done myself, I know how to deal with a bed bug infested rooms, how to re floor a room, how to market and sell a hostel...I believe my experiences makes me a better manager now.

I also think it is essential to help some hostels keep afloat, and that is another reason why is it important to the industry.
It is not always easy to run a hostel and make enough money to live off. Especially independent hostels. Without volunteers hostels may not be able to afford to operate, and as hostels are an essential part to helping young people travel the world this would be a big loss.
I think people would be surprised if they knew how many hours managers and owners often worked for very little pay. I know that there are time when I had worked out how much I would be getting an hour and it was less than my bar staff due to the hours I put in. It is all about choice I suppose.

But I love this industry and I think it is a vastly important industry and I would happily work in it and earn less money than if I worked a different job. So perhaps it all just comes down to choice.

As long as people choose what type of internship/volunteer work they want to do and understand what they are doing as part of this and are happy with the conditions then why not?!

This is why I started this company, so I could help people to get the right experiences and placements that they felt happy with, ones that benefited both the hostels and the interns.

[irish_guy]

I spent a great deal of my first few years of travel, changing sheets, standing on streets and in bus terminals handing out flyers, painting walls, dealing with bed bugs, running pub crawls, cleaning toilets and all for no wage. Was I stupid and exploited. I personally don't think so, but I guess it is up to the individual to decide.

Sorry, this clearly sounds like exploitation.


Now though, I understand how valuable all staff members jobs are, and what is involved with their jobs, there is not a job I would ask someone to do that I have not done myself, I know how to deal with a bed bug infested rooms, how to re floor a room, how to market and sell a hostel...I believe my experiences makes me a better manager now.

i worked in a petrol station shop when i was 19 for 2 years... allot of menial tasks, insulating customers... i feel it did make me a better person, and look at shop assistants in a different way, ie: if something is way overpriced... it's not their fault... but see, the thing is... i got paid... minimum wage... but still, a wage... there's no way i would have done that for free... who would?



I also think it is essential to help some hostels keep afloat, and that is another reason why is it important to the industry.
It is not always easy to run a hostel and make enough money to live off. Especially independent hostels. Without volunteers hostels may not be able to afford to operate, and as hostels are an essential part to helping young people travel the world this would be a big loss.
I think people would be surprised if they knew how many hours managers and owners often worked for very little pay. I know that there are time when I had worked out how much I would be getting an hour and it was less than my bar staff due to the hours I put in. It is all about choice I suppose.

You almost make it sound like a charity... hostels are a business... small independent hostels are not the only businesses that struggle... also, i checked out your site... you actually charge a backpacker £150 to go work for free... you're above argument suggests you're doing something noble, for the struggling hostel... if there was no charge.. i could maybe swallow that... but, c'mon.... you're running a business, no harm in making a little money... hostel does pretty well... free labour... you get paid.... doesn't seem like a great deal for the backpacker.


But I love this industry and I think it is a vastly important industry and I would happily work in it and earn less money than if I worked a different job. So perhaps it all just comes down to choice.

As long as people choose what type of internship/volunteer work they want to do and understand what they are doing as part of this and are happy with the conditions then why not?!

I guess, if someones happy to clean toilets and pay for it... it's up to them... i've met some odd characters in my time....

This is why I started this company, so I could help people to get the right experiences and placements that they felt happy with, ones that benefited both the hostels and the interns.

and make some money

[firstfootlondon]

As I said, it guess it is up to the individual.

I have found that all the people I have worked with have been happy with the placements and felt it was worthwhile.

If you do not want to work for free or do an internship, then don't.

If you don't want to pay for someone to help you find a suitable placement, then you can do it yourself.

I don't think hostels exploit people because no-one is forced into it, it is a choice people make.

Thanks