Hospitality & Tourism internship placements are with hotels, hostels, tourist agencies, tour operators, or restaurants. All placements are with small, locally-owned businesses. Work may vary depending on the time of year (high/low season) and current business projects and goals at your placement.
At hostel and hotel placements, interns will participate in the following activities:
- Assist with sales, reservations, and pre-arrival service
- Provide sales and marketing support through both online and direct promotion
- Attend to reception desk responsibilities, including check-in, check out, and guest requests
- Recommend hotel services and facilities to guests
- Provide information about local activities, restaurants, and travel
- Maintain and ensure full guest satisfaction
- Aid in coordination of day-to-day operations of hotel/hostel
At tour agencies and operators, interns will participate in the following activities:
- Assist with sales, reservations, and pre-arrival service
- Provide online sales and marketing support through website updates, social media management, and review sites (e.g. traveladvisor.com)
- Update and develop promotional materials
- Maintain and ensure full customer satisfaction
- Aid in coordination of day-to-day operations of tours and transportation
- Provide assistance on local tours
At restaurants, interns will participate in the following activities:
- Provide online sales and marketing support through website updates, social media management, and review sites (e.g. traveladvisor.com)
- Assist with community outreach and promotion
- Update and develop promotional materials
- Maintain and ensure full customer satisfaction
- Assist with basic accounting and stock and supply purchases
- Help with day-to-day restaurant operations
As part of the internship program, participants receive 1 hour of private Spanish lessons every day, Monday to Friday. The classes can be personalized to the level and work schedule, and focuses on vocabulary relevant to the internship placement.
Our Native Spanish Program is taught by experienced, certified, native Spanish instructors. Maximo Nivel uses the Communicative Method of language teaching, which is focused primarily on immersive, spoken interaction as a means of learning. For this reason, please note that teachers speak only in Spanish 100% of the time during class.
All interns are required to submit weekly journals and a final deliverable.
Internships of less than 8 weeks require either a 10-20 page written paper or a 1-hour PowerPoint presentation. Internships of 8 weeks or longer require both a 10-20 page written paper and a 1-hour PowerPoint presentation.
Final Deliverables are expected to cover the following:
- Overview of the company worked with and the intern's role
- Organization review
- Sector analysis in host or home country
- Analysis of obstacles incurred
- Outcomes/results
Interns are always supported by Maximo Nivel’s in-country coordinators, but they are not with them at the placement every day. Please be prepared for some independence and leadership.
The majority of internship placements are located in the Quepos and Manuel Antonio Area. Travel time varies widely from place to place and interns should expect to spend 20-90 minutes traveling each way. The city bus system is generally the most effective and cheapest way to get to and from the project, though taxis are available and are still an option. For the first visit to the placement, interns are taken by a Maximo Nivel representative using the local transport and given additional information about how to get to and from the work place. Local bus rides are very affordable and a one-way trip will rarely cost more than ₡350 (about $0.75).
