Gioia – an internship’s experience at Gabanel

I worked at Gabanel Bike Hostel from the end of June to the end of December 2023.

I discovered this hostel partly by chance and partly because I was trying to figure out what to do after completing my master’s degree.I turned to the Hermete cooperative for help in finding a job after university, and they suggested I try a three-month experience at a hostel.

My main tasks were:

• providing support during guest check-ins and check-outs, not only for Italian guests but also for foreign guests
• reading and responding to various types of emails, mainly regarding bookings made on the Gabanel website or through other online portals (Booking.com, Airbnb, HostelWorld), but also WhatsApp messages and phone calls requesting information
• responding to reviews on Google Business and Airbnb
• various translation activities from Italian to English
• managing daily activities together with colleagues:
  -restocking the breakfast area so that there was always enough food and drink for everyone;
  -cleaning the rooms and making the beds as needed;
  -covering the reception desk and providing support to guests in case of parties/meetings/events in the underground spaces or outdoor areas (especially in summer)

Thanks to this social project, I had the opportunity to consolidate my language skills. 

I studied languages at university, mainly English and German. In most cases, I managed to make myself understood by the person I was interacting with, and I gained experience in the workplace (which is what I needed most!).

Positive and negative aspects:

• ‘Negative’ — having no experience in the sector, I had to learn several things from scratch, making mistakes, sometimes forgetting things and other times not knowing how to behave: but I imagine that this is absolutely normal for anyone who is just starting out… also because if you don’t make mistakes, you don’t learn!
• Negative — especially in the early days, getting to the hostel wasn’t always easy, mainly because of the unpaved road — let’s just say you need a bit of manual dexterity when driving.
• Positive (110 with honours) — the atmosphere at the hostel is relaxed and collaborative, everyone helps each other and often talks to each other to “meet each other halfway” depending on everyone’s needs, truly “a place to be”.