Package holidays mean that large number of holiday makers arrive at the same time at the same resort, traveling on a holiday sold by the same tour operator. Because of this, the better tour operators employ full-time staff to live and work at their resorts during the holiday season. These employees are holiday reps. Rep is an abbreviation for representative. So, who are holiday reps? There are many different types of holiday rep positions. The main responsibility is to ensure that your guests holiday is one to remember, providing them with useful information and making sure that they stay safe. Because holiday reps are normally the only contact guests have with the tour operator whilst on holiday, they are expected to excel in customer service and always remain friendly, approachable and enthusiastic at all times. You will be the main person that a guest will reflect the professionalism of a tour operator on. In other words you are the face of the tour operator. So they are the first point of contact at the airport. They represent the tour operator. They ensure the success of the client's holiday. They usually meet the newcomers at the airport. They accompany them to their accommodation. And they hold a welcome meeting. Of course the list of tasks is longer than that. They also give information about the resort's facilities, attractions. They have regular meeting times. They make announcements. They deal with inquires and problems. They have up to date information. And they book and accompany excursions. Besides these tasks they also arrange gyrosky hire. They are available at almost any time. They give advice and solve problems or deal with emergencies. And writing reports and paperwork care also part of their job. The role of a holiday rep can be physically and mentally demanding and they must be prepared to be flexible and work very strange and long hours at times. This does however give them a perfect opportunity to get away from the repetitiveness of a normal 9-5 job, plus when the sun is always shining things never seem so bad. Day reps can encounter many different situations whilst working in resort that they are expected to resolve either working in a team or on their own initiative using quick thinking and organizational skills. Working 12 or more hours a day, 6 days a week, is not uncommon especially if there are long airport delays, which can occur on a regular basis. They usually have to work at weekends and be on call 24 hours a day. The holiday reps job is often seasonal, limited to summer or winter. Driving license is needed for transporting the tourists from into the airport. And what kind of skills do you need if you want to be a holiday rep? You will need to show evidence of the following. Good communication skills, both oral and written. You should be outgoing, confident, energetic, friendly, self-confident, cheerful and enthusiastic about your job. A good sense of human never hurts. Planning and organizational skills, teamworkability, flexibility, common sense, problems solving ability are also needed. Health and safety checks is part of a holiday reps job. This involves inspecting accommodation, swimming pools, and play areas to see that they comply with safety regulations. Having holiday makers at the airport, taking them to coach to their hotels, and ensuring that they have the accommodation they booked are also on the task list. Welcome meetings are usually held the morning after a new group of holiday makers has arrived. Here the reps tell the group about a number of points, including their accommodation and the services and facilities it provides. The tour operators notice board in the hotels. In about the resort, the country, local customs, and tripping. Guided excursions, car hire, and other products the tour operator sells. Different holiday reps are Campsite couriers Shelley hosts Children's reps Club reps Family reps Ski reps Transfer reps The children's rep is responsible for looking after groups of children between the ages of two twelve. Offering a range of fun activities, as well as ensuring their safety and well-being. A transfer rep is a rep that accompanies the holiday makers to and from the airport and hotels. A club rep is responsible for ensuring that groups of men and women between the ages of eighteen thirty of the time of their lives whilst on holiday. Being this type of rep you would be guaranteed to be sent to the liveliest of resorts where sleep is a luxury. In addition to these daily responsibilities they must organize the evening entertainment such as pool parties, bar, pub crawls, party nights and beach parties. And while your guests are sleeping you will need to be up early to perform your daily responsibilities such as holding welcome events and dealing with customer complaints in addition to the odd hangover. Ski reps are very similar to family reps but based within a winter ski resort. Ski reps work as the first point of contact for holiday guests, dealing with all aspects of their holiday as the daily representative of the tour operator. You will probably be expected to visit guests every day at their Shelley or Hotel. These may include airport transfers, organizing ski passes and equipment higher, ski guiding, resort admin, organization of APERS ski activities, ski servicing, snow clearing, repairs, driving unmaintenance work. Camp couriers are employed by tour operators offering camping style holidays abroad. A camp courier is very similar to that of a family rep. The courier's main job is to prepare and clean accommodation. This consists of large tents, mobile homes and the occasional re-house. Couriers are also charged with making sure that customers have a trouble free stay on the campsite, changing gas bottles, dealing with problems, plotting booking charts, accounting, doing paperwork, etc. as with any front line customer services job, the work is varied and does not follow set hours or even set days. The role of Shelley host involves working alongside a chef and maybe other Shelley team members depending on the size or level of your Shelley. Your role is heavily housekeeping based and with daily table service of breakfast and evening meal. Being front of house, personality is key, you must be comfortable with your guests and provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Some Shelley hosts will be required to also cook, these roles would be based in smaller Shelley's where a set menu will be provided. So a holiday representative is responsible for looking after groups of clients on package holidays at resorts. The main priority is to ensure that clients enjoy their holiday and that everything runs as smoothly as possible for them. As the public face of the tour operator, the holiday representative must create an inland first impression and continue to provide outstanding customer service to clients throughout the duration of their stay. Despite sounding like every minute of every day is spent working, it is not always that bad. If everything goes smoothly, the guests are happy, and the aircrafts are on time, then you will have quite a bit of time to yourself. Finally here are some useful links to check, if you take a liking for this job.