Collett’s are looking for hiking enthusiasts to host & advise our guests on hiking holidays in the beautiful Val d’Orcia, Tuscany – from 6 March to 23 April 2023. We are looking for a pair of friends or a couple.
This is a lovely job if you enjoy people and the outdoors, with lots of free time built in to explore the local area. The role includes a huge hosting element, as well as acting as a holiday representative. You need to enjoy looking after people, helping them to enjoy all elements of their holiday, & solving problems for them where you can. We need warm, friendly, polite, enthusiastic, organised & resourceful people. You would be part of a team of two Walk Advisors.
You would need to learn about 12 hikes in the area which we have documented. Before the guests arrive and for the first two weeks of the short season you would go out and do these hikes to be able to give your guests very detailed descriptions of the routes, so that they can decide if they will be suitable for them.
A TYPICAL DAY
Morning
The morning starts around 7am when you would have your breakfast in the staff apartment, then make your way to Il Rigo. From 8am onwards you would make yourself available to your guests to give them last minute advice before they leave for the day.
Evening – Office Hour & Dinner
From 6pm until 7:30 pm you would host what we call ‘Office Hour’. In a sociable atmosphere, over a drink before dinner, you would help your guests to make their walking plans for the next day, using suggested routes and itineraries which Collett’s have put together to showcase the best walks in the area. You would also be helping guests who may want to do other activities in the area, or visit places of interest nearby etc. You might have to find out information about costs etc., and sometimes make bookings on their behalf.
At Office Hour you will also field a host of other questions, requests, or problems which guests may have, such as: accommodation issues, problem with a hire car, information about local shops, pharmacies and doctor’s surgery opening times etc. On occasion you will accompany guests to the Doctors in the village if they have a health issue or injury, to give as much support as you can in what can be a stressful situation for them.
Four nights a week, after Office Hour you would join your guests for dinner in Il Rigo, as a dinner host, enjoying a superb three-course meal with them.
SATURDAYS – Airport Transfer Day
Saturday is the transfer day, when all the guests leave, and new guests arrive.
You would go to Il Rigo on the Saturday morning, to say farewell to your guests. One of you would join the coach to look after your guests, and welcome the new arrivals etc. The coach drops off at Siena Station and Pisa Airport. You would then collect the arriving guests at Pisa and then Siena station. On return to Il Rigo, you would join your teammate in welcoming & settling them in. This is a hugely important task, turning a functional journey into the start of your guests’ holiday. You would run Office Hour as normal from 6 – 7:30 pm, then join your guests for dinner at Il Rigo to continue getting to know them.
WEEKLY ADMINISTRATION TASKS
Liaison with UK Office: You would liaise with our UK office on a weekly basis by phone and email. We would send you arrivals reports each week, with information about your guests, and their arrival times each Saturday. You would also keep some weekly accounts for any purchases you have to make for work.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
On a weekly basis, we require our staff teams to gather some simple photography and video ‘content’ for our social media platforms, using your smartphone or the Resort smartphone we supply you with. Each week we would send you a short, themed brief, such as footage from a particular walk, or a local hill top village. Previous teams have found this to be a fun element of their role, in the free time they have exploring the area each week.
Essential Requirements
- Available for the full period from 6th March to 23rd April 2023.
- You would need to have an EU passport, or residency in Italy giving you the right to work there, with all the relevant documents: Codice Fiscale, Permesso di Soggiorno etc.
- You must have an excellent level of spoken & written English.
- We need outdoor enthusiasts with good hiking/hill walking experience, and the ability to read and understand an outdoor hiking map.
- You would need a driving licence with at least one year’s experience of driving (for manual vehicles).
- N.B. Please do not apply if you are a UK National without an EU passport or residency in Italy. It would be illegal for us to employ you otherwise.
Useful but not Essential Requirements
- Your own Car – to travel between your apartment and Il Rigo. All fuel costs would be covered, as well as a payment for ‘wear & tear.’
Personality
- Friendly & warm personality.
- Supportive and empathetic team player.
- It is essential that you are a people person as much as an outdoor person. Your daily interaction with your guests will be what transforms their holiday from a good one into an outstanding one. Looking after people on holiday comes with its challenges of course, so you also need to be understanding, patient and very resourceful.
Wage & Package
- A competitive monthly wage in the region of €1200 euros/month – on an Italian Contract.
- Shared accommodation provided in an apartment in a nearby town.
- Four evening meals (with your guests) provided at Il Rigo each week, and a budget provided for the rest of your meals taken in your apartment.
- One Full day off – Wednesday. Lots of free time built in on most other days.
- Training and orientation on location before the first guests arrive on 18th March.
What is Not Provided by Collett’s
- Travel Insurance for the season. Unless you are an Italian National, this will be something you would have to source yourself from your home country.
- Travel expenses to and from Tuscany at the start and end of the season.
About us
Collett’s is a small, independent holiday specialist, offering self-guided and guided Hiking Holidays in some of Europe’s most stunning mountain ranges and areas of outstanding beauty: In Italy, The Dolomites and Tuscany; the Austrian & Swiss Alps; and in Spain, the Pyrenees, and the Sierra Tejeda (Andalucía).
WHAT WE DO IN TUSCANY
We run walking holidays for our guests who stay at the Agriturismo ‘Il Rigo’ in the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany. Our guests are mainly from the UK and all English speaking. We have exclusive use of the agriturismo, and our guests stay Saturday to Saturday. Guests tend to come as couples, or sometimes in small groups of friends.
YOUR GUESTS
Mainly from the UK, and all English speaking, the guests are generally a middle-aged crowd of ‘outdoor enthusiasts’ who love the hills and mountains. More than half of them will have been on a Collett’s holiday before, winter or summer. Their expectation of you, the team on the ground, will be that you are warm and engaging hosts, focused on their comfort and enjoyment, with a genuine interest in helping them get the best from their precious six days of walking in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. For many guests, regardless of the fantastic area in which they are in, it will be you and your teammate who make the holiday for them.
When you apply, please send the following:
- A copy of your CV;
- A Cover note explaining why you are interested in the job;
- A photo so that we can put a face to the voice when we chat over the telephone.
Apply now for a wonderful experience in a beautiful part of Europe!