Introducing IP: Alice

Industriepalast Hostel Berlin is not just a bunch of beautiful rooms and a lot of fun things to do – Industriepalast Hostel, that is also a great team of staff members, devoted to make your stay in Berlin simply perfect. Here on our blog you have the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes and get to know us on a more personal level. Like this week, where I ran all through the hostel in order to find Alice, our student trainee. Although it took me a while I managed to get hold of her and have a little chat with her:

Simon:  Hi Alice, here you are!

Alice:  Hey Simon!

Simon:  Here at the hostel you can be found in pretty much every department. How come?

Alice:  Well, I get to work in all different sections as part of my three year integrated degree program.

Simon:  Now that sounds interesting. How must I imagine that? You work at the hostel while you’re a student?

Alice:  Quite so. Alternating between University and the hostel I spend about three months here, three months there. The great thing is that I can apply straight away what I’ve learned.

Simon:  And that covers only certain parts of running a hostel or the big picture?

Alice:  It’s mostly the basics of business administrations as well as an overview of the entire tourism industry. Industriepalast Hostel is the perfect place for my training because I have a lot of freedom here to find out about the different fields of hotel business.

Simon:  Most people know hostels only from a visitor’s perspective. What made you think you might want to make this your career?

Alice:  I just love hosting people. Also, it’s super exciting to welcome new faces on a daily basis. Every smile has a story to tell, and quite often I am lucky enough to hear some of them. Whenever I was somewhere as a guest I placed great value on certain things. Now I can action them myself and make other guests happy. To me, that is the greatest part of my work. By the way – my granny has always known that I should work in a hotel.

Simon:  …and grannies know best, right?

Alice:  Absolutely! (laughs)

Simon:  I guess we could call you an expert on tourism then? Berlin is currently more popular than ever. Last year some 12 million people came to visit the German capital. What do you think makes the city so attractive?

Alice:  Without going into the details of the tourism industry: I think it’s mostly about how this city feels. Berlin is super diverse. It twists everyone around it’s TV-tower-shaped finger; for Berlin has so incredibly much to offer. Berlin is freedom, and I believe that a lot of people pine after this kind of freedom. But that’s just my personal opinion, not a scientific study or anything. Researched at my heart basically. (smiles)

Simon:  Quite fitting for a city like Berlin, ain’t it? How about you though, are you being bitten by the travel bug once in a while yourself? Or do you have enough on your plate at work already?

Alice:  O sure, wanderlust puts a lot of colorful butterflies into your stomach. I love to travel! I have a rather busy schedule, so of course it’s an issue of good planning, too. But only this summer for instance I spent four weeks in Portugal. Partly to explore the beautiful beaches, but mostly in order to hike my first stage of the Camino de Santiago. Discovering new places, cultures, and paths is an important part of my life.

Simon:  That sounds super interesting. Is this a long-term project of yours? Are you planning to walk more stages of the Camino de Santiago?

Alice:  Yes! I started in Porto and walked all the way to Santiago. My plan is to hike back to Berlin little by little. I’m sure this will keep me busy for a couple of years, but it also means I’ll always have some indefinite goal.

Simon:  It seems like everybody is hopping on a plane to fly somewhere while you’re walking through Europe on your own feet – a great thing to do. One last question: 2016 did not exactly make for a lot of optimism. Now that the new year is just around the corner: What do you wish for Berlin in 2017?

Alice:  What a beautiful question! I wish for a peaceful year 2017 for everyone together, here in Berlin.

Simon:  I guess we can all subscribe to that. Thank you for your time and all the best for your studies!

Alice:  No worries! Come and visit me again some time – if you can find me, that is… (laughs)