I cannot believe that Brit5Alpha is moaning about her daughters job! I work 55hrs a week and run a home/family which every woman will agree is never ending and have to do it all in English weather with no sandy beach on my doorstep! Do i moan? No. Thats life. We all make our own desicions and have to live with them. I read the forum on careers in travel with interest. Our rep in Mallorca told us about loads of restaurants she had been to and shes a regular at the water park on her day off.

I cannot believe that Brit5Alpha is moaning about her daughters job! I work 55hrs a week and run a home/family which every woman will agree is never ending and have to do it all in English weather with no sandy beach on my doorstep! Do i moan? No. Thats life. We all make our own desicions and have to live with them. I read the forum on careers in travel with interest. Our rep in Mallorca told us about loads of restaurants she had been to and shes a regular at the water park on her day off

Excuse me have i been moaning? i think NOT how dare you say im moaning salhal if you take the time to read my postings i have TRIED to make people aware of what a rep does and to be honest i think i am the one to judge seeing as its my daughter over there working her socks off and not any of the posters on this site so dont dare insult me with saying im moaning,all i can say is your rep in mallorca was a very lucky person, days off spent in the water park what luxuries

yes its probably because they are short staffed and im basing my judgments on what i saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears and actually MarkJ HT Mod have a look on this site http://www.holidayrepping.co.uk/forum/
some of the very same people have actually wrote about how exciting it is how its gonna be brilliant its gonna be sun sea sex and booze hmmmmmm well if you look further on in the site the very same people are trying to come home because being a rep is not what they thought it was like, its damn hard work little pay and no thanks ,have a look at the posting from tiggs called "hating it" who is actually the first person to write on the link you posted on here

As my first posting was Reps what do they do? i thought i was giving an insight into what they do and most reps are all not doing the job for the money, the booze, fleecing anyone out of there money but no matter what i say everyones entitled to there own opinions, your going to get good reps and bad reps just like in any walk of life

BenidormHereICome Forgive me if ive misled anyone, but like i said im basing my facts on what i have seen and heard from reps who work with my daughter

Yeah but your giving it out as Facts when it's only what goes on with your daughters company!
That to me isn't a Fact for all reps!

Plus if they don't like it they don't have to do it!

Ahh..leave brit5alpha alone...shes not moaning ..just telling it like it is for her daughter...dont be so horrible!!

PS...moderators..please take note of people bullying as i had a poste taken off for just talking about capitalism

Brit5Alpha, with all respect, did you read my post too? I have been a rep for 12 years, and I really think that what your daughter is going through is exceptional.

I do agree that they are expected to do too much, and they have little free time, but the experience you had with your daughter is not the norm, in my eyes. Perhaps that is why you are getting such flak? You have only seen what your daughter does, and of course it concerns you, but there are many more out there who have different stories.

Brit5Alpha,

Just read that post you linked to and from what I can gather the person you referred to wants to leave because it is boring and that (s)he hates working with another person in the team.

Nothing about not having time to eat, living on £ 0.80 per hour etc.

MarkJ (without the mod hat on)

Yeah but your giving it out as Facts when it's only what goes on with your daughters company!
That to me isn't a Fact for all reps!
Plus if they don't like it they don't have to do it!

Like i keep saying im basing my opinions on my daughters company( a very large company at that) no one else

ndshelton thanks there is someone human out there

madsue yeah your probably right what my daughter and the other reps are going through is probably not the norm (god i hope its not the norm) especially as its quite a few reps first season, but even so i dont think i deserve all the flak that some people on here have posted

i give up

Brit5Alpha wrote:

BenidormHereICome Forgive me if ive misled anyone, but like i said im basing my facts on what i have seen and heard from reps who work with my daughter

With all due respect to you and your intial post and to your daughter, as other members have pointed out, you have only been able to post some information on the sort of work your daughter undertakes, and as she only works for one Employer the points you have raised can hardly be referred to as facts.

For example, you clearly stated, or so I understood your posting to read, that Reps are only entitled to Hotel meals if they are based in a Five Star Hotel, and this simply is NOT a "fact". I've stayed in ONE star Hotels where I have observed Reps eating in the Dining Room at all three meals.

I don't believe other HT members have given you "flack". I think you will find that they are merely stating 'facts' as they have seen them, and as things appear to them. As indeed is the case with how things appear to me.

From reading the various replies to your original post it would apear that Company Policies and Procedures may vary from one Company to another, and therefore although what you have posted may be 'fact' in as far as your daughter's Employer is concerned, (I don't think that can be in dispute based on your personal experiences) it may not be 'fact' from another Tour Operators point of view.

Maybe depending on which Tour Operator you are employed with as a Holiday Rep, then your job may be better if you work for Company 'A', as opposed to Company 'B'. Company 'C' may provide you with free meals, whereas Companies 'A' & 'B' do not. Does that make any sense?

Although the main duties of a Holiday Rep will in all probability be the same whether you work for Company 'A', Company 'B' or Compnay 'C', your salary and Beneifits 'package' may vary considerably from one company to the other.

I have met Reps in the past who said they used to work for Compnay 'X' but now they work for Compnay 'Y' because they get more pay for less hours.

Guess it all depends what kind of set up you are in. I would hazard a guess that most reps don't have to travel more than a stroll to another hotel in the resort. I think it's unusual to have to cover more than one resort - maybe this is all about the cut backs on reps that have been mentioned before on this board - people just don't want or need them.

The dreaded days seem to be the arrivals and departure days where regularly no staff will get any sleep for 24 hours with airport runs and checking in etc. On most occasions I would say there's some free time during the afternoon but then again maybe there's paperwork to be done - makes a difference if there's a resort manager - again if reps are covering more than one resort then that can't be the case. There's size of hotels to consider, standard of hotels.

Going on my friend's experience they start at 9 and work through til 12 then they are off until 4pm unless you're hosting a trip (taken in turns again). One full day off a week and evenings free from 7pm but working on a rota so you'll be 'on call' a couple of nights a week or involved in hosting barbecues or whatever else is going on. But this is a campsite situation where they are all based on site.

I don't wish to see anyone being bullied and I hope I'm not seen as one as I'm totally against it, I just posted from my own experiences of reps.

For example, you clearly stated, or so I understood your posting to read, that Reps are only entitled to Hotel meals if they are based in a Five Star Hotel, and this simply is NOT a "fact". I've stayed in ONE star Hotels where I have observed Reps eating in the Dining Room at all three meals.

Not always the case I am afraid. Not all reps get the opportunity or access to Hotels to eat and are given a food allowance.

I worked in Menorca 2000 as a kiddies rep for a major tour and loved it. (My fiancee came in my winter off and I never made it to Crete ) It does vary from company to company. I got to know alot of people who had been in the business for years and still keep in touch with a few and it can be tiresome workbut they all enjoy it or they would not be there. Im sure things will work out for your daughter. I wish her all the best.

brit5alpha i am not going to go into detail but my daughter was a rep gave it up 18 mths ago and i can see exactly what you are saying and being a concerned mum, i am not saying that my daughter did not enjoy it and i do think most people who decide to rep is to get away from the uk for whatever reasons but most of them have issues about something to leave the uk for a while however it does not make me feel any different to yourself, my daughter used to ring me and get so excited about someone leaving some shampoo and conditioner lol it is so sad that they are exploited by tour operators I tried to visit her as often as possible just to take supplies for her including food as she could not eat in her hotel. Like you i tried to get her to come home as i was disgusted in the living accoodation they were given, i must add i do think when you are young it does not matter if you have had a good upbringing in a nice home i think they are looking for independence and believe me they certainley get it.

emmarushuk wrote:

Not always the case I am afraid. Not all reps get the opportunity or access to Hotels to eat and are given a food allowance.

I have been taking Package Holidays since 1980 and this HAS always been the case. And in all those years I have ALWAYS seen Reps eating in Hotel Dining Rooms. I have travelled with Cosmos, Manos, First Choice, Thomas Cook and extensively with Thomsons and the Reps for all these Tour Operators DO seem to get meals provided in Hotels or so it has always appeared from my twenty odd years of travelling abroad on Package Holidays.

[b]I have been taking Package Holidays since 1980 and this HAS always been the case. And in all those years I have ALWAYS seen Reps eating in Hotel Dining Rooms. [/b]

I worked for one of those and recieved a food allowance. You may have travelled extensivley but I have worked for a TO and know alot of what goes on that the holiday maker just doesnt see. It was quite common in Menorca and other areas, especially if the company have no hotels in a particular resort

emmarushuk wrote:

I have worked for a TO and know alot of what goes on that the holiday maker just doesnt see.

Well, with all due respect, whilst I appreciate that as a Holiday Maker I am not aware of what goes on 'behind the scenes', I DO know what I have seen with my own eyes, and I have observed Reps eating in Hotel Dining Rooms.

Whether or not these meals are free or subsidised or have to be paid for in full, I have no idea, but that is irrelavant to the point which is Reps DO eat in Hotel Dining Rooms. I have seem them doing so. And I have been observing this for the past twenty six years of travelling overseas.

Some do eat if in there if they are working there or the TO have a deal with the hotel but if not you get x pounds a week and off to the local supermarket

i am completely astonished at the posts i have read on this thread.. expecially the most recent ones... ..i thought in general that people who made posts regularly on the HT site were a pretty tolerant bunch of people and were able to see both sides of a debate (notice i said debate rather than arguement)..

each one of you in some way has a valid point, but thats not to say that when you are making your point you have to shout down/call/belittle anyone elses point of view.. and that is what the last few posts on the site have looked like to me.

Brit5Alpha.. thanks for highlighting your daughters situation..i am sure you did it with all good intentions..and like you said, it is your daughter's situation and not necessarily true for everybody.

BHIC.. we know you are very widely travelled and have experienced a number of interesting things and yes you always have something interesting to say.. but just because you have witnessed reps being allowed to eat in hotels etc does not mean that there are places where they are not. I have been to places where they are not and have witnessed it with my own eyes. Equally, i have seen places where they are.

Shell and ndshelton, good for you for trying to be the voice of reason here.

salhal..what a terribly negative comment to make to totally change the tone of what had so far been an interesting thread. i am a mother too.. i also work umpteen hours a week, study , run a house and do loads of other things. Yes you are right.. it's called life.. and yes i put up with the naff english weather..but it does not mean i don't dream of the day when i get on the plane for my well earned holiday. I never took that much notice of the reps before as we always tended to do our own thing.. but thanks to the information posted in this thread, i will certainly be paying more attention to what they do and the way they get treated.

I am terribly sorry if this post stirs things up..but i really felt i had to say something about the way this thread has gone. Mods.. please don't close it as it has been really interesting.