An insider’s point of view!
If you haven’t been living under a rock, then you’re probably aware that the global pandemic is affecting the travel industry, HARD. We have watched multiple companies struggling within this travel industry, trying their hardest to keep the business alive, and unfortunately some resulting in bankruptcy. I am not saying it’s all rainbows and sunshine here at JoinMyTrip either, we aren’t exactly thriving. We have definitely been affected to a certain extent by the global pandemic, but we choose to stay hopeful and keep on moving forward with the resources we have available, and, lucky for me I am fortunate enough to be part of this experience.
Before we get started, it’s a bit rude for me not to introduce myself so… here I go. Hi, it’s me, Jasmine! Your hybrid mix of Finnish and Thai, but I prefer telling people that I am a citizen of the world and a local coffee addict. I am also the chick who won’t stop laughing in the office. Please tell me I’m not the only one who tends to laugh in every situation possible? Anyway, that’s beside the point. Are you ready for MY story?
“Little did I know, I was wrong and he was right.”
I am currently doing an internship in marketing as part of my bachelor’s degree in International Business, and let me tell you a thing or two. When I first applied for this position, the CEO, Niels told me in my final interview “It’s going to be tough, sleep on it and let me know tomorrow morning whether you really want this position or not.” I thought to myself, how hard could it be? I was sure it was another one of those classic lines companies used during their hiring process. The next morning I wrote him an email accepting the position, and little did I know, I was wrong and he was right.
I started my internship in August 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic. It has now been a good three and a half months since I have been at JoinMyTrip, but weirdly enough it feels like It has been 3 years. Not because the time is moving slow, but because of how fast the company is progressing. I often wonder if my colleagues have superpowers, because how else would they be able to do it? I would be lying to myself if I said it doesn’t surprise me how many things we manage to get done within our small team.
“Funnily enough I never felt like I was going through it alone.”
Some days it feels like the world is ending and you’re literally glued to your chair and laptop till late evenings contemplating your life. There are days where I feel overwhelmed with the amount of workload and don’t think I’m going to meet the deadline, but funnily enough I never felt like I was going through it alone. It might sound a bit cheesy and tacky, but my colleagues are quite amazing. We help each other out wherever and whenever we can. Leave no man behind!
The one thing people may often overlook is how fast-paced we actually move as a company. Every week is different and nothing is predictable at JoinMyTrip. Not once did I show up to work on a Monday fully knowing how my week is going to be. The hard fact is, I can’t know. How can you predict something that is so full of uncertainty during a global pandemic? One moment we would be preparing to release a campaign and the next moment the campaign would be unusable. I’m quite sure being a travel startup during a pandemic doesn’t help in our favour either.
“Every week is different and nothing is predictable.”
As a travel startup, we need to follow the news every day and adapt accordingly to the new restrictions and rules that are being applied all over the world. We constantly have to make changes to the way we do things. There are days where we find ourselves creating content about a destination and it’s ready to be promoted only to find out the next day that there’s a travel ban and we have to start from square one again.
Isn’t that pretty frustrating? Oh, trust me it’s as frustrating as it gets. Having to spend hours working on something to later find out, we can’t use it. I’m sure we have all been through similar situations. After all, it’s tough to try and sell travel services when the demand is just not there, especially when you’re working in marketing. What are you supposed to do if you can’t market your product? It’s hard knowing that there is nothing we can do to help the situation nor being able to see the results we so desperately need.
“There is never a boring day at JoinMyTrip.”
I can say one thing that I can be sure of is that there is never a boring day at JoinMyTrip. Yes, things can be extremely chaotic but it keeps things interesting. I don’t know about you, but I quite enjoy the uncertainty. I hope you enjoyed this little read about my experience working for a travel startup during a global pandemic, and a little insight into how we do things here.
Are you ready to plan your next trip? So are we! Head to JoinMyTrip, a travel startup now and start finding like-minded travel buddies.
For more travel inspiration, tips, and tricks check out our other articles:
- Coronavirus: 10 Things to do Under Lockdown
- Discover Coworking Trips with JoinMyTrip
- Dubai launches a new Remote Working option | Last Week’s News
- Want to find the Best Remote Working stops for winter?
- Go Traveling With a Professional Tour Guide