Help out at our family run hostel in Antigua, Guatemala

Details

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  Description

  Hey! we are Alex and Kayla, the owners of a hostel! We are both 28, have a 2 year old kid named Grayson, and recently moved from The United States to Antigua to pursue our goal of leaving the states to raise our kid. We didnt originally move with the intent of opening a hostel, but after long discussions about what to do after we moved here, we decided on a hostel being the next project for many reasons. We've both stayed in countless hostels, and the social aspect and the amount of people you meet was always the most amazing part - and we loved the idea of being able to spend our days meeting amazing people from around the world. In addition, having stayed in so many hostels we felt we had a decent idea of what features we could add that would make our property stand out and provide an amazing stay for our guests. There is something really satisfying about being the difference that made some ones trip or vacation better, and we are focusing very heavily on providing the best customer experience we can - from the bed quality, to the property amenities, to the friendly faces behind the reception desk! We are trying to create long-term jobs for our awesome staff, and help every guest that comes through our door get the absolute best experience from their time in Guatemalan in their own ways!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a family-owned hostel with a very culturally mixed full time staff. The owner and his wife are from the United States, they moved here with their 2 year old child for a fresh start out of the United States. The reception manager, Davide, is from San Lucas in Guatemala, and is fully bilingual. Our day cleaner is a local Guatemalan woman with tons of experience in local coffee and cooking, she is the the who makes breakfast every morning. Overall, our staff is full of amazing people and every day feels like one big cultural exchange here, and we would love to welcome people from all around the world to join us! We currently have a 9.6/10 star rating on Hostel World revolving almost entirely around our customer service experience for guests, and we would love to find volunteers with the same mission in mind of providing an extra-ordinary experience to our guests here in Guatemala, and helping them find all the beauty this country has, while making it their home away from home!

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We are a new hostel in Antigua, Guatemala looking for volunteers for help with reception/hospitality work, general reception work and art projects. We are a smaller-sized boutique hostel with a max capacity of 25 people, so most of the reception work is basic check in/check out and guest services. We book shuttles and tours for our guests at reception as well.
  
  We do free breakfast every morning and a free family dinner night every day of the week. Breakfast, which includes 6 options!) is cooked by our morning housekeeper, and receptionist helps make sure the meals go smoothly and assist in some translation. Family dinner is made by a group of local women and brought to the hostel. Our property is also a bit of a blank slate with white concrete walls in most parts, so any work exchange for mural art is something we are actively looking for!
  
  A role at our hostel does require a fluency in English and Spanish in order to interact with our guests, staff and vendors.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We have a shared employee room near the front entrance of the building. It includes 2 bunk beds with full-size memory foam beds (not a small twin or single - big beds!) and a private bathroom with no shower - showers are shared with guests. There is also a closet and other clothing/personal item storage in the employee room. Our hostel includes a shared full kitchen for guests and staff, and an employees-only partial kitchen that only staff have use of. Staff get breakfast and family dinner every day included in their stay.
  
  We also include a grocery budget for the remaining meals, volunteers and staff provide us their combined grocery list and we have it delivered. We have fast internet, a rooftop terrace with a 360 view, a sun-lit sitting area with plants as some other amenities. Staff have full use of our laundromat for washing and drying clothes for a fee.

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  What else ...

  We are minutes walking away from the center of this magical city Antigua, full of some of the best bars, restaurants, and nightlife available in Central America! We also have access to a full shuttles and tours list, including shuttles that can go as far as Mexico or Nicaragua, and of course the Acatenango volcano tour. There are tons of free walking and bus tours of the city and its surroundings, and plenty of scenic lookout points and small day hikes surrounding Antigua. We do a nightly event at the hostel from 6-8. Antigua has a large live-music, live-performing, and dancing scene as well. We are also only 2 hours from the beach, and 2 hours from Lake Atitlan!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  good internet, quiet spaces

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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