Working In Ibiza.
Coming to Ibiza for your holidays is one thing, but staying here all season is
a completely different ball game all together. Sure the parties and the clubbing
are non-stop, however unless you're lucky enough to have a sizeable trustfund
behind you, then your probably going to have to get a job to help you to pay
your way. Working in Ibiza is not all it's cracked up to be, sure it's a nice
climate, however you've got to work in it, not relax in it, and more so, you
have to watch everyone else having a good time. However if you're set on spending
the summer in the sun, then take some tips from some people who are doing it
already and ask yourself 'Is this really the thing for you?'
Name : Marcus
Job : Resident DJ @ El Divino.
How long have you been in Ibiza and what made you decide to come here in
the first place?
I decided to come out here after watching Sky Television's 'Ibiza Uncovered',
and I've been here since the opening party on June 6th.
How easy did you find it to get a residency here?
It was all by luck and chance, and a lot of hard work. I was helping some
girlfriends out back in the UK who were auditioning for jobs as dancers at
El Divino's. They asked me to DJ their audition, so I did and the manager
liked what I played. He then took me asked me to come out and see the club
and offered me the residency. It was April, then, and raining in England,
so I though that I've got to do it.
Are you making a lot of money out of it ?
It was definitely worth my while coming over. I've got a nice apartment,
with a lovely swimming pool and I've got the sun as well.
What happens after the season is over, do you go back home or do you stay here ?
I'm going home until Christmas then hopefully over to the Mardi Gras in Australia,
then Miami and then back here again. I'm trying to keep in the sun all the time.
Name : Jon
Job : Flyer boy for Miss Moneypenny's.
How did you get the job ?
I just turned up, went to a meeting and it all went from there.
What gave you the idea to come out here in the first place?
I'd just finished University and decided to take the summer off, so I came out
here to try and find some work.
What does your job involve?
We only work 3 or 4 days a week in the build up to the club night, the rest of
the week we have off and laze about on the beach.
Does it pay good money ?
No, not especially. I only earned 2 pounds in my first week. I've had to
get finances from back home. I've been here for a month and I've had to go
back to England twice to get more money. I'm going to have a huge overdraft
when I get back, but I don't really care, it's worth it and I've got the rest
of my life to pay off my debts.
Is there a lot of competitions between the people flyering for the
different clubs, do you ever seen any trouble?
I've never seen any physical fights, but there has been words said
between the clubs. Other clubs don't like you flyering around them,
but everyone has their own areas to do and you have to respect that.
Is there any pressure from the club, how do they work out if you
are doing your job well or not ?
It's measured in how many people you get into the club. There are no real
standards, but if you don't get anyone in you don't get paid. The club
promoters put your initials on each flyer and then at the end of the week they
count up how many of your flyers have been handed in and pay you accordingly.
Name : Sue
Job: Entrepreneur
What do you do ?
I do a number of things on the island. I run a holiday company called
Locomotives, which specialises in holidays with the music industry; Dj's,
promoters, media people, so there's a lot of hospitality work involved. I
also run the Ibiza office of DJ magazine and this year we have a new book out,
The Ibiza Club Guide, of which I'm the editor.
How long have you been here ?
I first came to the island in 1984, so that makes this year my 15th summer.
What made you come over in the first place ?
I'd been living in the states for quite a few years, I came back to the UK and
fancied zipping off to the Med for a summer job. I landed a job with a holiday
company, as a rep, and then after the first season I fell in love with the island,
ditched the job and just carried on doing other things.
Did you find it easy to get into this kind of work ?
No it's not easy at all. Ibiza is a big little island, you can't just walk
straight in here and take over, or get a dream job. It's still a very close-knit
community where everybody knows everybody else, so what you have to do is work on
building up your contacts and start taking things from there. That is a lot of
hard work, it's not sitting in the sunshine or swanning around. I've got to say
to anyone who is thinking of coming here to work, it's hard graft, very hard, and
that's why a lot of people come and go, but the ones who stick it out do seem to succeed.
Name : Chris
Job : Representative for Evergreen Holidays.
How long have you been doing this job?
4 years but this is my first season in Ibiza.
What made you decide on Ibiza ?
I've worked in many different Spanish resorts and other countries as well,
even before rep-ing. I wanted to come to Ibiza for the same reason that everyone
wants to come to Ibiza and to see what it had to offer. So far I have not been disappointed.
What does being a tour rep involve?
We start off with Sunday night, which is when we do all of our transfers. We take
all of our current guests to the airport, then get all the new arrivals onto coaches
and take them to their resorts. We do this in the middle of the night and sometimes it
can go on until about 8 o'clock in the morning. We then have to be up by 10:30 Monday
morning, to be ready for the first welcome meeting of the week. At the height of the
season, we have to get through about 10 welcome meetings in a day. The meetings
involve going to all the different hotels, meeting all the guests, informing them
about their accommodation and the island and trying to get them to come along on
some of the organised trips that we offer. Monday evening we have an organised bar
crawl, we go to four bars and then a nightclub, so everyone can get to know each
other. Tuesday we have to be up early in the morning again to go to all the places
of accommodation, hand out the tickets for the trips and tell guests about meeting
times and places. Throughout the rest of the week we guide excursions, which can be
either night or day, and check on the guests at their accommodation to ensure that
everything is running ok and they have everything they want. We also have to act as
a mediator between the hoteliers and the guests, sorting out any misbehaving that
may go on.
What are your guests like, are they well behaved ?
No, especially when we take them on the excursions and they come back completely
drunk. Obviously they're on holiday, and they have money saved up which they can't
wait to spend, and what do they spend it on? Drinking. And you know what drinking
does to most people, it sends them batty. Some of them go missing, some of them get
into trouble, some of them end up in everyone's bedroom or apartment at night, but
generally when I see them, and with me being with them through the day and the night,
they are well behaved really nice people.
What's been your worst nightmare experience from one of your guests?
It seems that in Ibiza a lot of people love to get a mope head, and I don't really
think they understand how dangerous it is. Most of them don't wear a helmet, they
forget which side of the road to drive on and they drive when they're drunk. Last
week, one of my guests came off his bike after having a few bevvies, and he ended
up in hospital with his spleen removed, a cracked eye socket, a broken jaw and
stitches all over his head.
What's the best and worst things about your job ?
The best thing about the job, is the socialising, being with everybody, seeing
everybody having a great time. You soon get to know everybody on the island, and
you can't go anywhere without seeing someone, that is absolutely brilliant. The
downsides of the job, and it's the only thing I hate, is having to deal with
someone who has had an accident, and it does happen.
What about the money, does it pay well ?
Well let's put it this way, I'm not in Minorca where you're paid about 5
pence per week. I'm here in Ibiza and the money is very good indeed. I'll come
through at the end and be able to afford a few things.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to do your job ?
If you want to do my job, one thing that is really important, is that you
must have a decision on where you want to go. Each resort is completely different.
Your job isn't just sunbathing and relaxing, it's a lot of hard work and it takes
stamina. You have to constantly have a smile on your face 24 hours a day through
thick or thin.
