Trying something new
There are essentially two kinds of working holiday work at guesthouses: general and specialist. General work includes things like cleaning rooms, preparing breakfasts, washing dishes, weeding gardens, and other manual jobs; specialist work, meanwhile, involves things like developing meals, translating websites, painting murals, working on interior design, designing and planting gardens, guiding tours, doing scientific fieldwork, and holding musical performances.
The owners of different guesthouses have different needs—some want help with photography, some want travel articles written, some want to learn to use social media…. Once worker and employer have agreed on how long the stay will be and what kind of work will be done, they then have to sign an agreement that lays out working hours and other details in order to protect the rights of both parties.
Pai explains that the travelers who choose working holidays in Taiwan doing general work essentially become assistants to the managers of these guesthouses, and for those who want to open their own guesthouse in the future, it’s an invaluable introduction to the business. However, there are a lot of restrictions and requirements involved in the general class of work—most of these new assistants have to get up at 7 a.m., and sometimes as early as 5 a.m., to set to work making breakfast, and given the ease with which they can be replaced, those who choose this path have less freedom than those working on more specialist duties.
Said specialist work, meanwhile, can be much more varied. By way of example, Pai mentions a student from National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism who took up work at Beicheng Villa in Yilan, working on a lotus-themed menu; and an economics major from Hong Kong with a penchant for art who was invited to work on painting murals at Hualien’s Shin-Liu Farm, leaving her creative mark on the farm’s guest rooms.
Hung Ting Ting, a graphic designer from Hong Kong, started work this May at “Meet” guesthouse in Penghu, and not only works making both beds and breakfasts, but has also used her professional talents to help owner Xu Mingmao design brochures for travel shows in Hong Kong.
Some owners have more unique requests for working holidayers, such as the owners of Ching San Farm in Taitung, who want children’s dance and movement specialists to lead their own and their guests’ children in singing, dancing, and stretching. Lu Zhenxu, owner of Old Five Guest House in Nantou, is an avid marathon runner, and has in the past looked for travelers interested in joining him on the road.
Old Five Guest House also offers other unusual jobs, like making and bottling vinegar; weeding, catching bugs, and growing vegetables at nearby Tianshanling Organic Farm; bagging and harvesting grapes at the neighboring Ganxi Vineyard; or even making mantou (steamed bread) at the Old Five’s mantou shop.
Even just chatting with the guests in the evenings can count as part of travelers’ “work.” At Meet guesthouse in Penghu, owner Zeng Wanting has organized a system by which guests are given a beer voucher at check-in, and from nine each night they gather in the garden to enjoy a drink under the starry skies. Accordingly, she hopes that travelers who take up work with her will also join them and be part of the socializing that goes on.
11:00 AM: Clean and straighten rooms after guests have checked out.