Working Wednesdays: Welcome Host for Internations in Hong Kong

It’s been a while since I did a Working Wednesdays feature on here, and while I have dozens more jobs to write about, I’ll be posting a few more of them in due course when I feel like it. After relocating to Hong Kong in 2011, I signed up with Internations. If you don’t already know all about Internations, please check this post – basically Internations is a company all about connecting global minds. It brings highly educated, motivational and intelligent individuals together to meet, become friends and hopefully arrange some business together. Whether you love to travel or not, please sign up for Internations. Basic membership is completely free and there are events all the time all over the world. The amount of people you can meet is crazy.

So having spent time in Hong Kong working in Delaney’s Irish Pub and in many schools as an English teacher, a new opportunity arose one day. My Hong Kongese girlfriend Panny Yu has seven sisters and a huge family. One day, her sister Bibi Yu phoned and asked if I could help out at an event on Hong Kong Island for three hours to be paid for it and to meet new people. It was a no-brainer for me. I was delighted to get this new job as an extra to my other jobs and so I started working at events as a Welcome Host for Internations. This was on top of my travel writing and my teaching so times were busy back then. I started working at Internations events back in February 2012 at Magnum Club in Hong Kong Island.

Hours of the Job at Internations
Basically the Internations events in Hong Kong are held on Friday nights normally, and usually every two weeks. The person in charge is Will Bedoucha and he organises events in lots of different venues all over Hong Kong. From swanky clubs to bars to restaurants, the events are well organised and varied. A friendly and sociable group of people from all over the world gather at each event to meet up, chat, liaise and hopefully arrange some business and networking together.

My Job as Welcome Host at Internations
After arriving in work just before 7pm, I’d meet up with my work colleagues and we would be told the rules of each event. Some events had one free drink issued to each guest, some events had two free drinks, some had food. Most events had prize draws where guests would put their business card in a box and the winner would be drawn around 9.45 pm. Some guests were fully paid up Ambassador members meaning entry and a drink was free to them. Some guests had the same name and nationality. For this job, I would normally be dressed in shirt and tie.

We had a clipboard and the following items for our job at Internations:
– A full list of the guests who have registered for each event including nationality and membership status
– Sticker sheets with a pre printed sticker for every guest who has pre registered for the event

– Blank Sticker sheet for guests not registered on the guest list for the event
– Marker pens to write the guests names and nationalities on the guest list for each event
The sticker sheets would have the person’s first name on it, their nationality and flag and if they were an Ambassador member then they would have an Ambassador logo on it. Each guest to the event would fall into one of these categories:
– Ambassador Member (free entry and free drink)
– Basic Member (90 HKD entry and free drink)
– Non Member/ Guest (100 HKD entry and free drink)
* Non members or guests would have to be introduced and accompanied by a member of Internations

I would stand alongside Bibi and normally one other person by the door at the entrance to the club. As people arrived, we would check the people off the list, hand them their correct stickers and tell them where to pay and redeem their free drink. On some occasions in some of the venues we would issue the free drink coupons and take payment. But normally we were there as hosts to welcome the guests and give them their sticker and point them in the right direction for the evening’s event.

I loved the job. It became part of my lifestyle. I had a routine for a while. I’d finish work on the Friday in the school, hop onto the Hong Kong MTR system normally to Hong Kong Island, grab a quick bite and drink then start work. In work I would chat away to the guests, network with them try to help them and generally ensure that guests were happy, being welcomed and able to enjoy their evening. I met a lot of cool people while working in Internations.

All the time I worked at Internations, I was always further developing this travel website Don’t Stop Living however and I had a lot of work on. I got busier and busier with everything and I was also travelling all over Asia at the time on any time off I had. By June 2013 I was back and forth to China a lot, started working on Backpacking in China and eventually left Hong Kong to travel full time and live my dreams of being a writer and a backpacker. I haven’t been back to an Internations event since June 2013, which is crazy – almost 2 years. I’m sure I’ve been in the same cities as events sometimes but just never known about them or gone.

Hours of the Job at Internations
Typically the hours would be from 7 pm – 10 pm on selected Friday nights. It was a simple three hour shift. Some events would go on for longer until 11pm or midnight. Some events would be held on Thursdays and other selected days. I was ever present at every Internations event while I was in Hong Kong between February 2012 and June 2013. My first event was at the Magnum Club in Lan Kwai Fong and my last event was at the W Hotel in Kowloon.

As I was busy working in schools at the time, I would head straight from work in the schools at 5pm to my Internations Job at 7pm. If I had time, I’d grab a quick coffee, pint or bite to eat.

Perks of the Job
I’d get paid a flat rate of 100 Hong Kong Dollars per hour. I’d get some free snacks during the shift and one free drink after work. On top of all of this, I got to meet a lot of really cool people and get networking. Fridays were tiring but rewarding and I always felt really good having that post work beer after my Internations Shift.

So I would recommend signing up for Internations. I am not even biased – it is a great company to enhance your social network and business ventures. There is a world of opportunity out there and I hope you can find some cool new friends and business partners through Internations.

I’ll see you all at an Internations Event again someday!

Venues I worked in with Internations
These are just some of the venues I worked at – there are many more:
Magnum, Lan Kwai Fong (first shift)
Beijing Club, Lan Kwai Fong
Tamarind Bar, Wan Chai
Duetto, Wan Chai
Prive, Lan Kwai Fong
Armani Bar, Central
W Hotel (by the infinity pool), Kowloon (last shift)
Finds, Kowloon (second shift)
Irish Owned Bar on Corner, Lan Kwai Fong

People I worked with at Internations
Panny Yu
Bibi Yu
Will Bedoucha
Cyril Cousteur
Amai Trang
Sandy Wong
Cara Yu

Some videos from the Internations Events I worked at: