Job Description

China Hosts accompany all of our ‘Ultimate China’ tours – this is our higher-end product and is aimed at travelers who want the very top level of service available. Our Ultimate China tours are individually designed and generally consist of 2 – 6 people – a family, for example, or a group of friends. We also host some group trips, such as alumni or museum groups, which may be larger.

The China Host accompanies guests throughout their stay (except, in general, in Hong Kong and Macao). The position is not that of a guide (local guides join the tour in each destination for historical introductions and so on) but has a number of different facets. Firstly, they are responsible for overseeing the general quality of the tour – ensuring that everything runs as it should and that the quality of hotel experience, vehicles and meals etc. is in line with what clients expect. Additionally, they also act as a kind of personal concierge – able to use their personal knowledge and understanding of guests’ tastes to make changes to the itinerary and suggest interesting shops, restaurants or experiences that will enhance the tour. China Hosts need an understanding of the service industry and should possess the ability to understand and anticipate guests’ needs and preferences – both spoken and unspoken.

Requirements

pplicants should be fluent in English & Chinese, be over 26, have resided in China for 2+ years and currently be based in Beijing or Shanghai. Past experience and Portuguese proficiency is a plus.

Beijing and Shanghai are our most popular destinations, and as such we ask that China Hosts be a resident of one of these cities. An intimate knowledge of one or both is a strong advantage. As China Hosts are required to confirm, change and discuss arrangements with local partners, a strong ability to communicate in Chinese is essential. We have an increasing number of guests who are from Latin America, so at this point fluency in Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese is a major bonus. Although experience in the travel business is not essential, those applicants who do have experience or can demonstrate a strong desire to enter the industry will be at an advantage.

 As each tour is individually designed there is no set length of any tour – it could range from half a day to three weeks. A typical tour, though, is probably 10 – 14 days in duration. Naturally, this requires spells spent away from home and applicants should carefully consider whether this lifestyle is suitable for them. The tourist season in China is seasonal and as such working times are not those of a regular office job. Imperial Tours requires that China Hosts make themselves available fulltime for the high seasons – approximately mid-March through May and September through to mid-November. At other times (especially winter when business is much slower), availability is more flexible and can be discussed on an individual basis. Some of our current China Hosts pursue academic or other projects in low season, others travel themselves whilst some choose to make themselves available throughout the year. On average, China Hosts work 10 – 14 days per month. This is a combination of how much work there is and how much China Hosts want to do. In 2011, there was a China Host recovering from a personal situation who wanted to work constantly and he had five days off in the entire season – that was what he wanted. On the other hand, in the same year, we had a China Host who refused to have tours within four days of another and generally sought fewer tour days per month.

 For successful candidates, the position will begin with a training tour in March 2018 (March 10 –20), visiting Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin and Shanghai and lasting approximately 10 days. Candidates will not be paid for the tour, but all expenses will be covered.  Payment is on a per tour day basis, with an additional admin day (or half day for tours of 2 days or less) in return for completing feedback forms and so on.

Application Instructions