Holiday animators

1. Some might not be very familiar with the job of a holiday entertainer. Could you explain in few words what this means?

Animator is a person whose main goal is to entertain hotel guests in holidays resorts. Animation team is responsible for creating a programme with sport and social activities, games, evening shows and discos. In animation team there are 15 or more people and every member has a specific task: some of them are fitness animators, some are working with kids, others have special programme with activities for teenagers.

2. What are the main requirements to become an animator?

I think the most important things are motivation, enthusiasm and energy. Animators love to be with people, have heads full of ideas and are always ready to have fun. Second of all – languages! The more you know the better for you. You don’t need to be fluent in them, which you will realize after working for one season, but animation team is an international group of people and English is the main language. You also need to communicate with hotels guests. Big advantage is to know Polish, German, French or Russian.

3. What are the perks of becoming a holiday animator?

There are plenty of them! International experience, lots of new people, languages, whole holiday season in a beautiful resort! Being an animator teaches you how to interact with different kinds of people and also, it’s a job where you can develop your creativity and find a new passion – for example thanks to evening shows with my team I realized that I love to be on the stage and thanks to working with kids I discovered my artistic soul! For me it was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life and I truly recommend working in this field for everyone who wants to try something totally different, likes challenges and loves to travel.

4. What is the salary? Is it worth it?

The conditions of the job depend of situation – there is a difference when you are hired by the hotel and when you work via the tour operator. If you are employed by the hotel, you earn more money (the average is around 750 to 800 EUR) but you have more duties, responsibilities and more restrictions on-site. As animator through travel agency you earn less, but you also work less and have more privileges in a hotel. Of course, everything depends on the resort you are working in – but mainly that’s how it looks like.

5. Which destinations do you find the best for being an animator and why?

I was working on Greek islands - Corfu and Kos. When I was applying for this position I knew that I wanted to go to Greece, because this country has a special place in my heart, and for me, personally, it is the best destination for the holidays. I have a lot of friends who were working as animators somewhere else, for example in Turkey or Canary Islands and they were also very happy with their choice. So, I don’t think there is the best destination for being an animator – it depends on your preferences.

6. Do you recommend looking for animator jobs online or at the resort directly or is it better to work with a tour operator based in your country?

In my opinion it is better to work with a tour operator from your country, because in such case you are 100% sure about your agreement, conditions, salary etc. They even buy you plane tickets and transport you to the hotel. Before your departure the company trains you, delivers uniforms and all the necessary materials.

7. What is the work schedule of an animator? How much free time do you have?

Well, a lot of people think animation is like a paid holiday – it’s not true. I was working 7 hours per day, but hours were very spread over time. My schedule looked as follows: 10:00-13:00, 15:00-17:00, 20:00-22:00 and in the meantime we had rehearsals for evening shows. Sometimes during our breaks, we were also preparing costumes for shows or some materials for activities with kids. But we had also days when we were spending our breaks on the beach. Animators work 6 days per week and have 1 day off.

8. Did you only work with children or did you also work with adults? What were the challenges and benefits for either?

I was working mainly with kids, but I also needed to maintain good contact with their parents and in general with all guests in the resort. I have had no prior experience working with kids, so this kind of job was very challenging for me, although I’m very happy I took this chance. As a children entertainer I had to prepare a programme for a whole day. We had theme days and every day we had something different – we had pirate day where we were dressing up as pirates, we were playing a treasure hunt, we had master chef day where we were preparing pizza, or for example Disney day when we were drawing and painting our favourite characters from fairy tales. We were also playing some boards games, swimming in the pool, playing outside etc. It was a perfect occasion to boost your creativity to bring back to your childhood memories. Working with kids taught me patience and showed me how to look at some things from a different perspective. On the other hand, it was an extremely responsible role. I needed to be alert at all times.

9. What was the most memorable moment of your seasons as an entertainer?

I have a lot of amazing memories from both seasons, but the one memory that I remember particularly and am really proud of was one of our special evening show – Fire show. We had a special event in a hotel and we prepared extraordinary performance – we were playing Greek Gods, holding torches with fire, dancing around the pools. The preparations and the impersonating required a lot effort and the show was so well received that we have been granted an extra day off as a reward. In general, when I think about my job on Greek islands I always get a smile on my face – I had an amazing time there and I’m very grateful for this.

10. What personalities are the best match for becoming a holiday entertainer?

As I mentioned before you need to be enthusiastic, motivated, passionate, not afraid to face the challenges and you must be ready to work with people, full of energy and with a bit of relaxed self-esteem. At the same time, you need to be also responsible, especially when you work with kids.

11. Do you consider dedicating another season being an animator?

I would love to work as animator next season, but this year I’m going to graduate and already have different plans for the summer. I’m sure I’m going to miss this experience but hopefully I will be an animator next year.