Big Bear motel, Cody, Wyoming, Karavan Travel

Experience with agency Karavan Travel was positive.
All praise for Vasily, who is the best and most valuable part of this agency, always ready to help you in any situation you find yourself in trouble. Available 24/7.

Experience with location Cody, WY was neutral.
Small town, semi-desert climate at 1500 m n.v. The scenery is beautiful, everywhere you look, deer everywhere and also rattlesnakes. It offers horse riding, kayaking, rodeo options. Cody's biggest asset is by far the proximity of Yellowstone National Park, which is an hour's drive away, so it's a good idea to visit the park. It will take a couple of days to see all the attractions of the park, so plan tours to the park multiple times. The only entertainment in town is the local Silver dollar bar, where live music is organized, mainly on Fridays and Saturdays. The music is mostly cowboy :) so the bar is full of ranchers on the weekends. A unique experience to see and experience that atmosphere and local dance. Wild west in a nutshell.

Experience with employer Big Bear Motel was negative.
Hourly rate $ 9.50, hours 35-40, accommodation $ 20 Employers, where to start ... From arriving in Cody until leaving Cody 4 months later, employers have imposed a strong pace on us. It works every day without the right to a day off. When asked by a student from Russia if we can get a day off, the answers are "Only if it's emergency" :) a day off can only be obtained during the season if you do not "follow" the rules, if you quarrel with the bosses (here, above all I mean to the landlady who constantly taunts, lies and reprimands the other students in front of you. In that case, she will do her best to make you a hell of a life. earlier from work, which was certainly the best feeling that summer of all of us :) Some were lucky enough to get a ban on coming to work the next day. Later in the end of the season in September, we managed to have a day off, as it was convenient for anyone to visit Yellowstone. Of course, you also need to rent a car with someone, local americans, or other students, since Big Bear is not likely to take you there for 200 years. I wouldn't recommend Housekeeping to anyone in life, especially at the Big Bear Motel, of course there are exceptions, both in Cody itself and across America. The "lucky ones" who opt for this employer should prepare themselves for hard work, every day of their stay. You can expect an average of 10 rooms a day for cleaning during the season. The motel has about 60 rooms, plus 4 houses in the city that must also be prepared. The rooms are mostly double, some of them are family size with 4-5 beds upstairs. The motel is pet friendly, so be sure to clean the rooms where people have stayed with their pets, which will make your life even worse. The guests are mostly clientele, which doesn't leave much to be desired, so you cannot expect a major financial injection. Basically, it was around $ 40 a week and it happened to not get better for 7 days at all. Students are housed in a camper, located behind the motel. It has 3 rooms with 2,3 and 4 beds, a bathtub and a small kitchen. Apart from the symbolic price of accommodation and arrival at the same time as you wish, since no one will control you, there are no other advantages. The landlady is a horse lover and owns 4 horses behind the motel. If one wishes to clean behind a horse, they can earn extra money, which was generally around $ 20 an hour. The only advantage of housekeeping is that it usually works from 8 - 8:30 to 2:30 - 3, so you have plenty of time to find extra work. The best place for a second job is Walmart, which is about a 5-minute walk from the motel.

This review represents personal opinion of Desimir Kovačević who was participating Work & Travel program in year of 2018 with agency Karavan Travel, working at Big Bear Motel in Cody, WY.

Feb 7, 2020