About the Company
My Internship is with Vervece Charter, a boat-tour company based in the port of Massa Lubrense, on the Sorrento Peninsula. The company in 2007 and named it after the Vervece Rock, a landmark near the port that sailors and divers see as a symbol of protection. The company began with three boats and now has a fleet of around ten and a team of about 25 people.
Vervece primary service is recreational boat excursions aboard traditional Sorrentine gozzi boats, along the coasts of Massa Lubrense, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. Guests can choose between:
- Private tours, where a family, couple or group of friends rents the whole boat with a captain.
- Shared tours, where several small parties share one boat, a more accessible option that still keeps groups small.
The experiences include full-day trips around Capri, full-day Amalfi Coast tours, sunset cruises along the Sorrento coast, half-day swim-focused trips and evening Capri outings. The company calls its approach a “360-degree” service. Guests are picked up from their accommodation and returned afterward, with snacks, drinks and swimming time included. Each boat has a captain and a steward who speak several languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Italian.
My Role
I am a Business Development & Partnerships Intern. My job is to help the company grow its network of domestic and international partners who could promote or sell its charter experiences to their own clients. I research potential partners, write professional outreach material for an international luxury travel audience, organize my findings into a database the team can use, and recommend which companies to contact first. Everything I produce is reviewed by management before it goes outside the company.
I also spend some days aboard Vervece’s boats to see the service firsthand and understand how the company operates. On these outings I collect photos and video that are usable in my materials.
My commute involves taking the public bus from Sorrento to the town square of Massa Lubrense, about a 30-minute ride, and the office is just a block away. On boat days, the company’s courtesy cars take me to the port, so I experience the same door-to-door service guests receive.
