Remote workers flee to luxury beach resorts while waiting for vaccines

Source: Auberge Resorts Collection

When Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California would enter the strictest blockade by mid-December, some of its best residents ran in the opposite direction – as far as they could – to places like sunny Belize. Others, who had seen the writing on the wall long before, have long since disappeared.

Unlike the first wave of Covid-19 blockades, which sent people on trips and second homes, the second wave triggered a global desire for more permanent, warmer and more distant escapes.

In Britain and Europe, the rich have flown to such warm climates as Dubai, the Maldives and Spain to escape the winter blockade, says Justin Huxter, founder of the British headquarters Travel Cartology. Americans have more options for tropical bunkers: Hawaii has eased travel restrictions, and The borders are open in Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize and many parts of the Caribbean. After all, what good is a second home on Lake Tahoe or Napa, California, when nearby ski lifts, wineries, and restaurants are periodically inaccessible, as they have been for most of December and January?

Read more: So you want to ski during Covid-19? What you need to know

“People with blocked fatigue have realized that they can continue living in places with much less stress and much more space to breathe,” says Jack Ezon, founder. Embark beyond. He sees clients on the East Coast gathering in luxury hotels and resorts in Florida, South Carolina and the Turks and Caicos Islands, while customers on the West Coast flee to Arizona and Puerto Vallarta and Cabo to Mexico – anywhere with weather and Wi-Fi just as good.

The average cost, he says, is $ 70,000 a month, with most guests booking stays of two to four months.

The reductions for extended stays, the reopening of certain international borders and a better awareness of the precautions you need to take when traveling have further allowed a second wave exodus. Although social isolation in a five-star resort may have been a novelty at the beginning of the pandemic, a certain class of consumers is now needed; in Thailand, is a business plan.

“By October, people began to realize that they would face another winter in San Francisco, with no restaurants, no entertainment, no offices – really nowhere. They wanted to come out, “said Leigh Rowan, founder of the Bay Area Savanti Travel, whose customers buy one-way tickets and work remotely from seaside villas or hotels with facilities.

This time, he says, they will not return until a meeting with the vaccine is promised.

Indeterminate check, please

Melanie Woods, a 39-year-old graphic designer, left San Francisco long before a winter blockade was heard. From October 1 – the day Belize reopened its borders – it works in the rustic-luxury style of director Francis Ford Coppola Turtle Inn, where her office is next to a window with a sea breeze.

“Swimming for exercise between calls. On the weekends, I feel like I’m on vacation. I can snorkel, zip line, swim, ”she says.

Belize requires travelers to have a negative Covid-19 test on arrival, which has given Woods peace of mind. The 27-room hotel on the seafront in Placencia is also almost entirely open-air, making it easy to eat and socialize in a remote, open-air setting. Rooms start at $ 329 per night, but extended stays receive a 20% discount on both accommodation and food; Woods rents his apartment at home to cover the expenses.

“I probably won’t be back until the summer or when I can get a vaccine,” she says.

He is also demanding an indefinite payment for their current escape Alan and Bonnie Cartwright, based in Los Angeles, both 71 and retired. The couple had hopes of being on holiday in the Maldives and Capri last year; by September, they had accepted that if they wanted to escape, Cabo was the easiest option.

They originally booked 10 nights at the Auberge Resorts Collection Chilean Gulf, where rooms average $ 1,000 a night. But the benefit to their mental health was significant, and a long-stay agreement offered savings of up to 40%, so they decided to expand – and expand, expand and expand.

“We have been married for 51 years and, after each holiday, we wonder if we really have to go home. This time the answer was no “, says Alan Cartwright, who does not intend to leave until the couple can have the same quality of life in California. Bonnie Cartwright, who is immunocompromised, says the hotel staff made her feel incredibly safe.

“They even take the temperature of taxi drivers before you get in their car,” she explains.

Improved creativity and productivity

Going out in a sandy paradise is not just a lifestyle piece. Travel advisor Rowan says many of her clients can do their job better in a different setting.

“Many creators, start-ups and technicians realize that they can meet interesting investors in places like Oaxaca or San Miguel de Allende,” he says.

Cheyenne Quinn, 39, a partner in a Los Angeles branding and consulting company, is among the set. “When LA got back into the blockade, it was much more intense,” she says. “I was consumed by the idea of ​​escaping.” In October, he flew to Tulum and rented houses in Mexico for just $ 20 a night.

“This trip benefited me financially, socially and emotionally,” she says.

Prior to the pandemic, Quinn worked with important clients such as Louis Vuitton and Modelo. This business disappeared, but she met craftsmen and small business owners through her travels that helped rebuild her company; several hired her to consult on social media strategy and marketing, she says.

Shawn Garvey, a 55-year-old chief executive of a Bay Area energy innovation company, also saw productivity gains from Mexico’s extended vacation. He had crawled into his empty office simply to remain productive.

“I was lethargic and tired. My inspiration was waning, “he says, adding that most of his days were” rolling out of my bed and working on my laptop in my underwear. ”

His wife, Kimberley Garvey, owns a court reporting firm that he now runs remotely; their three children are older. “For the first time in decades, we had nothing to stop us from leaving,” he says.

I now live at Modern Elder Academy near Todos Santos, on the Pacific coast of Mexico; was named one of the Bloomberg Pursuits Best travel seats in 2021. A one-month stay for two, including meals, costs $ 7,500, which Garvey estimates is half of the couple’s monthly living expenses back home.