When Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California would enter its tightest shutdown to date in mid-December, some of its wealthier residents ran the other way, as far as they could, to places like sunny Belize. Others, who had seen the writing on the wall long before their time, had left.
Unlike the first wave of Covid-19 lockdowns, which sent people on road trips and second homes, the second wave has sparked a global desire for more permanent, warmer and more remote getaways.
In the UK and Europe, the wealthy have flown to warmer climates like Dubai, the Maldives and Spain to escape the winter lockdown, says Justin Huxter, founder of UK-based Cartology Travel. Americans have more options for tropical bunkers: Hawaii has eased its travel restrictions and borders are open in Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, and many parts of the Caribbean. After all, what good is a second home in Lake Tahoe or Napa, California, when nearby ski lifts, wineries, and restaurants are periodically inaccessible, as they were for much of December and January?
“People with lockdown fatigue have found that they can continue life in places with much less stress and much more room to breathe,” says Jack Ezon, founder of Embark Beyond. You’re seeing East Coast customers flocking to luxury hotels and resorts in Florida, South Carolina, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, while West Coast customers flee to Arizona and Puerto Vallarta and Cabo in Mexico. anywhere with the same good weather and Wi-Fi.
The average cost, he says, is $ 70,000 a month, and most clients book stays of two to four months.
Discounts for extended stays, the reopening of certain international borders and increased awareness of the precautions to take when traveling have enabled a second wave exodus. While social isolation in a five-star resort may have been a novelty at the beginning of the pandemic, it is now a necessity for a certain class of consumer; in Thailand, it is a business plan.
“In October, people began to realize that they would face another San Francisco winter with no restaurants, no entertainment, no offices, really nowhere to go. They wanted to get out, ”says Leigh Rowan, founder of Bay Area-based Savanti Travel, whose clients buy one-way tickets and work remotely from beachfront villas or hotels packed with amenities.
This time, he says, they won’t be back until a vaccination appointment is promised.
Indefinite payment, please
Melanie Woods, a 39-year-old graphic designer, left San Francisco long before the winter closure was known. Since October 1, the day Belize reopened its borders, he has been working at director Francis Ford Coppola’s rustic luxury Turtle Inn resort, where his desk sits by a window with the ocean breeze.
“I swim to exercise between calls. On the weekends I feel like I’m on vacation. I can snorkel, zip line, swim, ”he says.
Belize requires travelers to have a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival, giving Woods peace of mind. The 27-room beachfront hotel in Placencia is also almost entirely outdoors, making it easy to eat and socialize in remote places and outdoors. Rooms start at $ 329 per night, but extended stays get 20% discounts on both room and board; Woods is renting his apartment at home to offset the expenses.
“I probably won’t be back until the summer or when I can get vaccinated,” he says.
Alan and Bonnie Cartwright, both 71 and retired, are also requesting an indefinite payment on their current escape. The couple had hopes of vacationing 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 Auberge Resorts Collection’s Chileno Bay, where rooms average over $ 1,000 a night. But the boon to their mental health was significant, and a long-stay deal offered savings of up to 40%, so they decided to extend, extend, extend, extend.
“We have been married for 51 years and after each vacation we wonder if we really have to go home. This time the answer was no, ”says Alan Cartwright, who has no plans to leave until the couple can have the same quality of life in California. Bonnie Cartwright, who is immunosuppressed, says the hotel staff has made her feel incredibly safe.
“They even take the temperature of taxi drivers before you get into your car,” he explains.
Greater creativity and productivity
Diving into a sandy paradise is not just a lifestyle game. Travel consultant Rowan says many of his clients can do their jobs better in a different environment.
“Many creatives, startups and technology experts are realizing that they can find interesting investors in places like Oaxaca or San Miguel de Allende,” he says.
Cheyenne Quinn, 39, a partner in a consulting and branding firm in Los Angeles, is among that group. “When Los Angeles closed again, it was much more intense,” he says. “The idea of escaping consumed me.” In October, he flew to Tulum and has been renting houses in Mexico for as little as $ 20 a night.
“This trip has benefited me financially, socially and emotionally,” he says.
Before the pandemic, Quinn worked with such important clients as Louis Vuitton and Modelo. That business has disappeared, but she met artisans and small business owners through her travels that helped her rebuild her business; Several have hired her to advise on social media marketing and strategy, she says.
Shawn Garvey, a 55-year-old CEO of an energy innovation company in the Bay Area, has also seen productivity gains from his long vacation in Mexico. He had been dragging himself into his empty office simply to stay productive.
“I was lethargic and tired. My inspiration was waning, “he says, adding that most of his days consisted of” getting out of bed and working from my laptop in my underwear. “
His wife, Kimberley Garvey, owns a court reporting firm that she now runs remotely; her three children are older. “For the first time in decades, we had nothing to stop us from leaving,” he says.
They now live at the Modern Elder Academy near Todos Santos, on the Pacific coast of Mexico; It was named one of Bloomberg Pursuits Best Places to Travel in 2021. A one-month stay for two, including meals, costs $ 7,500, which Garvey estimates is half the couple’s monthly living expenses at home.
“I’ve done more here in the last four weeks than I did all of the past year,” says Garvey, noting that he and his wife are essentially still sheltering in place. Access to the great outdoors has reinvigorated her creativity, she says; When whales recline or jump during your Zoom calls, you tell your co-workers that they have earned the applause of Mother Nature. It has been such a positive experience, now he is building a house in Todos Santos.
“From a professional perspective, I am not interested in returning until the offices are open again,” says Garvey. “Frankly, I think that clients and collaborators react very positively to the idea that I am here in Mexico.”
At your service
Then there are the full service benefits at a resort that you just can’t get at home.
Jeff Assaf, the 62-year-old chief investment officer at financial firm ICG Advisors in Los Angeles, escaped to Hawaii, where strict travel rules made him feel even safer than home. In July, he and his wife rented a townhouse on Timbers Kauai, where they have 450 acres for a backyard, and a staff to help with office needs when they arise.
“I needed a printer and the staff installed one in my house. The gym didn’t have a rower, which is what I do for cardio, and without missing a beat, they brought one home to me, “says Assaf.
It’s not alone Mike Cuthbertson, Area General Manager for Destination Hotels, who manages the Lodge at Kukui’ula on Kauai, says that since October 2019, the number of California resort guests has increased from 29% to 45%, and the average length of their stay has increased. more than double.
“People don’t see this as a typical vacation,” he says. “They want to live their urban life in a different environment.”
“My office is closed. I’m not meeting money managers in person or flying to New York, so why does it matter where my Zoom board meeting takes? ”Asks Mr. Assaf, who is considering buying a second home in Timbers.
He says the couple do not plan to return to Los Angeles until the number of Covid cases is much lower or the couple has been able to get vaccinated in Hawaii or get an appointment to get vaccinated at home. Meanwhile, he says the only challenge is waking up early due to time zone differences, but on the other hand, you can see that sweet Hawaiian sunrise.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.