Outside workers flee to luxury beach resorts awaiting vaccinations

Source: Auberge Resorts Collection

When Governor Gavin Newsom announced in mid-December that California would be in its toughest incarceration yet, some of its most affluent residents ran the other way – as far as they could – to places like sunny Belize. Others, who had seen the writing on the wall well in advance, were long gone.

Unlike the first wave of Covid-19 lockdowns, which sent people on road trips and to second homes, the second wave has sparked a global desire for more permanent, warmer, distant escapes.

In the UK and Europe, the wealthy have flown to warmer climates like Dubai, the Maldives and Spain to escape the winter break, says Justin Huxter, founder of the UK-based Travel cartology. Americans have more options for tropical bunkers: Hawaii has relaxed its travel restrictions as well borders are open in Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize and many parts of the Caribbean. After all, what’s the point of a second home in Lake Tahoe or Napa, California, if nearby ski lifts, wineries, and restaurants are periodically inaccessible, such as during much of December and January?

Read More: So You Want to Ski During Covid-19? What you need to know

“People with lockdown fatigue have realized that they can live in places with much less stress and a lot more room to breathe,” said Jack Ezon, founder of Continue. He sees East Coast customers flocking to luxury hotels and resorts in Florida, South Carolina and Turks and Caicos, while West Coast customers flee to Arizona and Puerto Vallarta and Cabo in Mexico – everywhere with equally good weather and Wi-Fi.

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

Discounts for longer stays, the reopening of certain international borders and a better awareness of precautions to take when traveling have enabled a second wave exodus. While social isolation in a five-star resort may have been new at the start of the pandemic, there is now a need for a certain class of consumers; in Thailand, it is a business plan.

In October, people began to realize that they were going to face another winter in San Francisco without restaurants, entertainment, offices – really nowhere. They wanted out, ”said Bay Area founder Leigh Rowan Savanti Travel, whose clients buy one-way tickets and operate remotely from beachfront villas or loaded hotels.

This time, he says, they won’t come back until there is an appointment for a vaccination.

Indefinite payment, please

Melanie Woods, a 39-year-old graphic designer, left San Francisco long before there was a winter lockdown. Since October 1 – the day on which Belize reopened its borders – she has worked from the rustic luxury of director Francis Ford Coppola. Turtle Inn resort, where her desk is by a window with a sea breeze.

‘I swim between conversations to exercise. On weekends, I feel like I’m on vacation. I can snorkel, zipline, swim, ”she says.

Belize requires travelers to have a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival, which gave Woods peace of mind. Located on the beachfront in Placencia, the 27-room hotel is also almost entirely open-air, making it easy to eat and socialize al fresco in a secluded setting. Rooms start at $ 329 a night, but longer stays get a 20% discount on both accommodation and food; Woods rents out her apartment at home to offset the costs.

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

Alan and Bonnie Cartwright, both 71 and retired, are also asking for an indefinite cash register during their current escape. The pair were hoping to vacation in the Maldives and Capri last year; by September they had accepted that Cabo was the easiest option if they wanted to leave.

They originally booked 10 nights at Auberge Resorts Collection’s Chileno Bay, where rooms average more than $ 1,000 per night. But the boon to their mental health was significant, and an extended stay deal offered savings of up to 40%, so they decided to expand – and expand, and expand, and renew.

“We have been married for 51 years and after every vacation we wonder if we really should 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 immunocompromised, says the hotel staff made her feel incredibly safe.

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

Improved creativity and productivity

Flying to a sandy paradise isn’t just a lifestyle game. Travel consultant Rowan says many of his clients can actually do their job better in a different environment.

“Many creatives, start-ups and techies are realizing 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 firm, is one of that set. “When LA closed again, it was much more intense,” she says. “I was consumed with the idea of ​​escaping.” In October, she flew to Tulum and rents homes in Mexico for just $ 20 a night.

“This trip has done me good financially, socially and emotionally,” she says.

Before the pandemic, Quinn worked with major clients such as Louis Vuitton and Modelo. That business has disappeared, but during her travels she has met artisans and small business owners who helped rebuild her business; Some have hired her to advise on social media strategy and marketing, she says.

Shawn Garvey, a 55-year-old chief executive officer of a Bay Area energy innovation company, has also seen productivity gains from his long vacation in Mexico. He’d dragged himself into his empty office just to stay productive.

“I was listless and tired. My inspiration waned, ”he says, adding that most of his days consisted of“ rolling out of bed and working from my laptop in my underwear ”.

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

Now they live in the Modern Elder Academy near Todos Santos, on Mexico’s Pacific coast; it was called one of Bloomberg Pursuits Best Travel Destinations in 2021. A one-month stay for two, including meals, costs $ 7,500, which, according to Garvey, is half of the couple’s monthly living expenses at home.