Office, meet adventure

As the Covid-19 crisis paused trips by FTLO Travel, a group tour company serving young professionals, founder Tara Cappel started observing how individuals who were kept off planes and out of offices passed the time.

“I was inspired by how people in lockdown were picking up hobbies and diving into latent interests. It brought them joy and purpose during a crazy time,” she said.

Cappel also saw the pandemic open opportunities for long-term travel — FTLO stands for “For the Love of” — but with a telecommuting component. That led to the April launch of Sojrn, her FTLO Travel spinoff. Cappel now organizes monthlong themed trips for individuals serious about remote work but also wanting to take advantage of the inherent joy of being a digital nomad.

Sojrn taps into an audience willing to trade weeklong vacations for extended experiences that blend work, life and exploration. A Harris Poll in March found that 74% of Americans who work from home would consider taking a working vacation. In 2020, a Booking.com survey said that 42% of U.S. travelers had contemplated booking a remote work trip.

The research and consulting firm Gartner estimates that remote workers will represent 32% of employees worldwide by year’s end, suggesting there’s plenty of interest in work-from-the-road options.

“Some companies now offer work-from-anywhere months as a compromise to bringing people back to the office” during other months, Cappel said. “I think we’ll see more of that as a perk, and it will open up this extended-stay market.”

Organized excursions

Sojrn markets itself as a modern study-abroad program for adults. Rates for the four-week experiences hover between $3,000 and $6,000 (excluding air, meals, visas and other personal expenses). The packages include apartment-style accommodations, work spaces with high-speed WiFi, weekly group activities and on-the-ground assistance from a local host. When not working, travelers can participate in additional educational outings organized around a central theme, such as wine in Tuscany, art and architecture in Barcelona, mental wellness in Bali or a Spanish language course in Colombia. 

Sojrn’s first trip, exploring philosophy in Athens, took place in September. It drew professionals working in law and finance, among other fields. Guests ranged in age from 28 to 66.

The extended-stay timeline, flexible activities, companionship and local support attracted Kentucky-based resume consultant Kendall Paige to the Athens adventure. She traveled around Greece on weekends, spent weekdays exploring the city and worked late on weeknights to connect with American clients.

“You control your own experience and schedule,” Paige said by phone from Athens. “I like the immersion piece. Being somewhere for a month, you really interact with the locals and experience the culture.

“On a vacation, you can forget your troubles and just have fun. If you go and work somewhere for a month, you take your reality with you. You experience life through a different cultural lens,” Cappel said. “On the other side of that coin, when you stay somewhere for a month, you also have a greater economic impact on local communities.”

While Sojrn welcomes adults ages 21 and older, companies like Working Without Borders offer international live-work-study programs for families.

Samantha McClure of Small World Travel in Austin, Texas, has organized educational journeys for families for 15 years. She notes an increased demand now that households have experienced home schooling and remote learning.

Working from sea

Hurtigruten Expeditions launched a first-time remote work promotion in July, introducing Work From Ship specials on six North American itineraries.

The regularly scheduled routes, discounted up to $1,500 per person through the campaign, feature reliable WiFi connections and flexible activities that guests can enjoy between work commitments. 

Positive response prompted the company to extend Work From Ship deals for an extra month, with specials now available through Oct. 31. 

“People are now accustomed to working remotely from anywhere, and they know how to balance their schedules to deliver. For many, that means they can take the opportunity to elevate their work-life balance, mix their workday with a change of scenery and have some truly unique experiences for their breaks,” said Storm Tussey-Haverly, interim president of Hurtigruten Americas.

Big names court telecommuters

From hotel day passes that promise a quiet setting and short-term scenery change to extended-stay visa programs that invite professionals to relocate for months, destinations and well-known brands are rolling out work-from-the-road experiences. 

WorkSpaces by Hilton lets individuals book day-use rooms with a desk and chair, WiFi access and complimentary coffee and tea. Radisson’s hotel office rooms, available daily or with an overnight stay, bundle WiFi and use of a wireless keyboard and mouse, a screen for video conferences, HDMI cables and Bluetooth speakers. 

Work Anywhere with Marriott Bonvoy unveiled three office-away-from-home options last October. The Day Pass welcomes digital workers with a guestroom and amenities from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Stay Pass, also offered at approximately 2,000 properties, adds overnight lodging. The Play Pass accommodates traveling families at select Marriott resorts worldwide, wrapping in business concierge services, meetings and fitness facility access, supervised children’s activities and other benefits.

At the Sheraton Denver Downtown, renovations that were completed in August added co-working spaces and private call booths in the lobby. The Sheraton New Orleans now offers office spaces in guestrooms with Mississippi River views plus printer use, FedEx service and Sheraton Club Lounge entry. 

The Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North in Arizona also enhanced amenities for remote workers as the pandemic unfolded. Upon request, the property provides ergonomic desk chairs, video-friendly ring lamps, laptop trays, monitors and power strips with USB charging ports. Travelers can participate in outdoor yoga and fitness classes, too, or pay to use an in-room Peloton bike.

“Our length of stay has increased, overall,” said Kim Cole, the property’s public relations director. “We’re seeing bookings that are longer in nature, and guests are looking to combine their business day with a restful and restorative setting,” 

Independent options

Some digital workers take a more flexible, plan-as-you-go approach to travel.

Off Highway Van, a Salt Lake City company that sells custom-built vacation vehicles, has seen its pandemic-era customer base shift from retired travelers to younger couples and families interested in working from the road. Nearly all clients now request WiFi-equipped vans, said marketing director A.J. Turner, and most have vehicles built that are comfortable enough for extended weekend or multiweek trips.

The work-from-anywhere market is also turning to short-term rentals. According to the May 2021 Airbnb Report on Travel & Living, 19% of Airbnb’s 2020 overnight guests were traveling and working remotely. A September update on the company website said that stays of 28 nights or more were Airbnb’s fastest-growing trip length category in the second quarter of 2021.

Sonder, which manages short-term and long-term rentals in hotels and residential buildings across eight countries, saw its average length of stay rise from five nights to 14 in 2020. That average fell back to six nights by June 2021. Still, a subsequent study from Sonder and the market research firm Ipsos found that six in 10 Americans were interested in combining remote work with long-term travel.

Remote work has become common

“We used to perform distinct activities in discrete physical locations. We lived at home. We worked at the office. We stayed overnight in a hotel room. Now, we need to be able to do all those things wherever we are,” said Mint House founder Will Lucas.

The average length of stay at Mint House, which manages apartment-style accommodations in Miami, Denver, Detroit and other U.S. cities, jumped from three nights to 21 nights during the height of the pandemic. Post-stay surveys from that same period show that 81% of Mint House guests worked remotely from their unit.

The company offers day passes, extended-stay packages and a Mint Pass membership, with benefits like discounted nightly rates and flexible cancellations, to provide options for travelers outlining telecommuting trips. Mint House is also expanding its footprint: It has added nearly 450 units across seven cities over the past six months. 

“We’ve seen a decent percentage of companies go fully remote, and I think much of what we see today is here to stay,” Lucas said. “There was already a need for flexible accommodations, pre-pandemic. This just accelerated things.” 

The flexibility of remote work and learning is also fueling long-term travel bookings for Julie Danziger, a New York-based advisor with Embark Beyond. Early in the pandemic, she saw individuals and families take their laptops on lengthy trips to a single location: a month in Italy, two months in Mexico or three months in California, for example. 

Now, as vaccination rates rise and clients feel more comfortable moving about, Danziger is booking shorter, more frequent journeys.

“Clients are telling us, ‘I don’t need to stay in one place for three months. I want to move to three different places,’” she said.

Through the agency’s partnership with Belmond, travelers who meet minimum-stay requirements can bounce between properties on one reservation with no extra fees. The Belmond Nomadic Lease program starts at about $58,000 per month in Europe or $16,000 per month at properties in Peru.

Danziger has also crafted custom virtual office adventures in Greece, the Caribbean, Tahiti and beyond.

“Advances in technology and stronger WiFi in new areas make it more reasonable to work remotely. With everything going on now, it’s also more accepted,” she said. “People are growing comfortable with it, and I don’t think it’s going away. There is still value in having an office, but there’s a nice sense of freedom in knowing that you can pick up your computer and go to Turks and Caicos or Cabo and still get your work done.”