The only thing more exciting than planning a vacation is choosing the destination. But for indecisive types, the vacation deals site CheapCaribbean.com has a tantalizing offer: a Beach of the Month Club package for guests in which they can visit 12 islands over just 12 months. Crazy, right?
According to the site, each trip includes airfare, plus a stay at a four- or five-star resort for three or four nights, which may or may not be all-inclusive. Other things you don’t get to determine include the booking window, ending December 31; when you’ll travel, which must be on the second weekend of every month; and saddest of all, the price, which is $19,000 per person.
“While CheapCaribbean has seen much interest around the Beach of the Month Club, there haven’t been any bookings yet,” a spokesperson told CNN.
It’s no wonder: Did we mention the package is only open to double-occupancy bookings and non-transferable? Yes, you must take each trip, and if you fall out with your travel buddy, tough luck: You can’t transfer the package. All caveats aside, though, the package looks awfully tempting.
Who among us gets to plot out a year of excursions to Turks & Caicos? You can almost feel the cool water lapping gently at your feet as you reach for your next margarita. Other destinations include Antigua, Aruba, Grenada, Grand Cayman, Curacao, St. Croix, St. John, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados and Bermuda.
Most of us of are aware that vacations like these are the key to avoiding burnout and boosting happiness. But that doesn’t mean we’re willing — or able — to take them.
Americans used more vacation time in 2016, according to research compiled by the U.S. Travel Association’s Project Time Off, but it was nowhere near the average amount of time they took between 1976 and 2000. In fact, “in 2016, 662 million vacation days were left on the table,” Project Time Off found, four million days more than in 2015.
As expected, the reasons for this ran the gamut from toxic office culture to fear of returning to a cesspool of work. And even when managers express their enthusiasm for taking time off, people may find a disconnect between the culture, which may appear “ambivalent, discouraging or send mixed messages,” Project Time Off said.
Beyond that, a majority (52%) of workers who say they set aside time to plan their vacations wind up taking all their time off. So for a package that requires major planning and taking short trips, it’s hard to see how enrolling in the Beach of the Month Club would work.
“Americans are notorious for not taking advantage of vacation days,” said CheapCaribbean’s senior director of marketing Dana Studebaker, “so we’ve created a 12-in-one solution, where travelers can book 12 stress-free trips in 2018, checking 12 different islands off their bucket list with just one membership fee.”
Given all the stress involved in just taking one vacation, perhaps it’d be better to seek out a club that offers one beach trip per year instead.
