How to travel abroad by telecommuting

New travel agencies make it easier for remote workers to live and work abroad without long-term commitments.

“Workstations” are on the rise, with 74% of Americans who work from home saying they would consider taking one, according to a report published in March by the Harris poll.

But rather than booking a hotel room on the nearest beach, travel agencies are pushing workers to venture further from home with international routes and accommodations to suit their working hours.

Sojrn (pronounced “stay”) designs month-long trips that allow teleworkers to work abroad while familiarizing themselves with a subject related to the place. Travelers can explore philosophy in Greece, wine in Italy, wellness in Bali, or Spanish skills in Colombia, all while maintaining their regular working hours.

The company arranges accommodation and workspaces, as well as logistics such as SIM cards and airport transfers, company founder and CEO Tara Cappel told CNBC. Each trip includes one thematic activity per week, with optional activities that can be added if work schedules allow, she said.

Trips of a month or more aren’t just for full-time telecommuters, Cappel said. They also work for office workers who negotiate annual periods of remote work.

“People won’t be happy to go back to where they were before,” Cappel said, adding that they “will be more open to travel differently and to bring their work with them if they can.”

Sojrn opened reservations in April. The wine trip to Tuscany sold out in six hours, while the wellness trip to Bali was complete in a weekend, she said. Today, about 4,500 people are on the travel waiting list in 2022, Cappel said.

To meet demand, the company is planning new trips for 2022 on themes such as conservation in South Africa, cuisine in Mexico City, fashion in Paris and history in Rome, she said. The American company will also launch its first domestic trip next year – from jazz to New Orleans.

If a month is too long – or too short – to stay in one place, remote workers can organize their own trips through companies like Floasis, a website offering approved hosting for remote working.

“Being remote workers ourselves, we knew how frustrating it was to have unpleasant surprises when it comes to booking a stay,” said co-founder and CEO Kristina Kutan. “This is why we make sure that each of our [locations] is tested and approved by a telecommuter.

Lola Casamitjana, co-founder and commercial director of the company, said the remote working lifestyle was inevitable.

“The pandemic has only been an accelerator,” she said. “It was the kick that brought down the last walls, which clearly shows… we now urgently needed new, more fulfilling ways of living and working.”

After a year of planning, the website launched last week, Casamitjana said, with listings that have workspaces, an inspiring environment, and communities that workers can connect with.

Accommodation is found in Europe and Morocco and varies from village houses and beachfront apartments to a Portuguese winery, a French chateau and a Greek ecological farm. Most seats can be booked overnight, weekly, or monthly, and some include breakfast and yoga classes in the rate.

“This year we are focusing on Europe and want to reach 1,000 registrations by the end of 2021,” she said.

Companies such as Remote year were dealing with teleworkers long before the pandemic. Launched in 2014, the company offers retreats as short as a week as well as its namesake 12-month programs that cross four continents.

Unstable organizes semi-structured work-travel trips that focus on connecting like-minded people. Trips vary from one to four weeks.

For people who want to combine work, travel and social well-being in one trip, there is Adventure with impact. Its week-long and month-long trips are small – around four to ten people – and the company matches participants’ skills and interests with needs in places such as Mexico and Thailand. The 2021 itinerary includes trips to Medellin, Colombia and Lisbon, Portugal, although exact dates were not announced online.

For those who aspire to the “digital nomad” lifestyle, WiFly Nomads is a training program that teaches people how to become a remote worker, while simultaneously gaining a little insight into the lifestyle. Five-day programs are run in Bali and cost around $ 4,000, according to the company’s website.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the Covid restrictions, the next program is expected to launch in early 2022, said Kate Smith, founder and CEO of WiFly Nomads. In the meantime, the company offers 12-week online programs that teach people how to land a job remotely.

“It was especially interesting for those who don’t want to go back to the office after working from home,” she said.