Would you pay $20,000 to live in a hotel room for a month? Some guests are.
Hotels are throwing in laundry service and yoga, but some rates are still eye-popping.
Beach front cabanas, a heated pool, an empty fitness center, room service — escaping to a hotel sounds pretty good on even the most mundane of days. But what about living in one for a month?
As people have more flexibility to work away from the office, longer periods of travel are becoming the norm to optimize potentially risky flights and complicated covid-19 tests. But nightly-rate hotel stays are usually too pricey to be friendly for long-term visits, often making vacation rentals a better option.
But since the pandemic has slashed hotel business, some hotels and resorts are adjusting by offering month-long stays that could be less expensive than your rent or mortgage payment. Others are demanding some eye-popping prices.
[I stayed at 3 hotels during covid-19. The best option surprised me.]
On the deal end of monthly stays, the Waldo Emerson Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine, is renting out some of their rooms on a monthly basis for less than 25 percent of its normal rate. The average rate in the offseason is $250 a night, or $7,500 a month. "Currently I'm renting two of my rooms for $1,800 a month" each, says innkeeper Hana Pevny. She notes that the demand for monthly stays at the bed-and-breakfast has been "very high" because of the coronavirus.
But would you pay $20,000 a month to stay in a hotel suite? The luxe Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., is betting on it with its "Key to Paradise" extended-stay package that starts at $24,000 per month for a one-bedroom suite available December through April. Two-, three-, and four-bedroom suites are available monthly for a rate of $40,000. The hotel does not offer any kitchenettes in its rooms but says it has added countertop smart-ovens to suites and has turned mini bars into fridges.
The Brazilian Court has sold out of their multi-bedroom suites over many dates during the snowbird season from December to April, which is when people travel to warmer areas for the colder months. The property says it has booked more than 25 stays of 30 nights or longer.
