Two weeks for $36,000? They got a bargain, Kristi. There are at least five hotels in New York City who charge more than that for one night in a penthouse suite and Manhattan is no tropical paradise. And yes, if I had the money, I would absolutely spend it on luxury travel. The Orient Express springs to mind. I draw the line at spending it on a dress I’d wear once or a handbag, though. (There’s a used Hermes Himalayan Diamond Birkin 30 on eBay for $423,000, if you’re interested.) I have zero desire to go into space or to visit the Titanic. I have spent a fair amount on a couple of fancy vacations, though, most recently on a 40th anniversary trip to Golden Eye in Jamaica. It was great but I don’t handle a beach day as well as I used to. The sun was too intense for me. Since my husband is now retired, it’s pretty much cheap motels for us going forward.
Go to a modest beach and relax, 36k is a lot of money to spend for two weeks of luxury even if I had the money I wouldn't do it, those ladies were probably born with a silver spoon and that is all they know.
With 36K, I can travel the whole world. But I am all for rich people spending their money. That way money stays in circulation. In a way those ladies paid for the bartender and you and the magazine you were writing for.
Unfortunately, I retired my travel blog in 2019 and sold the trade name so my content isn't available right now. However, I have my Wordpress database and am in the process of setting up a mock site so I can re-upload my reviews for people to see. Stay tuned for that.
Forbes calls us "Inspectors" lol. And they also edit the personality out of our writing so what you see at that link is what they turned my review into!
When my blog was live I wrote a 4-part mini-series on this experience. I can't wait to get it all back online again. In my ten years as a Jamaica destination writer, hands down the reviews were my favorite part.
I'm suddenly thinking of Below Deck Mediterranean and the "primaries" who book a week on a yacht and have champagne showers and gold-flecked tacos. It's insane to take in all at once but I do love all things opulent (Selling Beverly Hills) and the quackery that goes with it. I know we share hotel industry history---the clients who come into the health club with stogies on their lips, the woman who brings her pet chicken to the hot tub...those who complain about the only open treadmill not working when they haven't been on a treadmill, ever, it seems. And, "I'd like my night comped." You should read Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky. So rich (*see what I did there?). This was great, as always. Now Kim and I are playing the $36,000 game. We're torn between a place we stayed on the caldera in Santorini vs. Plataran Komodo in Indonesia. https://www.plataran.com/plataran-komodo/ We'd lay down $3,600 for however long it lasted and then keep the rest for MORE travel. We're in it for the long game.
I was a travel agent for about a year and had experiences similar to yours. I got to spend a few nights in the most luxurious lodging option at an all-inclusive resort in Fiji that normally cost $2K per night. It was awesome and most of the other guests were kind and generous. But some, especially those from the United States, had a sense of entitlement and complained about minor things that failed to meet or exceed their very high standards. It was clear that not just on vacations but in their daily lives they were used to people catering to their desires and serving their needs.
Isn't it interesting to experience how the other half life, both lifestyle and behavior-wise? I don't know if I could ever be that way if I suddenly fell into gobs of money. I'm just too humble.
More like how the one percent live! I think one of the reasons I struggle financially is because I’m worried that if I become rich I’ll also become a selfish, greedy, condescending asshole!
I have to constantly remind myself of rich and famous people like Glennon Doyle, Dolly Parton, and Bruce Springsteen. They use their wealth and influence to help people in need and encourage their fans to do the same.
Nah I don't think people like us who know the struggle are capable of being assholes. I know for a fact I'd help as many people (or dogs!) as possible.
A modest hut on the beach would be my jam. But, I believe I’m biased because I also work in the hospitality industry at a resort destination.
There is definitely a huge gap in expectations between the haves and the have-nots. For example a lady walked up to the bar and asked why there were sharks and jelly fish in the water, and why our property doesn’t do a better job at having g them removed.🤦🏻♀️
I’ve found that a lot of people who brag about the money they spend aren’t really all that rich. They may have spent their life savings for a trip of a lifetime or are hugely in debt. A lot of people who DO have money, on the other hand, pretend to be poor.
Kristi, thank you, that is a great text. Yes, the expectations should be high if you pay 36K for a vacation, but on the other hand, those who do probably consider this amount of money to be their pocket money. And this is what these women are used to. I think this complaining thing comes from living incredibly boring lives. If you do not have passions or hardships to focus on, everything becomes icky. To answer your question for fun: If I would be granted this amount for a vacation I will do a fantastic vacation for 1K and invest the rest into something more valuable like a business or real estate. I learned in life that if you are creative you can have incredible life changing experiences absolutely free of charge.
Tomas, I love your perspective on what you'd do with the money. Very smart! And I agree, you CAN have amazing experiences for very little money if you're open to it!
$36K? Buy the hut. Where would that be for $36K? How big is the hut? 1 or 2 rooms? Kitchen? Sleeping? Weather? OK, buy the hut, or the cabin, as long as it is easily accessible year round and I can rent it out via AirBnB. Just kidding about AirBnb but serious about the hut. Now I'm going to go look for one. Thanks a whole lot!
Sometimes I wonder if people want to be rich just so that they can complain that their bedsheets weren't ironed, or something. As for that kind of cash? Crap, Kristi. I'd be so grateful to pay off a few credit card debts at this point..
Yikes. This summer, assuming all goes well, I will make $1500. For three months' work. I feel like I'm back in high school. But I gotta start somewhere.... meanwhile roof repair is $7500.00. Guess I'd better get some more side hustles....
I wrote them off. Natch if I show back up again I'll feel foolish but right now I feel more foolish writing six plus hours a day for pennies a day. I'll get there. Thanks...I'll seriously think about it.
I totally get the contrasting angels of the 2 trips... Paying that much I feel I'd be hypercritical as well vs being paid to go on the trip... I'm curious if their complaints were reasonable, however... Nonetheless, for 36k I would have my expectations very high...
To answer your question if I had the means I probably would spend the money to treat myself...
Living in a touristy area with folks that earn a kazillion dollars I see both sides, just as you did at Half Moon. Many folks contribute back to the community in amazingly generous ways, financially and otherwise. There are also some that have an incredible sense of entitlement and will nickel and dime the painter who comes to help them, it's very sad.
If I had that kind of money I would not spend it on a luxury vacation but I might spend it on a travel guide like you, someone who would take me to see the real part of the island.
I'm dying to come out your way for a few days and see what it's like there.
Funny you mention hiring a travel guide like me. These ladies at Half Moon proposed hiring me for the rest of their trip but sadly, I had a flight home a couple days after meeting them. I wonder how much they would have paid me? 😁
I wrote travel for newspapers and magazines earlier in my career. I was more into rugged adventure travel but I occasionally took some press trips. One time, Hong Kong flew me out there in some super first-class flight, then put me up in a penthouse suite in the city. The whole thing was probably $25K or more. The irony was I lived like a king but was poor at the time. I slept in the Newark airport on my layover because I didn't have money for a hotel. I stole a bunch of snacks off the plane, too, so I wouldn't have to buy them later. My whole profit off that trip was like a measly $200. I think I overdrew my checking account that week too.
Aahhh Craig, so you understand the plight of travel writing! Forbes only paid me $100.00 for this gig and I think I spent that on one spa treatment in the resort to treat myself lol. Hands down I prefer rugged, no-map kind of travel but it's sure nice to wake up in a place like this a few mornings in a row just to experience how the other half live.
Yep! I had many trips where I didn't break even. And the best, most adventurous assignments paid squat. I eventually transitioned into business writing where I've been for nearly 19 years. It pays well, but isn't my passion. Coincidentally, that's how I got here...just started by Substack to get back to some adventure travel writing!
You know what did pay well when I was travel writing? Tourism magazines. The publishing company that did a lot of Caribbean tourist board mags paid very well per segment and often they'd give me 3 or 4 segments.
But yeah, otherwise, the only decent money I was making was from sponsors through my own travel blog.
Two weeks for $36,000? They got a bargain, Kristi. There are at least five hotels in New York City who charge more than that for one night in a penthouse suite and Manhattan is no tropical paradise. And yes, if I had the money, I would absolutely spend it on luxury travel. The Orient Express springs to mind. I draw the line at spending it on a dress I’d wear once or a handbag, though. (There’s a used Hermes Himalayan Diamond Birkin 30 on eBay for $423,000, if you’re interested.) I have zero desire to go into space or to visit the Titanic. I have spent a fair amount on a couple of fancy vacations, though, most recently on a 40th anniversary trip to Golden Eye in Jamaica. It was great but I don’t handle a beach day as well as I used to. The sun was too intense for me. Since my husband is now retired, it’s pretty much cheap motels for us going forward.
Well at least you got the chance to live it up while it was possible! That's amazing!
I almost had the opportunity to review Golden Eye but it never panned out in the end. I really wanted to see where Ian Fleming wrote James Bond 😁
Go to a modest beach and relax, 36k is a lot of money to spend for two weeks of luxury even if I had the money I wouldn't do it, those ladies were probably born with a silver spoon and that is all they know.
Yeah I actually feel MORE fortunate for recognizing that I could exist on that kind of money for a whole year lol.
With 36K, I can travel the whole world. But I am all for rich people spending their money. That way money stays in circulation. In a way those ladies paid for the bartender and you and the magazine you were writing for.
This was such a fantastic read Kirsty… amazing to see how wildly differently the same experience can be perceived.
Do you have links to your writing about the resort in your travel blog, and the Forbes piece too? I’d be keen to read them
Thanks Zan! An experience indeed!
Unfortunately, I retired my travel blog in 2019 and sold the trade name so my content isn't available right now. However, I have my Wordpress database and am in the process of setting up a mock site so I can re-upload my reviews for people to see. Stay tuned for that.
The Forbes review can be seen here: https://www.forbestravelguide.com/hotels/jamaica-jamaica/half-moon
Forbes calls us "Inspectors" lol. And they also edit the personality out of our writing so what you see at that link is what they turned my review into!
Ah I can see how they edit out all semblance of personality haha - so I'm glad you shared a more personal side here! Stunning photos though
When my blog was live I wrote a 4-part mini-series on this experience. I can't wait to get it all back online again. In my ten years as a Jamaica destination writer, hands down the reviews were my favorite part.
I'm suddenly thinking of Below Deck Mediterranean and the "primaries" who book a week on a yacht and have champagne showers and gold-flecked tacos. It's insane to take in all at once but I do love all things opulent (Selling Beverly Hills) and the quackery that goes with it. I know we share hotel industry history---the clients who come into the health club with stogies on their lips, the woman who brings her pet chicken to the hot tub...those who complain about the only open treadmill not working when they haven't been on a treadmill, ever, it seems. And, "I'd like my night comped." You should read Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky. So rich (*see what I did there?). This was great, as always. Now Kim and I are playing the $36,000 game. We're torn between a place we stayed on the caldera in Santorini vs. Plataran Komodo in Indonesia. https://www.plataran.com/plataran-komodo/ We'd lay down $3,600 for however long it lasted and then keep the rest for MORE travel. We're in it for the long game.
I was a travel agent for about a year and had experiences similar to yours. I got to spend a few nights in the most luxurious lodging option at an all-inclusive resort in Fiji that normally cost $2K per night. It was awesome and most of the other guests were kind and generous. But some, especially those from the United States, had a sense of entitlement and complained about minor things that failed to meet or exceed their very high standards. It was clear that not just on vacations but in their daily lives they were used to people catering to their desires and serving their needs.
Isn't it interesting to experience how the other half life, both lifestyle and behavior-wise? I don't know if I could ever be that way if I suddenly fell into gobs of money. I'm just too humble.
More like how the one percent live! I think one of the reasons I struggle financially is because I’m worried that if I become rich I’ll also become a selfish, greedy, condescending asshole!
I have to constantly remind myself of rich and famous people like Glennon Doyle, Dolly Parton, and Bruce Springsteen. They use their wealth and influence to help people in need and encourage their fans to do the same.
Nah I don't think people like us who know the struggle are capable of being assholes. I know for a fact I'd help as many people (or dogs!) as possible.
A modest hut on the beach would be my jam. But, I believe I’m biased because I also work in the hospitality industry at a resort destination.
There is definitely a huge gap in expectations between the haves and the have-nots. For example a lady walked up to the bar and asked why there were sharks and jelly fish in the water, and why our property doesn’t do a better job at having g them removed.🤦🏻♀️
Oh wow lol. That's more the the "have a brains" and "do not have a brain."
🤣
I’ve found that a lot of people who brag about the money they spend aren’t really all that rich. They may have spent their life savings for a trip of a lifetime or are hugely in debt. A lot of people who DO have money, on the other hand, pretend to be poor.
Kristi, thank you, that is a great text. Yes, the expectations should be high if you pay 36K for a vacation, but on the other hand, those who do probably consider this amount of money to be their pocket money. And this is what these women are used to. I think this complaining thing comes from living incredibly boring lives. If you do not have passions or hardships to focus on, everything becomes icky. To answer your question for fun: If I would be granted this amount for a vacation I will do a fantastic vacation for 1K and invest the rest into something more valuable like a business or real estate. I learned in life that if you are creative you can have incredible life changing experiences absolutely free of charge.
Tomas, I love your perspective on what you'd do with the money. Very smart! And I agree, you CAN have amazing experiences for very little money if you're open to it!
Kristi, glad to find you on the same page. I have wrote some texts on how to do it, can't wait to share these hacks with other people!
$36K? Buy the hut. Where would that be for $36K? How big is the hut? 1 or 2 rooms? Kitchen? Sleeping? Weather? OK, buy the hut, or the cabin, as long as it is easily accessible year round and I can rent it out via AirBnB. Just kidding about AirBnb but serious about the hut. Now I'm going to go look for one. Thanks a whole lot!
Hahaha Gary, I'm with you! I want to buy the hut and never look back!
Sometimes I wonder if people want to be rich just so that they can complain that their bedsheets weren't ironed, or something. As for that kind of cash? Crap, Kristi. I'd be so grateful to pay off a few credit card debts at this point..
I hear you loud and clear Julia. Their vacation could clear away 100% of my debt right now 😂
As for those ladies, I got the sense that their money came from a rich man that the mother was formerly married to.
Yikes. This summer, assuming all goes well, I will make $1500. For three months' work. I feel like I'm back in high school. But I gotta start somewhere.... meanwhile roof repair is $7500.00. Guess I'd better get some more side hustles....
LOL try to get boosted on Medium! I just published one over there on a whim and it got boosted. $400 later....
I wrote them off. Natch if I show back up again I'll feel foolish but right now I feel more foolish writing six plus hours a day for pennies a day. I'll get there. Thanks...I'll seriously think about it.
$36,000? Can these people pay my student loans off for me? Surely they won't mind a few $10,000 going missing?🥶
🤣🤣🤣 My thoughts EXACTLY!!!!
I totally get the contrasting angels of the 2 trips... Paying that much I feel I'd be hypercritical as well vs being paid to go on the trip... I'm curious if their complaints were reasonable, however... Nonetheless, for 36k I would have my expectations very high...
To answer your question if I had the means I probably would spend the money to treat myself...
I honestly can't remember all the complaints they had. Wish I could.
I do know that a significant amount of the 36K would have been food and drink though, because this resort is not all-inclusive.
Oh I see !! 😲
This is an excellent story, thank you!
Living in a touristy area with folks that earn a kazillion dollars I see both sides, just as you did at Half Moon. Many folks contribute back to the community in amazingly generous ways, financially and otherwise. There are also some that have an incredible sense of entitlement and will nickel and dime the painter who comes to help them, it's very sad.
If I had that kind of money I would not spend it on a luxury vacation but I might spend it on a travel guide like you, someone who would take me to see the real part of the island.
Same
I'm dying to come out your way for a few days and see what it's like there.
Funny you mention hiring a travel guide like me. These ladies at Half Moon proposed hiring me for the rest of their trip but sadly, I had a flight home a couple days after meeting them. I wonder how much they would have paid me? 😁
I’m thinking that wouldn’t have been a very fun job for you!
Yes we will plan a visit for sure!!
I wrote travel for newspapers and magazines earlier in my career. I was more into rugged adventure travel but I occasionally took some press trips. One time, Hong Kong flew me out there in some super first-class flight, then put me up in a penthouse suite in the city. The whole thing was probably $25K or more. The irony was I lived like a king but was poor at the time. I slept in the Newark airport on my layover because I didn't have money for a hotel. I stole a bunch of snacks off the plane, too, so I wouldn't have to buy them later. My whole profit off that trip was like a measly $200. I think I overdrew my checking account that week too.
Aahhh Craig, so you understand the plight of travel writing! Forbes only paid me $100.00 for this gig and I think I spent that on one spa treatment in the resort to treat myself lol. Hands down I prefer rugged, no-map kind of travel but it's sure nice to wake up in a place like this a few mornings in a row just to experience how the other half live.
Yep! I had many trips where I didn't break even. And the best, most adventurous assignments paid squat. I eventually transitioned into business writing where I've been for nearly 19 years. It pays well, but isn't my passion. Coincidentally, that's how I got here...just started by Substack to get back to some adventure travel writing!
You know what did pay well when I was travel writing? Tourism magazines. The publishing company that did a lot of Caribbean tourist board mags paid very well per segment and often they'd give me 3 or 4 segments.
But yeah, otherwise, the only decent money I was making was from sponsors through my own travel blog.
Hut here. Or multiple (well a huge number) of vacations.
I'm with you on huge numbers lol.