“Hush” travel is the latest phenomenon for those with boundless wanderlust. It’s when a person goes on a trip without taking PTO and without informing their manager, working in a completely different locale. And while it may be beneficial, participating in the trend may create some risks you haven’t considered.
If there’s anything we’ve learned since the pandemic, it’s that we do not need to be in the office every day to complete our tasks. According to Forbes Advisor, one in five employees work remotely. About 16% of businesses operate remotely without physical office spaces for employees to use. By next year, 32.6 million Americans (or 22% of the workforce) will be remote workers. As offices began to reopen or adapt operating procedures to the new normal, it has shaped more than how we work. Whether fully remote or operating on a hybrid model, our jobs have also shifted how we travel. For many people, that shift has created the hush travel trend.
More Than Just a Secret Vacation
The thoughts and feelings around taking time off from work have always been mixed between generations. While our parents and grandparents (I’m a millennial) maintained the idea that you work hard and accepted the one week of annual leave, younger generations began to adopt the “I was not born to work, pay bills, and die” mindset. In my corporate and office jobs, I used many sick days to take a trip when I was out of PTO, not posting anything on social media so that my co-workers could not connect the dots. However, in present times, the flexibility of when employees work in the office, if they do at all, has allowed people to plan dream trips. Hush travel is more than just keeping the thrills of your vacation off social media. It’s offering a new freedom for burned-out working people.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Hush Travel?
Jobs are stressful, so any time we can step away is already a giant checkmark in the pro column. Time away from work allows us to reset and return refreshed, ready to tackle those big projects and tasks and put our best foot forward.
As the young kids say, home is where the WiFi is. For remote workers, having the capability to log in from anywhere is a flex that corporate employee and travel writer Marcea Cazel knows all too well. Her line of work allows her to operate from anywhere with a stable connection. However, she shared a cautionary tale of a recent trip to Belize where the internet could have been better than advertised. It caused her to miss out on work. Her suggestion is to invest in a portable router. While being able to work from anywhere is great, you want to ensure that you can still get the work done, particularly if you are taking an under-the-radar trip.
For employees without that flex, hush travel is worth pursuing.
“The appeal of this travel trend is that you can see a new place or revisit a place you love without giving up the monetary value of PTO, something that’s incredibly valuable because we get so few days,” says travel expert and writer Bianca Lambert.
Frequent traveler Briannia McCullough, who spent a month on a “secret trip” to Colombia, can relate to this sentiment. She shared that her hushcation was a great way to break away from the daily routine and realign her life, all while saving her PTO and preventing her from becoming disengaged with her work. Her only regret is that she didn’t stay longer.
So far, we have great views, being away from work and feeling realigned. All positives. But what are the cons of taking a secret trip? Before you book that travel, consider the following: What happens if your employer needs you to hop on a call unexpectedly? Or if you lose access to the internet? Can your work phone be taken out of the country? If not, how will your team reach you during work hours? Answering these questions will help you prepare for the unexpected and keep your trip on the low.
Lambert reminds us that although you’re lounging at the beach or frolicking about a new destination, you’re not actually off the clock. You’ll be dialed into what’s happening at work, whether they need you or not. To be sure you aren’t “caught slipping,” you will still check Slack or your email, perhaps more frequently than normal. You’ll also be combating time zone differences and jetlag, which can be rough.
More importantly, be sure you read over the details of your employee contracts, particularly for remote workers in positions that involve medical records, tech, finance, etc. The fine print may exclude you from working outside your home state or country. Connecting to public WiFi puts you and the company at risk of records being intercepted, hacked, or a security breach, all of which can be an offense that costs you your job. Even with the use of VPN services or private mobile hotspots, human resources-related things should be considered.
The Travel Industry Is Taking Notice
As with any growing trend or niche in the travel space, hotels are taking notice and tailoring programs to attract travelers’ attention. In Clearwater Beach, the AC Hotel has created the “Hush Trip Haven” package for remote workers, with the crafty tagline: “Not every remote workday has to be from home…and not everyone has to know it.”
“We know that more and more remote workers, business travelers, and digital nomads are looking for a discrete way to escape while staying productive and on the clock. That’s why we created the Hush Trip Haven program—to help our guests have a ‘quiet vacation’ while staying on top of their game at work,” says AC Hotel’s Director of Sales, Garvey Johnson. The package includes a co-working space, refreshment concierge, webcam cover, custom door hanger, printing credits, and access to the media salon.
The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in Honolulu has noticed an uptick in weekday reservations and visitors. General manager Lynette Eastman shares that the hotel’s ample communal workspaces allow guests to work from the Swim Club. Guests match the island’s vibe, spending their mornings working while spending the latter part of the day sightseeing, shopping, dining, or enjoying alone time on the island.
Overall, we expect remote workers to embrace this travel trend more, but within logical parameters and preventive measures. Happy hush travels!
