helvetic

Curious how many others are traveling or living out of hotels full time?

I've gradually and progressively made the switch, culminating in a move to "full time" this year. Simultaneously, my travel has somewhat decreased, while I moved from "on the road full time while 'living' in San Francisco and being never home" to "living in Hong Kong mainly but out of hotels."

I know a few other people in similar situations, and while it sounds rather crazy, I'm sure there's quite a few of us. I started a small Facebook group where we discuss topics that are unique to the full time travelers… such as

- experiences negotiating corporate rate and long term stay rates

- how to do laundry and not pay an arm and a leg 😡

- general status games with airlines and hotels…

- how to have real relationships while being a nomad

- dealing with mail, visas, taxes, citizenship issues

- living in a city primarily out of hotels instead of an apartment

- doing all of the above on your own dime while being reasonable about the costs

Anything else particularly unique to full time travelers? Anyone else do it not just for a job, but as a chosen lifestyle? What are the biggest difficulties?

For me, the trickier bits are (1) laundry, and (2) resisting the urge to accumulate stuff.

Toshbaf

What's the answer to the mail question?

I presume it's to have relatives or close friends get mail versus mail forwarding service versus mail service that scans mail (how does that work?) versus having mail pile up.

eigenvector

What's the issue with laundry? I recall paying something in the neighbourhood of 40HKD (about $5 USD) per load for full service laundry in Hong Kong a couple of years ago, and finding a laundry shop was no problem.

paperwastage

plenty of threads about this

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30351150-post8.html

https://www.google.com/q=flyertalk+m...ndry+negotiate

helvetic

It's not so bad in HK, but when I was traveling the road constantly, figuring out laundry in each new destination was a drag.

helvetic

A friend with an address, and a forwarding service seem to be the best solutions. Not ideal.

I do get various things shipped to hotels but you have to be sure the timing'll work out.

RetiredATLATC

As the wife and I start our researching into ditching everything and becoming nomads I found this info about virtual mailboxes.

https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/...ling-services/

mecabq

I have lived out of hotels most of the time for the past ten-plus years. Hotels have, of course, treated me great as I have rotated among many but had solid coverage at each. I have had a car, which has been almost a necessity to make it work. Although the hotels are happy to store luggage, sometimes for years at a time, it's a headache to pack everything up.

I usually don't stay in any one hotel for more than a week. I pretty much live out of the car (where loose items proliferate unfortunately) and just bring one suitcase inside for the week. This has been mostly in the GCC, though, where it's necessary to have a car anyway and security isn't a concern (i.e., having a car full of visible stuff in the parking lot, street, or airport parking). I suppose this wouldn't be practical in Hong Kong. (Dubai and Doha also have a unique market, where somehow the prices of hotels are favorable to apartments. This is especially true if one travels a lot; I check out of the hotel when I leave, so only end up paying for 250 nights a year in my base city.)

One minor headache is arriving on an overnight flight and not having a place to freshen up (not wanting to pay for an extra hotel night) before work, or leaving on a flight in the middle of the night. I do have to find a laundry place, but it's dirt cheap there, and I must say I love picking up the laundry ironed and wrapped in plastic.

Annalisa12

Nothing could entice me to take a job where one had to live in hotels for 300 plus nights a year. I don't know how you all do it.

aroundtheworld76

In hotels for primary job about 190-200 nights / year. Side gig another 20 or so. Most of the rest is burning the points I've earned from work plus a couple weeks of timeshares. I keep a room in a house in PDX for my legal residence and try to stay there at least a couple nights a month. Mail (mostly credit card offers despite numerous attempts to remove myself from such lists) goes there and piles up until I get back and go through it. Laundry is usually done in hotel guest laundry rooms whenever I can. For work we frequent the midrange Hilton /Marriott properties that have them. In VIE right now and the front desk clerk helpfully replied to my query about nearby Laundromats by printing out a public transport itinerary involving an hour and three transfers to the nearest one. So sink laundry it is!

I don't own a car, so that's one less hassle to deal with.

365RoadWarrior

I've been 365 days for two decades. The real issues are staying within the law. In particular, taxes and anti-money laundering. AML laws since 2001 require physical addresses for virtually any financial transaction. Luckily I got a credit card in 1999 that still serves. Comments on a couple of other questions:
- general status games with airlines and hotels…

I don't "play". It's a rube's game. I will trade a good might's sleep for points any day. Beyond that, almost all of my points were recycled by my employer for business travel, so the only potential benefit to me was the status bit.

- how to have real relationships while being a nomad
I was lucky. 25 years, my wife and I had a great relationship. We both traveled a lot. We treated every get-together as a honeymoon. We picked and chose our rendezvous where we could best enjoy the time.

- dealing with mail, visas, taxes, citizenship issues
I have had four mailboxes around the world in the hub cities of my preferred airline and most common business locations. Visas are "rolling"/continuing challenge. Fortunately, most of my work took me to or through capitol cities. Sometimes I have to use visa services. As appropriate, I will buy the long-term visa over the three-month (or whatever).

- doing all of the above on your own dime while being reasonable about the costs.
I'm lucky. I can(and usually do) eat from the grocery store/market every night and be content. 36 years of travel and I haven't gained a pound.

Overall, please count the number of times I mention being lucky.

DutchessPDX

I want to know what people do that keeps you on the road 365, or even 300 days a year for that matter.

helvetic

Personally, nothing that requires me to be on the road, but also nothing that prevents me from having the flexibility to. I just love the life, so I choose to live that way.