Excerpt from Jacksonville Journal-Courier

As the world undergoes a revolution in how we live and work, more people are blending everyday life with travel. The ability and desire to live and work from anywhere was once considered a short-lived opportunity at the beginning of the pandemic or something for young backpackers.

Now it's a permanent reality for millions of working Americans.

"This revolution really is about flexibility. Suddenly you can live anywhere, you can work anywhere," said Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb at Skift Global Forum on Travel. He believes that this massive adoption of remote work policies is driving the most significant change to travel since the start of commercial flying in 1914.

While 50-somethings and 30-somethings are currently leading the "live anywhere" trend, new remote-work policies at unprecedented levels mean that at least 36 million Americans have the potential to become digital nomads, according to Skift. Their calculations concluded that even if just six percent of the group chose to take more "workcations," it would represent a $1 billion travel market.

Laptop luggers, or travelers who plan to work while away, planned twice as many trips over the 2021 holiday season. Companies are now vying for a share of their dollars as these spenders have an above-average buying power, were twice as likely to increase their vacation budget, and added three or more days onto their trip due to the option to remotely work.

While there have always been pockets of Americans who rented other people's beach or lake houses, going on vacation and staying in a hotel has long been the norm. Hotels still account for most leisure lodging spending, but by the end of 2021, more than four in 10 travelers say they booked a private rental for the first time during the pandemic, and they say they plan to continue. About 75% of people who booked a private rental for the first time say they'll do so again, citing longer trips, home-like amenities, and extra space to work.

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