Hawaii is proceeding with plans to implement “resort bubbles,” a “geo-fencing concept … required to stay in clearly defined geographical areas and ensure limited contact with those not subject to self-quarantine,” Maui Now explains.
So once you’re at your resort, you’re there to stay for the entire trip (at least, as far as I understand it).
Resort bubble guests are still required to wear masks. Their whereabouts are tracking with an electronic monitoring device — and resorts are allowed to charge guests for the associated costs. So it’s kind of like being on “resort arrest,” if you will.
But what if the practice expands to other areas? Would you stay in a resort bubble just to travel again?
Trapped at a Resort?
It may sound claustrophobic in a sense because you can’t leave a resort’s property. That means there’s no running to an offsite store to stock up on snacks, booze, and other supplies for prices cheaper than what you’ll pay at a resort’s gift shop or restaurants.
It also depends on how much your resort is and what kind of amenities are available. When my wife and I attended her friends’ wedding in Punta Cana a few years ago, we stayed at the all-inclusive Majestic Resort. There was no need to venture outside the resort grounds. Everything we needed was right there. There were pools, bars, restaurants, beaches, and plenty of ocean activities available.
But if I visited, say, Las Vegas and was limited to New York-New York, the Golden Nugget, or The D for my entire stay, that would get old. Quickly.
Plus, people who take transoceanic cruises are pretty much in a bubble anyway. There aren’t exactly a bunch of excursions to enjoy when you’re sailing from Miami to Lisbon.
Burst a Bubble
What do you think about resort bubbles? Would you stay in one — or prefer to wait until things return to normal-ish? Please share your thoughts in the below Comments section!
— Chris
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As a part time resident of Hawaii, I can attest to how desperately Hawaii needs tourism to reopen. However this is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. They continue to disallow stays at vacation rental homes, which are very safe and easy to quarantine in. Yet they (or I should say the hotel lobbies) come up with this ridiculous idea? One person can arrive with Covid and infect dozens or hundreds of resort guests, some of whom are almost finished with their quarantine and will be leaving the resort soon. Not to mention infecting hotel employees who will bring it back home. How exactly is this any better than getting rid of the quarantine?
This sounds like a way to placate the anti-tourism Hawaiian residents – take the tourist money and keep them locked up where they can’t bother the locals. That’s the main reason for the rental home ban as well – to keep the tourists out of the local neighborhoods.
What about the employees that work in the bubble, then go home, to the store, out to eat, to visit family & friends… what is the difference???