Digital nomads in the COVID-19 pandemic

[Gabriel3436]

Hello hosts, all right?

I have some questions I’d like to explore here with you.

Did you notice any increase in demand for digital nomads (people who travel and work remotely) looking for accommodation during the pandemic?

If so, do you realize that this audience has grown? What are the particularities that this audience presents or what special requests have you made?

What leads me to question this is the popularization of remote work over the past year and how it has made it easier for people to travel and work simultaneously.

Thank you in advance.
Gabriel. 

[Helen427]

Hello @Gabriel3436 and welcome to ABB CC from across the shores in Auckland, New Zealand

Are you doing a Research Paper for University/

If so, what course is it for?

Where are the results of your research going to?

Town Planning??

No we have not noticed any increase at all in people wanting to Work From Home and requiring accommodation during Covid or it's Lockdowns.

Those we interact with of all ages and walks of life are extremely happy to be back in their Workplaces and Educational facilities, with the exception of those we know were due to and did shift offices - they are finding the whole push towards Paperless and requiring to do their work primarily through Digital means very short-sighted as their job requires the need for Paper Documents and co-workers face to face to do their work effectively.

It doesn't help one bit that many places rely on Internet systems that travel via other countries and are frequently Down so they are unable to do their work at home or if traveling.

Do be mindful there's also higher risks of Privacy/ Data Protection breaches with people using their own Personal devices for work and personal use when WFH and also traveling as a Digital Nomad.

Many we interact with also find & found WFH very socially 'Isolating'.

All the best

[Gabriel3436]

Hello @Helen427, thank you for the welcome.

About your first question, at first I’m just exploring the subject on the Internet. I did not find much information in Portuguese about my specific doubt, so thank you for your reply, because it was very valuable. I haven’t decided yet, but it is possible that I will do a Research Paper for the University next semester, investigating my local reality and publishing it in a national tourism journal. My course is a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and I live in the extreme south of Brazil, on the border with Uruguay. This is the first time I’ve ever texted a New Zealander, by the way.

It is very interesting your answer, because I imagined the opposite, because I knew that some countries allowed the temporary visa to digital nomads. However, I completely understand your point of view. Although it has been popularized, work at home complicates the lives of many people.

Here in Brazil, where we are a developing country with deep inequalities, we definitely had several problems with housework in the population, so I believe there was no increase in demand for digital nomads either. I think that women, especially mothers of small children were the most affected and remote work became very bad for them. There was also a lot of dropout of school children, for not having electronic equipment or WIFI to study from home.

Thank you for reminding me about privacy and the feeling of social isolation, I hadn’t thought of that.

Thank you for the reply and I’m sorry for any English error as I am not fluent.

All the best! 🙂