With hotels generally struggling with occupancy, here’s an interesting concept from a property in the Maldives. Do the numbers make sense, though?
In this post:
Unlimited Maldives stays for $30,000
The Anantara Veli Maldives is offering an “Unlimited Stays in Paradise” package:
- You can take advantage of this deal through November 30, 2020, by emailing [email protected]
- This allows unlimited stays at the hotel in 2021
- The cost for this package is $30,000, including all taxes and service charges
- This gets you accommodation in an overwater bungalow, daily breakfast, 25% savings on dining and spa treatments, and unlimited shared transfers between the hotel and Male Airport
Anantara Veli Maldives
Is this a good deal?
On the surface spending $30,000 to live in the Maldives for a year sounds like an incredible deal, eh? That’s $2,500 per month, or ~$83 per night, which is unheard of.
And it actually sounds like an even better deal when you consider that you get an overwater villa, breakfast is included, transfers are included, and you even get a discount on food and spa treatments. Those are all things that would otherwise be really, really expensive in the Maldives (even with the discounts, I’d expect food to still be pricey).
It seems like the Anantara otherwise starts at a bit over $500 per night (the below rate doesn’t reflect the taxes and service fees), so this potentially represents savings of well over 80% if you were to stay for a year.
I guess I have a few main concerns.
First of all, how long do you actually want to stay in the Maldives? Like, even if you could stay there for a year, would you really want to? You’re on a private island, eating the same food, enjoying the same limited activities.
Second of all, how long can you actually stay in the Maldives as a foreigner? Based on doing some Googling, it seems that tourist visas are typically valid for 30 days, and can potentially be extended by another 60 days. What I can’t easily figure out is what happens then. Do you just need to leave the country for a day and can then return, or do you need to wait a certain amount of time to reenter?
Lastly, are there any tax implications to being in the Maldives for an entire year?
I guess I’m also generally curious about what kind of a market they’re going after here:
- This is a nice hotel, but by no means one of the most luxurious in the Maldives
- Therefore I feel like anyone who takes advantage of this would intend to stay almost the entire time, because anyone else dropping tens of thousands in the Maldives who isn’t concerned about maximizing value would probably stay at a more luxurious property
Anantara Veli Maldives
Bottom line
If you have nothing going on in 2021 and want to move into an overwater bungalow in the Maldives for under $100 per night, there’s an opportunity to do that right now. Well, at least that assumes you can get a visa to do that.
I have to give the hotel credit for its creativity here. I was thinking the other day how I’m surprised we haven’t seen more travel companies offer “unlimited” packages in light of circumstances, so it’s cool to see something like this.
If nothing else, this could be a great way to score top tier status in the Maldives’ new loyalty program. 😉
What do you make of the value proposition of this hotel promo?
(Tip of the hat to Paul)
Seems like a creative but risky proposition to me. This would actually be cheaper on a monthly basis than my current house, but you're completely depending on consistent Maldivian government policies for being allowed to stay there for a considerable part of the year. I can't find anything that prohibits a monthly day trip to Dubai or Colombo to renew your 30 day tourist visa but working is quite broadly prohibited ("Once arrived as a...
Seems like a creative but risky proposition to me. This would actually be cheaper on a monthly basis than my current house, but you're completely depending on consistent Maldivian government policies for being allowed to stay there for a considerable part of the year. I can't find anything that prohibits a monthly day trip to Dubai or Colombo to renew your 30 day tourist visa but working is quite broadly prohibited ("Once arrived as a tourist, the visitor is not permitted to engage in any form of business, occupation, profession or paid employment while in Maldives.") - even though I guess that would be hard to police when just working from laptop/phone. Either way there is no guarantee that your planned gap year will be permitted after the first 30 days.
Apart from the stratospheric costs of living there (semi)-permanently of course, and the fact that island fever is a real thing.
This is so affordable. Most people renting in SF or NY probably blow more than 30k a year in rent pre pandemic for a one bedroom. This is a good deal.
@Ray, sorry, I wasn't clear. My comment was addressing Ken's "Also to work remotely in Maldives, don’t you need a work permit in Maldives?" not the particular policies of Ken's company.
Individual company policies could certainly prevent you from working in the Maldives, but if your work is just a laptop/phone, the *Maldives* won't prevent you from working (and if you're on a tourist visa, won't be able to tax you).
Tempting offers considering it is one of the few places where flights are going from India. But $30,000 is a lot of money and would prefer to explore more places rather than spend all of them in Maldives
@Reaper: in @Ken’s comment he said “ which allows people to work only in countries where one is allowed to work by law” not where one can beat the system and get away with it. I doubt his company thinks no problem they will never catch you.
There are some really nice, independent, smaller hotels in Sri Lanka that are offering similar deals for 300 USD a MONTH. This is beachfront, 4-star. I am sure you can get better deals in the interior. Lots of young tourists, call them backpackers, have spent months in the country already. Far safer than the Americas or Europe, as a bonus. Check YouTube. Problem is, you cannot enter Sri Lanka now as a tourist although that...
There are some really nice, independent, smaller hotels in Sri Lanka that are offering similar deals for 300 USD a MONTH. This is beachfront, 4-star. I am sure you can get better deals in the interior. Lots of young tourists, call them backpackers, have spent months in the country already. Far safer than the Americas or Europe, as a bonus. Check YouTube. Problem is, you cannot enter Sri Lanka now as a tourist although that will change. A recent coronavirus spike originating from Indian guestworkers at a garment factory has got the country on edge but it is being manged well.
A brief intro:
I currently live full-time at a Hilton hotel in Mexico. I have it booked a year in advance with points. I even secured temporary residency status so no visa runs for me.
My thoughts about the Maldives deal:
- Risk! What if... one encounters issues with the necessary visa runs, covid-related restrictions, closures, travel troubles, etc.
- Cost! Factor in... resort prices for food/drinks/activity/tips/..., necessary visa runs and...
A brief intro:
I currently live full-time at a Hilton hotel in Mexico. I have it booked a year in advance with points. I even secured temporary residency status so no visa runs for me.
My thoughts about the Maldives deal:
- Risk! What if... one encounters issues with the necessary visa runs, covid-related restrictions, closures, travel troubles, etc.
- Cost! Factor in... resort prices for food/drinks/activity/tips/..., necessary visa runs and other travel. And multiply the $30k by... :)
- Limited options! You are on a tiny island of a tiny nation with few possessions. It could get boring, lonely, and certainly limiting.
My verdict:
If money & situation allows for it, you could mitigate risks, and make a life you want to live in 2021 out of it then, sure, why not. Go for it. I get lots of ideas. You could consider resort as you base of a year long exploration of the islands, for example.
@ken, if your work is entirely laptop/phone, and you’re on a tourist visa how exactly is Maldives enforcement going to happen?
Also to work remotely in Maldives, don't you need a work permit in Maldives? I am working for a US company, which allows people to work only in countries where one is allowed to work by law...Something beyond tax obligation...
@Klavs, "keeping a permanent residence" and the visa it implies is the key phrase.
For Americans, if you don't mind (and the Maldives will allow) leaving every thirty days and getting another tourist visa on re-entry, then I can't imagine the Maldives being able to come after you for taxes.
@Reaper I just mentioned it as British banks were recalling employees as they as employers might start to be liable for payments in 3rd countries. Of course Americans don't care as much as they are taxed everywhere, expect if they are in a country with a double taxation treaty. If you are self-employed then it wouldn't be a problem.
If you have an employer then keeping a permanent residence in a 3rd country could be a tax problem.
This is tempting to me but until I can buy alcohol at retail prices, a year in the Maldives is not going to happen.
Even if I was allowed to bring it in from abroad, like Dubai, that would be ok.
I get paying a markup on drinks, because in the most part it covers the hospitality industries costs, but paying those prices to drink in my own room/'home' is just not fair.
Oh and,...
This is tempting to me but until I can buy alcohol at retail prices, a year in the Maldives is not going to happen.
Even if I was allowed to bring it in from abroad, like Dubai, that would be ok.
I get paying a markup on drinks, because in the most part it covers the hospitality industries costs, but paying those prices to drink in my own room/'home' is just not fair.
Oh and, getting out of the Maldives is a day long affair, what with sea plane scheduling and international flights connecting. I would need to be able to get in and out more easily. I.E. In Dubai there were flights nearly every hour to the UK pre COVID. Emirates & Etihad even send the car to take you to the airport.
Single occupancy or double?
Remember, there's no duty free at the airport and you are not allow to bring those Costco bottles of hard alcohol into the country. If it was like anywhere else on a perfect island, I would consider it!
@ Klavs, (speaking only for US citizens, who owe Uncle Sam no matter where they live) that assumes the Maldives is as sophisticated a tax collector as only relatively few (mostly W European) nations are.
Maybe there's someone out there that can speak directly on the Maldives' capability, but I'd be surprised if they'd collect enough information to track you down and tax you on a tourist visa.
If you try and take full advantage of it then you might run into tax profits as you would spend enough time there to qualify as a resident and be taxed there. One of the reason why London banks started to call employees back from overseas territories where they were working remotely. HM Revenue and Customs started to send letters to banks saying that if there employees were not in the UK they might have to pay taxes overseas and not qualify as UK tax residents.
"I was thinking the other day how I’m surprised we haven’t seen more travel companies offer “unlimited” packages in light of circumstances"
If you wanted to live in a hotel over a long term there are deals to be had at many places if you want to negotiate.
One data point. The young Reaper is a student at Georgetown. This fall GU had effectively no students in the dorms, but students still wanted to be...
"I was thinking the other day how I’m surprised we haven’t seen more travel companies offer “unlimited” packages in light of circumstances"
If you wanted to live in a hotel over a long term there are deals to be had at many places if you want to negotiate.
One data point. The young Reaper is a student at Georgetown. This fall GU had effectively no students in the dorms, but students still wanted to be nearby. Washington, DC hotels are desperate. An easy negotiation later, and the young Reaper was in a 2BR/2BA townhouse with 3 other students for ~20% the regular rate (and less than the GU dorms!).
One more problem will be: Food and especially drinks are super expensive there and tap water is not drinkable. So you’ll need to add quite some costs to your calculation if you really want to take this offer...