In a time when people can’t even go to the toilet without bringing their phones — surprisingly, the interest around digital detox retreats is rising, and persons are willing to pay 1000’s to go on them.
While on vacation, 27% of adults need to be present and spend less time doom-scrolling, based on a 2025 Hilton Trends Report, which was originally reported on by the BBC.
And 17% of vacationers are taking things a step further by looking for trips that can force them to unplug and possibly ditch their technology altogether, based on global luxury home-rental platform Plum Guide.
“We used to have a tag to indicate which properties had wi-fi. Now we’re adding a ‘no wi-fi’ tag,” Martin Dunford, the founder and CEO of Cool Places, a UK travel accommodation booking site, told the BBC.
Guests on the Grand Velas Resorts in Mexico can book a stay here and enroll for his or her digital detox program.
Once travelers arrive at their designated hotel room — they’ll notice that the room is freed from any tech. TVs are replaced with board games, and guests’ devices are kept in a protected by the concierge, based on the resort’s site.
This forces guests to partake in complimentary activities reminiscent of biking and snorkeling tours. Despite the typical rate for a room being a few thousand dollars an evening — guests are willing to pay the fee for a soothing, tech-free trip.
And if people aren’t seeking to spend a lot money to travel outside the country for this type of retreat, stressed-out travelers can stay on the Urban Cowboy Lodge within the Catskills, which is just a couple of hours north of NYC.
At this Catskills cabin-style boutique hotel, guests lock their devices in a box at some point of their stay. Something that may sound terrifying but is ultimately rewarding.
Dunford worked with the University of Greenwich and the University of East Anglia to check people’s patterns and behaviors after they completely disconnect on a visit.
As expected, they found that initially, it’s quite the adjustment for people to not have access to technology while away.
“Guests go stir crazy in the primary 24 hours,” Dunford said.
“But after 48 hours, they’re well adjusted and begin stepping into other activities. At the tip of a three-day stay – or longer – we discover guests could also be comfortable to have their phones back or is usually a bit take it or leave it about it.”
“By the tip of the three days, I used to be removed from excited to open the lockbox and switch my phone back on – actually, I used to be dreading it,” said a author for The Week in a story about their experience collaborating in a digital detox trip.
“I prolonged my vacation from society for so long as I could, but was eventually forced to bite the bullet after I got into the automobile and remembered I used to be reliant on Google Maps if I had any hope of getting home,” the author identified.
