Elon Musk is insisting that his employees return to the office and work there for at least 40 hours a week, otherwise, they will need to quit their jobs. In contrast, earlier this May, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky introduced policies that allow employees to live and work from anywhere in their country without any change in their pay.
This stark difference highlights how divided the world has become post-pandemic. Before COVID-19, only 30% of employees worked remotely, but that number has now increased to 48%. It looks like this trend is here to stay, with the same percentage expected to continue working remotely at least part of the time. Nowadays, modern employees spend about 40% of their time working from home.
The statistics make it clear that remote work is more efficient, and many people have embraced this new working style, which is often referred to as a “workation.” A workation combines work and vacation, allowing people to take a trip while still keeping up with their work online. Although many companies permit their employees to work from anywhere in the world, they don’t cover the costs of these trips. Over the past few years, travel hacking has become increasingly common.
Travel hacking involves various methods to save money and sometimes time when searching for flights or accommodation deals. The concept of traveling has evolved from being seen as something for the wealthy to something that can fit all budgets.
For most people, the hotel is a crucial aspect of their travel experience since they spend a significant amount of their vacation time there. COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on hotel prices worldwide, causing prices to rise. Finding the best hotel deal has become more challenging. This is where new travel technology steps in.
RatePunk is a free browser extension designed to help you save on travel expenses. It automatically compares hotel rates and finds the best prices on the web while you browse your favorite booking sites.
To use it, simply go to the Chrome or Apple web store and install the extension in your browser. RatePunk works on all major browsers, including Mozilla, Firefox, and Edge.
Once installed, go to your preferred booking site like Agoda, booking.com, or Expedia, and choose a hotel for your upcoming vacation. When you click on the hotel, RatePunk will automatically pop up and show you the rates offered by other online travel agencies.
For example, if you’re traveling to Majorca in July and find a well-rated hotel that costs 733€ for 3 nights on booking.com, RatePunk might reveal that Agoda offers the same hotel for 251€ less.
It’s that easy. Without changing your booking habits, you can use RatePunk, and when you click on Agoda’s offer, you’ll be redirected to its website to reserve your stay.
When you see a price like 161€ per night, which totals 483€ for the entire stay, it might seem a bit more expensive than what RatePunk displayed initially. This slight difference is because Agoda shows rounded prices. On the checkout page, you’ll see that the total is actually 481.95€, matching the price RatePunk indicated.
Travel hacking has become the new norm because everyone is looking to stretch their money further, adding more vacations or workations each year. No matter where your next destination is, saving a few bucks is always possible with RatePunk. You’re just one install away from making it happen.