The elite do not want to be stuck in places where they are surrounded by tourists who like to live virtual lives, no matter how high-end the hotel is.

According to global luxury vacation companies, their customers are those who spend at least $100,000 up to millions of dollars on a vacation, or an average of nearly $11,000 per day.

Above is the entrance to Le Grand Jardin, a newly built villa on a private island near the coast of Cannes, France. This is a new destination loved by the super rich, even though the weekly rental price is nearly 300,000 USD. Photo: Le Grand Jardin

The love for sailing on the sea on summer days has not diminished among the super-rich after the pandemic. A representative of the management company Aqua Mare, a 50-meter luxury yacht based in the Galapagos Islands, said tourists have invested more money in this hobby. Before the epidemic, people had a habit of spending about 25,000 USD for a week of boat travel. Now, that number is up to $90,000.

However, super-rich guests are not looking for the flashiest, largest or most accommodating super yachts. Instead, they aim for smaller but equally luxurious superyachts with sun decks and water entertainment.

Jules Maury, manager of Scott Dunn Private travel company, said many of her customers often spend a week on private, luxury yachts after spending 7 days at a high-end hotel on the mainland.

The urge to escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life has doubled in demand after the epidemic. But instead of traveling like normal people, the super rich will rent an entire private island and stay on it.

Edward Granville, manager of Red Savannah company, said the price to rent a villa on such a private island is about $290,000 a week. Although expensive, rental demand is still very high because “you have your own hotel in a place separate from the noisy world outside,” according to Granville. If guests want to party at the beach club until dawn, they can use the speedboat provided in the package to return to the mainland. After that, they went back to the island to enjoy a private resting space.

Maury said the trend of “avoiding crowds” is appearing more among the rich. She has seen an increase in the number of customers wanting to rent out an entire hotel and turn it into their own haven for the duration of their stay.

Besides, rich people like to vacation in little-known accommodation establishments. One Granville guest spent $185,000 for a week to stay privately in a complex in Porto Heli, Greece. This place is like a small village with seven houses, a pub, a square and is not heavily promoted online.

Greece is a favorite destination of the super rich this summer. Photo: Unsplash

Also according to travel companies, this year Greece is the new playground for the super rich in the summer. Every year, Italy held the number one position, but this year’s champion belongs to Greece, when the number of tour bookings increased dramatically. Tourists still enjoy visiting the islands, but popular destinations like Mykonos have fallen out of favor. Instead, guests are heading to emerging areas such as Paros Island. “Everyone knows Mykonos is filled with guests and wild parties. Paros has brought Greece back to its previous peaceful times,” Granville said.

“People want to go to uninhabited beaches, somewhere with only boat access,” Maury added.

After the success of the hit movie “The White Lotus”, the San Domenico hotel in Italy, which appeared in the movie, was filled with guests booking rooms. Four Seasons, the group that operates the above hotel, is said to be “crazy happy because it’s full”. But because of this, hotels lose their appeal to the super-rich – people who make up about 1% of the world’s population but have nearly double the assets of the 99% of the poorest population, according to Oxfam.

“The elite don’t want to be stuck anywhere with tourists who like to take virtual photos,” said Clifford, manager of a company specializing in serving the super-rich.