Travel Startups Look Beyond Tourists to Coax Businesses Into Great Outdoors

It’s an unceremonious way to start a new job: sent to a remote cabin nestled away in the UK countryside for a three-day digital detox. But that’s exactly what one consultancy is doing for its new recruits, as part of a wider corporate trend that’s seeing more companies tap into the healing power of nature to stimulate employees. It's all very consistent with larger travel trends since the pandemic focusing more on wide-open and outdoor spaces. The digital detox program for companies was devised by Unplugged, an accommodation startup that has grown from one cabin to 15 in the past nine months. “We can’t build the cabins fast enough,” said co-founder Hector Hughes. “We’ve seen the demand there.” Unplugged works with landowners to find remote spots, and requires guests to lock away their smartphones. [caption id="attachment_441113" align="alignright" width="300"] An Unplugged cabin. Picture: Unplugged[/caption] It’s a similar concept to Getaway, with its own phone lockboxes, which is seeing high demand across its 15 “outposts” in the U.S. In 2020, the startup saw a 150 percent increase in bookings year-over-year, and nearly 100 percent occupancy as people looked for a way to safely travel to socially distant destinations du