CANCÚN — Michelle Stansbury booked a six-day vacation at Club Med Cancún over a recent holiday weekend, using the resort's Petit Club Med program for childcare while working remotely. The self-employed single mother has taken eight workcations with her daughter over the past few years.
Stansbury has been taking working vacations for more than a decade. The first time she tried a working vacation with her daughter, her daughter was eight months old and Stansbury booked a flight to Hawaii.
On the Maui trip, Stansbury planned to work during her daughter's two naps and after her daughter went to sleep at night. A phone call to the hotel room interrupted the daughter's nap, and Stansbury searched multiple stores to find baby medicine after her daughter caught a cold. Stansbury stayed up most nights working during the trip.
On each workcation, Stansbury combined working, parenting, and solving logistics. She booked hotels and a cruise that advertised resort kids' clubs to secure daily childcare for her daughter.
At one resort, the advertised nap room at the kids' club was unavailable because it was out of order. On two separate trips, the actual operating hours of the kids' club did not match the hours posted online.
On her most recent trip to Club Med Cancún, Stansbury enrolled her daughter in Petit Club Med, the paid kids' club for two- and three-year-olds. The program costs $95 per day, while the program for children aged four and older had no additional charge. Petit Club Med included structured activities and provided rest time with a dedicated nap room.
After initial drop-off at Petit Club Med, Stansbury observed that her daughter was smiling and walked to lunch with the other children. When Stansbury picked up her daughter at 5 p.m., her daughter was engrossed in an activity and talked excitedly about her day.
The daughter asked to return to Petit Club Med the next day. On the following morning, the daughter continued to clamor to attend Petit Club Med.
During the stay at Club Med Cancún, Stansbury took a trapeze class. She also borrowed a snorkel for a leisurely swim in the ocean.