Living Well On A Budget

How To Save Money on Travel: Be a Guest Instructor at a Resort and Stay for Free

Posted on July 12th, 2009.

How to Save Money on Travel - - Be a Guest Instructor at a Resort and Stay for Free:  How My Friend Elyse Stayed for a Week at the Ritz-Carlton in Jamaica for FREE by Teaching Yoga

Teaching classes as a visiting instructor or providing services, especially if you are certified or licensed in the fitness or health and wellness industry, can be an excellent way to save money on accommodations at hotels and resorts when traveling by making it a light working vacation.

I met my friend Elyse about 15 years ago at a health club in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  She was a part-time aerobics instructor and we also became workout buddies.  One of the things I have long admired about Elyse is her ability to juggle and balance all the aspects of her life – her busy Public Relations career, her husband and two kids, her extended family and friendships, and time to take care of herself.  Elyse is very organized and efficient so she finds ways to combine her lifestyle and interests whenever possible.  For example, she teaches yoga and spinning classes at her local health club in the suburbs a few days a week and her entire family of four enjoys a free club membership.

In February, Elyse went on a fabulous week long vacation to Jamaica with her family without spending a lot of money.  They were even able to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Rose Hall for free.  How, you ask? Elyse signed up at a website called FitnessProTravel which facilitates the exchange of services between specialty professionals and numerous all-inclusive resorts and vacation destinations.  Other booking agencies like FitProTravel you might want to check out include Fit Bodies Inc. and NRG2GO. Requirements, opportunities, and locations vary by agency and resort, but destinations include places like the Caribbean islands (e.g., Antiqua, Bahamas, Jamaica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, etc.), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico.

The FitnessProTravel website helped match her skills as a certified yoga and fitness instructor with resorts that offer teaching opportunities in exchange for a comped (i.e., free) room for Elyse and one guest (kids under 12 were no additional charge).  Some resorts are all-inclusive but in this case, Elyse received a $150 daily food allowance which they usually used for dinners. Another way they saved money was by shopping at the local market and using the fridge in their room.  FitPro opportunities do not include airfare, but they were also able to use frequent flyer miles for 3 of the 4 tickets to Jamaica.

This teaching contract was for 3 one hour classes a day, 7 days, Sunday – Sunday. Elyse taught 2 classes each morning, a core training for abs and back, and then a vinyasa flow yoga class. She was finished teaching by 10:00 am and then taught another yoga class at 5:00 pm.  Elyse still had the majority of each day to spend with her family.  Elyse was able to swap classes with another visiting instructor to have a full afternoon free to go on a longer day trip, to Ocho Rios home of Dunn’s River Falls.  They saved money on the day trip by negotiating a flat fee with a local taxi driver and hired him for the day, which also gave them much greater flexibility over the tour bus option.

Elyse said it was one of their best family vacations and the first one she has taken where she ate really well but didn’t gain any weight.  Click here to see photos of Elyse teaching her yoga class outside overlooking the beach and some from their vacation in beautiful Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Kind of inspires me to want to go get certified in something.  You should register on the fitnessprotravel.com site or look into opportunities for short term working vacations at a resort, if you are any of the following:

	CEC Provider			Chiropractor
	Club/Studio Operator			Dietician
	Fitness Enthusiast			GFI & Yoga Combo
	Golf Pro			Group Fitness Instructor
	Health/Fitness Biz			Masseuse
	Nurse			Personal Trainer
	Squash Pro			Tennis Instructor
	Yoga / Pilates

Some other tips to keep in mind with guest teaching at a resort:

• Each resort may have different requirements and benefits for that particular teaching opportunity (e.g., some require teaching 2 classes per day, some 3, etc.)
• Be prepared to teach all levels and all kinds of people, you have to be flexible
• If a fitness instructor, some resorts require that you teach an aqua class as one of your classes
• Sometimes there is an administration fee and/or you are required to bring a “gift” usually around $100 - $250 in value.  These are usually things that are hard to come by in less developed countries, e.g., batteries, art supplies, or office supplies.  Fitbodies has a gift program, where you donate $85 to a fund and they take care of the gift.
• There may be a clause that allows the resort to bump you off the property if full during your visit. You still have guest privileges at the resort, but you may have to sleep someplace close by.  The resort will usually provide transportation if needed.
• Some resorts will provide you with childcare if needed for free or very low cost.
• If you want to bring extra people, there is often a special discounted rate for their stay.

According to Ray Lewis, EA and owner of Tax Therapy, you will need to claim the value of the hotel room and any daily allowance as taxable business income. However, this can be offset by being able to write off business expenses you (not your guests) incurred on the trip. Expenses that you may be able to claim (in full or on a pro-rated basis) include hotel, transportation, rental car, and meals (actual costs or per diem allowance).  You may also be able to deduct incidental expenses such as the cost of getting to and from the airport, tips, dry cleaning related to business travel, and supplies specific to business travel.

How much one can deduct depends on how many days worked and whether travel was inside or outside of the U.S.  In this case, for this tax year Elyse can deduct her travel, lodging and meals for the entire trip, because business was conducted on 75% of the days of the trip to Jamaica, which is the requirement for travel outside of the U.S.  Requirements are different for domestic business travel. You may want to consult a tax professional regarding your specific tax situation, if you’re interested in saving money on travel by becoming a resort instructor.

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