travelerconfidential

When was the last time you ditched your smartphone for several hours? How about days? You might be thinking I couldn’t even go an hour without it. It’s supposed to make us smarter right? But it often comes at the price of making us more stressed out.

Well, just as technology and gadgets were introduced to make our lives easier, now a number of things are being introduced to help us destress.

Take author Cal Newport’s new book “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused life in a noisy world.” In a recent interview, Newport said smartphones “May have made us less happy.” So Arianna Huffington’s THRIVE Away App, was introduced to help us block notifications, calls and texts. And Google’s Digital Wellbeing and Apple’s Screen Time are smartphone additions to help us monitor it all. Both let us see just how much time we’re spending on our phones, the number of notifications we’re actually receiving and how many apps we use each day.

But most of those things require us to use our phones. So one hotel has a better solution. The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris® Casino just introduced the “digital detox” option for hotel guests.

A Disconnect

“We see so many travelers glued to their phones while on vacation,” said Carolina Voullieme, Director of Sales & Marketing at Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris® Casino. “We wanted to provide them with an option that encourages them to disconnect from technology and the need to be constantly updating their social status.”

The way the digital detox option works is guests can hand over their phones the moment they check-in. From there, someone at the front desk places the phone in a security box. And if you’re saying to yourself ‘But how will I take photos without my smartphone?’ No worries. The hotel is one step ahead of you. After you turn in your phone, you get a disposable camera to capture memories.

Besides having a peace of mind in a luxurious hideaway, there’s also another incentive. “We’ll reward guests with Marriott Bonvoy points to use on their next Marriott stay.” But the number of points you get depends on how long you can hold out. Voullieme said: “For example, if a guest is able to go without their phone for one night during a two-night stay, they’ll receive 5,000 points.”

A Transformation

Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris® Casino wants your vacation to be exactly what it’s supposed to be–uninterrupted bliss!

For more information about the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris® Casino, click here.