Paid time off is rare for personal trainers.
We don't get paid time off, but we still need time off.
I just need a break
We work in a profession that wants to boast the “24/7 grind and hustle”, “no days off”, and “I’ll sleep when I die” type mindsets. No matter how cool you think you sound in the moment, It’s not realistic. We need to take time off and everybody knows it, but the problem is we work in an industry where the service provider(sometimes no matter how successful) does not get paid time off.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a “hack to get free paid time off”, this is an acceptable middle ground option for those who want to use it. The acceptable middle ground? It’s work, just a lot less of it than you would typically do during an average week, and you are doing it at a location where you are also a guest on a luxury all-inclusive vacation. These can go by various names:
work exchange
working vacation
vacation exchange
travel instructor barter/trade
After you read this you can give google the old college try if you want to find some more resources that I haven’t found yet. There are plenty of job sites or work exchange programs that offer these types of programs for month-long time periods instead of weeks or weekends, I don’t want to include those here but they do exist.
Time off without the high cost.
That’s really what this is all about. When we take time off as personal trainers we lose 100% income, and sometimes it can be difficult to convince ourselves to take a nice relaxing vacation knowing it can cost a couple of thousand dollars to take a week long all-inclusive vacation on top of not getting paid.
These 3 companies offer a solution for just that. Short vacations with a little bit of work drizzled on top of your stay in exchange for a drastically discounted all inclusive stays. Most of these “teaching vacations” will be best suited for group class instructors, tennis and golf pros, and most body weight modes of exercise. Some resorts have decent fitness facilities available and equipment-based workouts can be conducted there just fine.
What can I expect from this type of working vacation service?
Without getting into the specifics for each company or resort, you can typically do the following.
Vacations are typically at week-long all-inclusive resorts
You can book a solo trip
You can Book with one adult companion
You can Book with 2 adults + kids under 12, and infants under 2 fully included.
Each teaching vacation does have some instructor expenses and is something like $500-600 per stay. The price includes if you travel with companions and kids.
All airfare and transportation are your responsibility.
Teach 1 or 2 classes daily at the resort on the resort’s class schedule.
You stay in a normal guest suite, not staff quarters.
You have full guest privileges and access.
Do whatever you want outside of your class teaching time.
No limit on how often you travel each year.
Again, you’re not recieving an income from these exchanges, you are receiving massively discounted accommodations at luxury resorts. If you are satified with this trade offs then these 3 companies can help you.
Before you read on, this might be the best time to write a note to yourself about how you can start generating income that doesn’t stop while you take a vacation.
Here they are In no particular order of importance or ranking.
FitBodiesinc.com / fitnessprotravel.com
*they are the same company and the fitbodiesinc website just redirects you to sign up on the fitnessprotravel website when you press the sign up button.
Based out of Kentucky, United States
An account is free to sign up and create a profile.
~79 All-inclusive resorts
locations in Mexico, Caribean, Central America, & Asia Pacific
Plan up to 14 months in advance(with an upgraded membership)
NRG2GO.net
Based out of Ontario, Canada
You must apply to join the list of instructors.
~21 All-inclusive resorts
locations in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, St. Kitts, Cuba
they get discounts on their preferred airfare and transport services
create your own retreat planning
they are also a full-service travel agency with preferred rates at their partner locations if you want to book for friends and family to stay alongside you.
FitnessVacationExchange.com
Based out of Colorado, United States
Must Apply to join
~5 All-inclusive resorts
Locations in Mexico and St. Maarten
create your own retreat planning
they get discounts on their preferred airfare and transport services
If you’re into Yoga and Pilates specifically and want a work exchange option these two are really good options. some are for a longer term than just a vacation, and some are paid positions. Yoga and Pilates-type instructors also have a high probability of finding some retreats that look for traveling instructors.
https://yogatrade.com/
https://www.yogatraveljobs.com/