Man Claims Living In An All-Inclusive Resort Is Cheaper Than Paying Monthly Rent
He crunched the numbers and what he found might have you packing a bag for an all-inclusive stay.
NicoElNino / Shutterstock In the United States, there is a serious lack of affordable housing for many people, and even renting an apartment seems impossible with prices surging to unrealistic rates.
In a TikTok video, Ben Keenan, a travel content creator, revealed an unconventional way that individuals could save money on monthly rent prices — and involves spending all of their time on vacation.
He claimed that living in an all-inclusive resort is cheaper than paying monthly rent on an apartment.
"Have we ever considered that it's actually cheaper to live in an all-inclusive resort than it is to live in the apartments that we currently occupy?" he questioned at the start of his video. Curious about the difference in cost between paying rent and booking a stay at a resort in a popular vacation spot, Keenan decided to do the math himself.
Showing a list of his current expenses, he revealed that he paid $2,300 for rent, $300 for utilities, $40 for WiFi, $320 for his car and insurance payments, $400 for food and groceries, an estimated $300 for dining out, an additional $300 for having drinks and going out with friends, and $40 for the gym.
In total, he was paying $4,000 a month for all of his expenses to live.
Keenan noted that he only included the things he would be able to get at an all-inclusive resort, so the total would usually be higher than that.
Next, he searched for the top all-inclusive resorts in Mexico. Using Expedia, he showed a screenshot of the list of resorts where people had the option of staying, and the prices ranged from $4,500 to $6,500. He found a specific resort that was pretty close to the amount he paid in expenses — only $500 more.
"Bear in mind, I'm not paying the most expensive rent out there compared to what other people in Seattle might be paying," Keenan pointed out. "For example, is that $500 worth me never having to do a single ounce of laundry or any of my cleaning?"
Wanting to get a price option, he decided to look at resorts in the Dominican Republic and found a variety within the same price brackets as Mexico — between $3,500 to $7,500. He acknowledged that the prices become significantly cheaper if you decide to split it with someone else, although you would be sharing a room.
"Do with this information what you will... I just thought it was really interesting that there's a chance I could truly go live in an all-inclusive resort for approximately the same cost as all of my monthly expenses," he concluded. "That's crazy to me."
In a follow-up video, Keenan revealed there might be an even cheaper option — back-to-back all-inclusive cruises.
After doing the math, he found that for two cruises, equalling 37 days, he would only pay $42 more than his monthly expenses at home, all while traveling around the world.
Almost half of U.S. renters are unable to afford housing.
According to data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing, a record high of 22.4 million renter households — or half of renters nationwide — were spending more than 30% of their income on rent in 2022. The number of affordable units, with rents under $600, also dropped to 7.2 million that year, 2.1 million fewer than a decade earlier.
These numbers contributed to a rise in eviction filings and a record number of people experiencing homelessness.
"We simply don't have enough homes that people can afford," Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness told NPR. "And when you combine rapidly rising rent — that it just costs more per month for people to get into a place and keep a place — you get this vicious game of musical chairs."
Rent prices and the lack of affordable housing are only exacerbated by the fact that so many individuals aren't even earning a livable wage at their jobs. With the high cost of living and inflation, basic necessities are now becoming a struggle to afford and people are forced to pick and choose between things they need.
It's maddening that living in an all-inclusive resort is essentially the same, if not cheaper, as paying rent and other monthly expenses in this country. As more individuals admit that it's become a struggle to simply make ends meet, it's clear that something needs to change.
All Americans want is to be able to afford housing, food, and other necessities, and the pressing need for people in power to do something is higher than ever.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.