Why Even 5-Star Travelers Need Satellite Phones

Some people enjoy the finer things in life. Spa treatments, wine tastings, and three-Michelin-star meals are the standard, and down pillows and silk sheets are old hat. These people go on vacations to luxury resorts and 5-star hotels in the hopes of melting their everyday stresses in style.

However, even though these vacationers often visit well-established destinations full of resources for American travelers, it is still wise to bring along a satellite phone. Though they might not seem like essential devices while you’re at home looking up massage options at the hotel spa, they certainly come in handy when you need them most. Here are some very real reasons vacationers should research satellite phone services by brand after you book your next trip.

Disaster Can Happen Anywhere, Anytime

When people think of the necessity of satellite phones, they tend to think about remote regions of the globe, like rainforests or mountain ranges, or else developing nations without infrastructure like telephone lines or Internet services. Satellite phones are crucial in these areas because they are one of the only methods of communicating with civilized areas or emergency services. In more developed locations where one might find luxury hotels, travelers are more likely to have access to regular means of communication, like phones or the Internet.

However, disaster is blind. Hurricanes are just as likely to wreck long-established metropolitan areas as they are to cause ruin in developing countries, and terrorist threats are far more common in bustling Western cities than in the uninhabited wilds. If a vacation city is struck by natural or man-made disaster, travelers simply cannot expect communications systems to continue to function properly. It is best to be prepared with a reliable means of communication that will work no matter what may interrupt a relaxing trip, and travelers can always count on satellite phones to get them through to emergency services or even their loved ones in a time of need.

You Should Be Confident in Your Connection

Yes, hotels have phones and Internet, but depending on a traveler’s destination, these means of communication may not be reliable even in the best of times. Struggling or developing nations often have luxury vacation hot spots; consider Jamaica, South Africa, or even Spain in the current economic climate. Though travelers may be able to trust that their resorts will have extravagant amenities like penthouse infinity pools or lavish spa treatments, how secure can they really be in the country’s phone lines?

Many 5-star travelers continue to do business while they are away, and this requires near constant access to the office back home or business contacts around the world. If a vacationer cannot be certain about the hotel’s connectivity to phone or Internet, he or she must bring along a satellite phone. Sat phones today are much different from the ancestors many people are familiar with; indeed, many models come with options not too distant from those of smartphones. In order to truly relax, many travelers must be confident that they can take care of business while they’re out of town, and bringing along a satellite phone is the only way to guarantee open lines of communication.

 You Can Afford to Be Impulsive

Even if a traveler is certain the hotel can get him or her in touch with whomever whenever, this option imprisons a traveler at that hotel for the duration of his or her vacation. Many 5-star travelers enjoy doing and seeing all they can while they’re out of the country, and being locked into one area of accommodation can be frustrating and dull, even if it is safe.

Travelers who feel more comfortable exploring their surroundings while on vacation should invest in a satellite phone just in case an opportunity comes knocking. If a vacationer booked a few nights at a hotel in St. Barts only to hop on a sailboat making its way to Puerto Rico, it would be prudent for that traveler to have an assured means of communication during transit and upon landing on the new island. A sat phone grants travelers the confidence to be impulsive and follow the winds on their vacations, even if the wind is simply blowing them to another fabulous 5-star hotel.

No matter where you’re going or what you’re doing, you must be able to communicate with the outside world in the event of an emergency. It is unnecessarily risky to go on vacation without proper considerations for receiving emergency aid or contacting loved ones. While you’re planning your next 5-star retreat from everyday life, in between your shopping for the perfect swim suit and researching the most beautiful beaches in the city, look into buying or renting a satellite phone. It just might be the little step that saves your life on your next luxury vacation.

Written by Steve Manley