Meet the people working on holiday in a home from home

With the pandemic and advances in technology remote working has become mainstream. But this summer many have taken it a step further and decamped from their home office to work for weeks in a holiday home.

While the idea of combining work and holiday sounds very appealing, unless you own a second home, the reality may be hard to achieve as finding a suitable property can be difficult.

"There is no doubt that the demand for [short term rental] properties this year is increasing," says Caroline Howlett of holiday home experts Relax Ireland. "This is due to the fact that Irish homeowners are not travelling abroad and are staying put in their rental properties which reduces the number of self-catering properties for the public.

“The shortage has also arisen due to the surge of long-term renting – and with consideration of these two factors there is quite a demand for holiday properties in Ireland.”

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With this in mind, a caravan or mobile home may be an option.

And Sean Manicle says he is proof that you can enjoy a holiday in a small home from home while also managing to get work done. He, his wife Cora, and their children – Max (3) and Sophia (2) – have decamped from Kilkenny to a mobile home in Waterford.

Mini coworkers

“I am very lucky as a lot of my work can be done remotely,” says Manicle. “My days start early, at 5.30am, with a swim at Strand Beach (few minutes’ walk from the mobile) and Cora does the same when I get back. The bouncing wild ones generally get out of bed before 7am to help make the porridge and then real fun starts. The open plan layout is great for family life, but work is a challenge so trying to do anything in the morning is not an option as Max and Sophia really want to help me type reports and be involved in claim negotiations.

“So as a result, I work when they are off somewhere with Cora or from WorkLabs, a fabulous, shared working space which I use in Waterford city.”

The father-of-two who runs Manicle Property Insurance Claims says while it can be difficult at times, he really enjoys working from a holiday home.

“My job is highly pressurised as there is a lot on the line for my clients in helping them deal with significant property damage to their homes or businesses,” he says. “So I really find that the amazing start to the day (the dawn swim) gives me extra energy and the edge needed in negotiations with large insurance companies.

“In the mobile home, I use my hotspot which works fine and if the weather turns (and the kids are inside) I use the digital hub in Waterford which has brilliant internet and great facilities. My advice to anyone else trying to work on holiday would be to get all the basics sorted before they start, keep mini coworkers well away during important phone calls.”

Business consultant, Áine Collins, is also working from a caravan this summer and says that although she isn’t consumed with work all day, she makes sure to get her head down in the morning so she can take the afternoon off to spend with her husband Paul and children Ciara, Lilly, and Thomas.

“We have a 22-year-old caravan which we upgraded during Covid. It is very comfortable, sleeps four people easily and we have an awning which gives great extra space,” she says.

“I use my mobile broadband, which is excellent and typically work from 7 to 12 every morning and then take the rest of the day off. We have been here (in Kerry) since June and it is amazing to see the kids out and about all day, either in the water, cycling or playing hurling on the beach, which is 15km long and is just amazing. There is also another beach just across the road from us which is really good to swim in.

“I actually find working from here fantastic and it is great to get headspace and make plans for the year ahead.”

Renovated holiday home

Siobhán Donohoe is also working while on holiday, but rather than being in a caravan, she has the comfort of an entire holiday home in Tramore, Co Waterford.

“Tramore has become a very special place to our family since the pandemic,” says Donohoe, who is married to Ed and has two children, Ted (13) and Hannah (11).

“We have use of a holiday home which is shared with my husband’s siblings and was gutted and renovated last year, just before the first lockdown. Then as soon as we heard we could move outside our county again, the family started a rota system so everyone could get a staycation of sun, sea and surf.”

But it’s not all fun and frolics for the columnist, as after taking the first week off to relax, she then set up a home office at the kitchen table.

“With the best will in the world I try to start early at 6am after a brisk walk to the sand dunes,” she says. “Then the kids head off for surf lessons and entertain themselves for a few hours outdoors with their cousins to give me some space to work.

“So the mornings are really productive, especially when the patio doors are wide open and all I can hear is the sound of the sea while I tap away on the keyboard. And my sister-in-law has another place just five minutes away with great Wi-Fi so it’s perfect for Zoom calls. Also, I am just a 40-minute drive from Kilkenny if I need to attend any essential meetings or interviews.

“I finish up work with a late lunch and we all head off along the Doneraile Walk. Then the evenings are spent sitting on the Lady’s slip beach before dinner which is often followed by a night swim. We sleep soundly here, and writing is a breeze – I believe it is good for the mind and soul. Tramore might not be the Rivera but for now it’s our little piece of paradise.”

The mother-of-two says that with a little bit of forward planning and an understanding boss, working from a holiday home can be a great way to get away from it all without taking your finger off the pulse.

“I am lucky enough to have the flexibility with my job to do this and I have a great editor who believes in getting the balance right, so his team remain productive,” she says. “I also have Psoriatic Arthritis, so a recharge in the sun and some sea swimming is brilliant for my achy joints.

“So if I can give any advice for anyone attempting to work from a summer home - it would be to bring extension leads, be disciplined, start early before the pre-teens rise and, if possible, get a great boss.”