This summer, Michelle Carucci’s family cancelled its annual Jersey Shore vacation because of the pandemic. So when Carucci, who lives in White Township, learned that The Great Wolf Lodge, a family-favourite indoor water park in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, was setting up a “schoolhouse” and socially distanced activities this fall, she jumped at the chance to take her youngest child.

Gianna Carucci, 11, has all her classes online, and during the mornings of her and her mother’s two-day stay (in the middle of the week, when rates were lower and crowds were smaller), she headed to “Wiley’s Schoolhouse”: a large conference room repurposed to be a socially distanced learning space for children aged 5 and up.

Named after the brand’s wolf mascot, each space is equipped with desks that are placed eight to 10 feet apart and fitted with plexiglass partitions. Open Monday through Thursday, the room is staffed to help children connect with their schools, provide snacks and lead break-time activities. Reservations are required for the programme, which costs $85 per day. All participants must wear masks.

It would be “nice to have a few hours to myself while Gianna is in school,” Carucci, 45, a health and fitness coach, said in an interview before their trip. After classes wrapped up, she and her daughter played at the lodge’s water park together.

The coronavirus has left hotels and resorts scrambling for guests as occupancy rates plummeted in the spring. Some properties have tried to drum up business by touting new cleaning regimens, rethinking amenities and offering free nights. Others closed entirely, waiting or unable to wait for the public health situation to improve. Now, with the pandemic ongoing and millions of school-age children juggling remote learning, some hotels are beckoning families with offers of “schoolcation,” including new staffed learning spaces, technology and tutors — even partnerships with museums and other educational experts.
Learning officer

Usually, families with schoolchildren are tied to their school’s calendar, with vacations often limited to during the holidays.

But now, for those with the flexibility and desire to travel, “there’s an opportunity for a change in scenery,” said Kathleen Reidenbach, chief commercial officer with Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a line of boutique hotels owned by IHG.

Kimpton recently introduced a “chief virtual learning officer” to nine of its properties this fall, an on-site employee who will take on this role to help with Wi-Fi, virtual meeting software or other technical needs. Some locations will provide free school supplies, kid-sized desks snack packs, document printing and flexible checkout times to guests with school-age children.

Reidenbach said while many families can now travel in September and October, they may need help managing remote work and school. “We wanted to adjust our programming,” she said, to make that possible.

Nancy and Jim Liddell from Connecticut decided to venture into New York City for a few days this month with their three children. The family hoped to go to the newly reopened Metropolitan Museum of Art and to see the new Suffragist statues in Central Park.

The Liddell daughters, aged 9 to 13, attend public school and now have a school week that alternates between in-person and online instruction depending on the day. “We planned to go when class was online,” Liddell said. Staying at the Kimpton Muse Hotel in New York City, the girls were given festive school supplies and had the desk space and Wi-Fi they needed to attend class. “The hotel made sure we didn’t have to worry about the girls not being able to complete their school work,” said Liddell, who works in financial services.

New classrooms

While five Great Wolf Lodge properties are repurposing conference rooms into “Wiley’s Schoolhouses,” the brand is not alone in carving new “virtual classrooms” out of existing space. The W South Beach hotel in Miami, after closing completely in March, plans to reopen in November with poolside cabanas that can be set up with desks, including small ones for grade schoolers, as well as Wi-Fi and a sound system. Prices range from $500 to $700 a day (private academic tutors are also available, as are personal trainers to provide physical-education classes. Pricing is ala carte.) In Florida, the Four Seasons Orlando Resort is outfitting dedicated staffed learning spaces for a maximum of six children per room, with an outdoor terrace for breaks and craft time. Half-day sessions cost $50 per child.

Some hotels that don’t have the space are partnering with a local museum: Schoolchildren staying at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach can complete their schoolwork at the nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium Education Center and then participate in tours and activities with a marine biologist there. Stays include two spa treatments for the parents and start around $479 per night.

New York Times News Service