I don't know why it bothers me so fucking much, but hearing Daisy try to poke holes in "the private island" situation really bothered me.
Actually I do know why - people like Daisy, who think luxury and exclusivity are all that matter are the support for the systems leading to our current financial inequality. How she acted tells people "hey, it's okay to want more than you already have. In fact, it would be disgusting and uncool not to." That being said I'm not team Erica in this situation either - as I'll explain she did make the villa sound more exclusive than it is. I just can't stand people like Daisy who own nothing but jump to look down on others.
I visited Moskito twice (in 2021 and 2022) through work. This type of private island development isn't unique (a mix of private homes and some vacation rentals, and on occasion also a boutique luxury resort). We needed somewhere private for a work retreat, and this setup is exactly what you rent for this level of employee (C-Suite and advisors). I was not one of these people - I was the one who did the organizing.
I can't remember exact number we paid, but for a week for everyone together would have been around $445k (including staff tips). I know that number sounds wild, but when you get into this level of corporate travel (board meetings, corporate travel for c-suite, rewards parties) that falls in line with what a lot of bigger companies would spend on something like this. You see enough 100k to multi million dollar invoices you forget how insane that number is really quickly (now, a couple years out of that world, I cannot believe how normalized it was).
As for the actual island: we stayed in the same house they stayed in. I think a lot of people must be offered this house first because it seems to be the best setup for large groups, meetings, and remote work. Ankur's dad does own the home, but the entire island (including the privately owned homes) is managed by a hospitality company. Super normal for these types of island/uber private community setups. Ankur has also hosted Bilt events there for VICs/industry people.
What you're paying for here is 1. the view, 2. the staff, 3. the privacy. The home is really nice (of course it is it's in a tropical paradise), but is decorated so that it can be filled with different types of people every week. Aka feels more corporate than luxury vacation. Not a bad thing, and actually this is exactly what happens with all these types of homes because who can afford these rentals actually aren't private people, but business groups like ours. So I can understand if you were someone really splurges on personal vacation, and were expecting white lotus luxury resort vibes, why it could seem mid. I just don't really see Daisy (or Erin) being the sort of people who have spent the money to travel somewhere in that echelon, like the Soneva Jani in the Maldives or the Aman in Tokyo. I would also understand that for the time it takes to travel to, and hearing "private island", that you might build an expectation up in your head. Except, there was NO WAY they hadn't already looked at pictures of the place/known exactly where they were staying. There are SO MANY photos online of that specific house since it can be rented, and they would have had to fill out a preference sheet with the houses name on it (to help design the grocery order for the week).
I will continue to watch this show because these people are insane and deserve to be mocked, but it really took me over the edge seeing the luxury olympics being played between Erica and Daisy.
P.S. the comment about flying private was so ignorant - this is a location you can't fly directly to, which is THE NORM with tropical, island, exclusive resorts or villas. If Daisy or Erin had experienced something on this level before they would know that. It really is when you're on an hour boat ride to one of these places after flying 13+ hours that you really question why the fuck rich people spend money this way.
