I drove six hours to check into my new luxury resort, only for the front desk clerk to toss a keycard at my feet.

I knew who I was, and I knew what my accounts held. That had always been enough.

I stepped through the massive automated glass doors into the lobby.

The silence inside was intentional and expensive—the kind of quiet shaped by high ceilings, plush minimalist rugs, and sheer emptiness. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed an uninterrupted view of the Pacific continue reading …