Wednesday, Jul. 02, 2008

Businesses optimistic about July 4 weekend

Officials expect a wave of visitors

The way it looks now, this weekend could be one of those wipe-away-your-tears, forget-all-your-troubles weekends for Grand Strand tourism businesses.

It's a respite during a difficult season, so enjoy it, because it could be brief, officials said.

After a weak April and May, tourists slowly started to come back to the beach in June - and this Fourth of July weekend looks to be strong, and perhaps once again the best weekend of the season.

"For us, 100 percent occupied," said David Washburn, general manager of ResortQuest Myrtle Beach, which offers vacation and long-term rentals at The Market Common. "At first, we kind of bit our nails a little bit, but the last two weeks it's been great."

The Fourth holiday, normally a big time for the beach, falls on a Friday this year. Usually, that would be a good thing for hotels, but it is unclear what will happen this year in a tough economy.

During the three-day weekend, hotels will likely be 86 percent to 91 percent booked - fantastic for late-June, early-July, said Taylor Damonte, an associate professor at Coastal Carolina University who tracks occupancy figures.

Yet it might mean the guests who would have stayed a week will simply make it a long weekend, said Pauline Levesque, chief executive of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association.

Indeed, Damonte is predicting a year-over-year dip next week, with under 70 percent of hotel rooms, vacation rental homes and campsites full.

Unpredictability has become typical for the hospitality business this year. With the rise of oil prices, the fall of housing prices and the general uncertainty regarding the economy, travelers have been waiting longer than usual to make vacation plans, leaving hotel booking sheets clear until the last minute.

"Of course, a lot of folks have lowered their prices, too, just to get folks in the door," Levesque said.

Earlier this week, AAA Carolinas predicted a slight drop in holiday travel over the weekend. The roads in the Carolinas will see about a 1.3 percent decrease in traffic with 1 million N.C. drivers and 551,000 S.C. drivers expected to be on the roads, according to an AAA Carolinas survey.

Brenda Magers, park manager at Huntington Beach State Park, said she sees more people than usual coming from places about an hour out, such as Conway or further inland.

This year is proving to be great for campgrounds, which are typically less expensive than a night in a hotel - provided you bring the recreational vehicle.

"Our numbers are up, our visitations up," Magers said. "When people are making their adjustments in their budgets, it's not their annual beach vacation that they cancel."

Meanwhile, amusement businesses are happy the holiday falls on a Friday, because the fireworks won't lure away as many customers as they would if the holiday came on a busier, midweek day.

"I think we're going to see a nice, long, strong weekend," said Donnie Sipes, general manager of Family Kingdom Amusement Park. Business has been good for the park, mirroring last year, he said.

More hotels are figuring out that gas deals will lure customers, and more are starting to offer discounts pegged to the tank, either offering gas cards, or simply including messages about beating the high cost of gas into offers.

Gas prices have risen more than 20 cents a gallon since Memorial Day Weekend, according to AAA Carolinas. The N.C. average is $3.99, while the S.C. average is $3.86.

That's $1.10 more than last July 4 for North Carolina, and $1.09 more than last year for South Carolina.