Thursday, May. 28, 2009
It's Not the Economy, Stupid
The headline read, “Many say there are fewer bikers, but nobody can put their finger on why.” Really!? That headline is from a story in The Sun News stating that it wasn’t clear whether the economy or the city of Myrtle Beach’s new ordinances, or any number of other factors, were to blame for the fact that far fewer bikers seemed to attend this year’s May Harley-Davidson rally in the Myrtle Beach area.
Certainly the economy has had an effect on tourism overall, but let’s compare apples to apples. In a discussion with Phil Schoonover, the owner of Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson, he told me his colleague Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of Destination Daytona, the world’s largest Harley-Davidson dealership, reported record motorcycle sales during this year’s Bike Week in Florida. During that week their sales were up approximately 10 percent overall and as much as 18 percent higher on one Friday during the rally. There was no shortage of bikers spending money at the new Harley dealership in Shallotte, N.C., either where radio ads aired in Myrtle Beach invited bikers and their wallets to come during the rally. In Myrtle Beach, Schoonover said his sales were down, when compared to last year, by 20 percent at his dealership during this year’s rally and down an astonishing 80 percent at the retail outlet he owns at Broadway at the Beach. Obviously, the same economy and outside factors influence the way people spend at the rallies whether they are in Florida or South Carolina so the problem, in my opinion, clearly stems from the actions of Myrtle Beach city officials driving motorcycle tourists away.
It’s worth noting that the Harley dealership is outside the city limits and Broadway at the Beach is inside the city limits, where local and visiting bikers have formed a grassroots boycott dubbed “Not a Dime in ’09.” The fact that sales were down so dramatically at the location inside city limits compared to the main dealership, even at the biker-friendly Harley-Davidson retail outlet, are a clear indicator the boycott was getting support. During a WMBF television interview Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes had the audacity to blame lost revenue inside the city limits on the bikers. Rhodes said, “The bike groups themselves said ‘Not a dime in ‘09’…They drove the people out of Myrtle Beach protesting, so they’ve hurt the bars and restaurants and hotels – not the ordinances.” While it is true the bikers called for the boycott, the reason for the boycott is the ordinances and the city officials’ attitude and actions. If it were not for their actions, including the ordinances designed to crack down on the rallies and riders, there would be no boycott. What nerve!
Other businesses and individuals have suffered because of the lost revenue as well. One couple I spoke to at my restaurant, Pizza Grill-a in Litchfield, said their parents have a rental unit that has been rented every Bike Week since they bought it, but it sat empty this year costing the retired couple $1,000 in lost rent. Hotels in Myrtle Beach that normally cost more than $100 per room night during Bike Week were being advertised for just $40 and still many were left vacant.
In response, a new non-profit organization called H.E.L.P., which stands for Help Eliminate Lousy Politicians, has been formed. The group held a meeting at Revolutions night club on May 20 following the rally where people were given the opportunity to vent their concerns and discussions began regarding an organized effort to remove or replace Mayor Rhodes, his council members, the city manager, and city spokesman, many of whom are up for re-election this November. (Editor’s note: the city manager and spokesman positions are not elected offices.)
Anyone who thinks they can’t do it should refer to former mayor Mark McBride who was sent packing after he made statements about wanting to nudge a biker with his car because he didn’t approve of what he read on the biker’s T-shirt. The sad part is when we sent McBride out to pasture we helped get Rhodes into office because he said – to many of us personally – before the election, “I won’t say I’m pro-biker, but I’m pro-business, and that means any business, including biker business.” He sure changed his tune.
During the rally I asked several people from out of town what the word was in their home states. A guy from New Jersey said the word was “Not a Dime in ’09” so the boycott was far-reaching. Two guys from Pennsylvania told me they’d heard the rally was canceled, but when they went online looking for more information it didn’t take long to learn the rally was still on so they came down. They said they’d ridden through the city of Myrtle Beach just to see what it was like and called it a ghost town compared to their previous visits.
So as Mayor Rhodes and Tom Rice, leader of the “Take Back May” group who boasted victory in an e-mail to those on his mailing list, celebrate, let me be the first to congratulate them on making Myrtle Beach a “ghost town” and costing their constituents and neighbors thousands, probably millions of dollars. Enjoy it while you can.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions of bike-related topics send a "Big E-mail'' to surgebiker@yahoo.com.
Click here for previous Ridin' with Big E columns