Can a Staycation be Marketed?

If you’re reading this article on the day it is published, July 8, 2008, then you’re not staycationing with me today on a beach in Misquamicut, RI .

“Staycation” is definitely one of the buzz words of the year, thanks to soaring gasoline prices and the cost of just about everything going up.

But is marketing for the phenomenon too late? And for that matter, is it going to help the larger tourist destinations, or even quirky attractions like the Largest Ball of String?

It depends on which press releases and news items you check out.

Let’s start with Weber, the grill-maker, which released some survey results last month that say this is the summer of staycations and grilling.

Of course they’re going to say that. I found Weber’s news buried between both John McCain and Barack Obama’s releases stating that 100% of registered voters who vote on Nov. 4, 2008 will choose a presidential candidate or vote for a write-in.

But here’s some interesting things Weber found out about the 1,100 people they polled:

• Among grill owners planning staycations, a whopping 80% plan to grill weekly, including 41% who plan to grill at least several times each week.
• Once having the term explained to them, 51% of the respondents said they plan to take one or more staycations this summer—including 24% who are changing their traditional summer vacations to include a staycation this year.
• 40% say they plan to try new grilled foods or grilling recipes

And then the numbers I’m sure Weber didn’t want to hear:

• 13% plan to purchase a new outdoor grill this summer
• 7% plan to update or improve their current grill
• Others plan on buying grilling accessories (11%) or a grilling cookbook (8%)

So yeah, staycationers are going to buy food and barbeque, but they aren’t buying new grills. Kind of a surprise Weber would release numbers like that instead of trashing the results and pretending it never happened.

How about local tourism?

· In Pennsylvania, The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia is pushing its staycation not only as inexpensive and educational, but as a green-friendly trip. Of course, I think in most cases you still have to drive to the starting point, don’t you?

• The State of Connecticut wants its own residents to know there’s more to the state than McMansions in Fairfield County and Indian gaming casinos in the southeast. It put out a Web site —maybe a little-to-close to Independence Day—that highlights staycation destinations in the Constitution State, and offers discounts to many of those places.
• Arlington, TX , is in on the act. The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau has a local and regional campaign designed to get the locals to go to Six Flags Over Arlington … and spend the night with the family in a hotel. Not for nothing, but why would I want to stay in a hotel if I live near Arlington and have a home with air conditioning, like they all do in Texas?

Wal-Mart is making things interesting for consumers, with its subsite makeyourdollarstretch.com and a downloadable desktop Widget called 101 Days of Summer Staycations.

But… if I’m worried about making ends meet with gas prices at an all-time high, why am I going to spend $998 on a Sanyo 50-inch plasma TV, even if it is a purported 20% savings? Maybe there really is a sucker born every minute.

As for me, the beach will be the biggest splurge, unless my wife and I make a budget-conscious trip to those casinos on the way back to our Fairfield County home. And no, it isn’t a McMansion.