Tourist industry in trouble?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dale and Jo Ann Jackson on September 29, 2008 at 8:15pm

We have been managing a small motel in the mountains of North Carolina. We have 31 rooms, and, during the Holidays, and, our annual Gem and Rock show, we have had a full house for most of these times. The owner has told me that we are about flat for the year, compared to last year. Not bad, considering the price of gas, and, the increase in living expenses. Right now, our area is suffering from gas supply problems, but, we still have guests arriving. To combat the negative effect of the gas expense, we have been offering reduced prices for extended stays, and, this seems to have helped. Instead of a one night stay, they stay for three, but at a substantial savings.
It could be worse!! Don't forget, the people that are well off are still going to play. They may have to adapt a little, but, unlike the average person, they are not going to disrupt their lifestyle if they can help it. The little guys will go camping, instead of a motel room!! The well to do may have to sacrifice their dlxe. cabin, and, opt for a suite in the main lodge!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julia on October 5, 2008 at 3:30am

I want to travel in the USA, spatiality in California. I like this country. I want to learn traditions of this wonderful country

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brenda on November 3, 2008 at 12:02am

I just came from Grand Canyon North Rim and it did not appear to be suffering in regards to tourist but the pay really stinks. I know I am not there for the money but decent pay really does help. The North rim is not as populated as the south but the 08 summer season stayed pretty much booked. with the economy the way it is no one can afford that low of pay. One of the things I noticed was a lot of overtime was schedualed for the kitchen crew.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by akscootr on November 3, 2008 at 12:06am

We were down in business in Homer, AK, but the tourists still came. If anything, they just seem to be more budget-minded and watch their spending more. If a person is a server/bartender they can make a decent income.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John Jameson on November 12, 2008 at 3:11pm

The North Rim also offers a bonus if you stay until the end of your agreement. It sounded like the average bonus was around $500, and that was applied to the final check. The lowest wage that was paid there was $7.50 per hour, and that is in a state where $6.75 is the minimum wage. Not bad I think

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by chelassed on December 2, 2008 at 6:51pm

I worked in New England (Maine) this summer and despite gas prices and recession.. tourism was at an all time high. Most places set records for money and biz.....maybe New England is old money and therefore recession proof all I know is that I made good money this summer!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mike on January 15, 2009 at 2:37pm

nothing is recession proof. our money will be worth as much as toilet paper if we keep trading against the values of other currencies and things like hedge funds. this is all an imaginary valuation system, designed to keep you playing their game.

the only thing which i can think of which might be close to recession proof would be land.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by KIMMAN on December 5, 2008 at 1:02pm

http://my.coolworks.com/forum/topics/561627:Topic:5826

http://my.coolworks.com/forum/topics/561627:Topic:5826



see that Woodspur Lodge has a nice big advertisement on the Coolworks front page.It seems the perfect time to share my personal experience there.


see that Woodspur Lodge has a nice big advertisement on the Coolworks front page.It seems the perfect time to share my personal experience there.


I was hired and worked at Woodspur last year to my contract completion. In my time there about a quarter of the staff left and the majority were very unhappy here. The group of staff that I worked with were all very hard working and an excellent group of people to work with. The short comings were in management.
Unless things have changed they offer a very low monthly salary but try to sell you on all the extra perks.I was paid 550 monthly plus tips.The problem with this is that the tips are added and paid on the costumers final bill and deposited in a company account. You cannot collect your tips until your contract is complete.So when people start quitting and you are working 60 hours a week you want to know the tips will be worth it in the end. When we asked what our tips we were told one of two things.She would have to sit down and figure it out or you were given a very generous figure. I can tell you personally tips for the season were $1400,about 1400 less then I was told to expect. Because they pay a flat monthly rate they do not pay any overtime despite what the contract says. The contract reads that overtime is only paid if authorized. This is no problem for them because there are no time records so you can never prove you on overtime.
When it came time to get my season pass for Winter Park Ski Resort I was given a pass that was left by a guest and had their photo ID on it. When I confronted management about the legal and moral issues with this I was told that they were good friends with the police department and that if I was caught with it they would take care of it. Only after continuing pressure did I get my legal season pass.
These are just a few of the many issues I and others had with this place.I just want to offer a warning to those thinking of working here this winter.If you think you may want to work here just keep your guard up and your eyes open.


from kimman

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave on December 12, 2008 at 6:30pm

I just left Montana several months and now living in Homer, AK. Hopefully I'll be able to obtain a job in Denali this summer and make a decent income. I’m sure with our dollar beginning to bottom out the tourist industry may drop out up here since it’s so expensive to visit this beautiful state. Last time I lived and worked in Denali was far cheaper than what it is now.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Christopher Zaoui on December 16, 2008 at 7:51am

Yeah, I would expect that the rapid shifting of the economy would have a large effect on Tourism. With so many people losing their jobs, less and less are finding the time to go on vacation I would expect. It's unfortunate but I hope we see a change for the better in the next few years.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rachel Drinkard on December 17, 2008 at 12:15am

With gas prices being so high in AK all summer, we noticed a big drop in independent travelers getting about by car and RV, but not much in the tours associated with the cruise industry that were mostly traveling through the state by train or coach. Whether or not that will change next summer remains to be seen. Some I know speculate that since so many of the tourists we see here are elderly and have been saving for their trip to Alaska for years and may not get another chance, it will likely not change their mind and we might not see much more of a drop over last year. I don't know about that, but it's a theory.

More likely since this time of year is generally the time a lot of the summer cruises and tours get booked, I think we stand a good chance of having the tourism industry in Alaska take a pretty bad blow.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Shannan on January 11, 2009 at 3:55pm

Well it seems to me that the industry is hurting. I work on a dude ranch and our guest turnout has decreased measurably in the last two years. I've been there for four and the ranch is the same and people always return but it seems it is the same with all the Dude Ranches in our area everyone has had much lower bookings.

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last