We leave on vacation on Thursday. Total drivie will be about 3000 miles in a Dodge Caravan. I figure that the gasoline bill will total just over 7% of the total cost of our trip not including meals.

Gas prices did increase more than in previous years, but not a LOT more. If the increase is ~45% instead of the "regular" 33%, then it really isn't that dramatic. I acknowledge the fact that some people are very affected by this (say... truck drivers), but saying that this has changed a lot of lives is an exaggeration.

IMHO, for people where this price hike makes a difference in everyday life (i.e. people for whom the extra $30/week on gas makes a big difference) even last year's increase should have prompted them to get more economical vehicles. It's still not too late to get rid of that Yukon.

But to address the main point of the article, the "staycations" concept is idiotic at best. Those news genii rushed to make the whole thing sensational and skipped the basic arithmetic. As pointed out upthread, the cost of fuel is a small portion of the total vacation cost. Even in LarryJ's example above, where we have a LONG drive in a fairly fuel thirsty vehicle, the increase in gas prices is not a dealbreaker.

Way to blow something out of proportion to make it sensational! :td:

ETA:
You picked Huntington Beach, where the price is among the highest in the country, and gave that as an example as it if were the average. It may sound sensational (which makes it newsworthy) but not a representative example. :td:

I think the math works better the more people you have, but then those are the type of vacations that can produce a lot of stress (only hinted at in things like "The Brady Bunch").

Was out on the Oregon coast earlier in the week and definitely noticed a dropoff in RVs going around. Tons & tons of second homes for sale.

two points:

1. i somewhat agree with you that taken alone, the economic necessity for "staycations" doesn't seem to make a lot of sense (to the vast majority of us that have positive cash flow each month despite worsening economic conditions). as others have pointed out, the fuel portion of the drive is not huge even if it represents a few hundred dollar increase over last year.

that being said, a few hundred dollars in 2008 might be the straw that broke the camel's back because of higher food costs, higher fuel costs the other 51 weeks, etc necessitating a change along the lines of a shorter trip (time and/or distance) or even a staycation. the fact remains that a lot of people are worse off financially in 2008 than they were in 2007, and skyrocketing fuel is undoubtedly a contributing factor. it affects a lot of things beyond sticking the nozzle in the back of the car. to think that there is no trickle down affect relating to fuel prices and that it is as simple as saying that $4 gas only costs a family an additional x miles / y mpg * $1 is shortsighted at best.

where does the extra few hundred dollars come from this year? any time the cost of living goes up, any increase above a commensurate increase in wages must be accounted for by taking money from somewhere else. i argue that a lot of people can't absorb an extra few hundred dollars.

2. i split my time between huntington beach and dallas texas. unfortunately we don't all live in oklahoma, missouri or south carolina. this furthers earlier points that while a gas increase might not affect YOU, it affects thousands of others trying to plan their vacations. orange county is a major tourist destination - especially for families with kids traveling in the summer. heard of disney?

selecting huntington beach was not intended to cite an extreme example. prices in newport beach (our neighbor to the north) are always higher and could have been used. regardless, 33% is the same in huntington beach as it is in pascagoula, ms (even though ms has seen fuel go from 2.89 to 3.91 year over year, a 35% increase). so please tell me how my numbers are not a representative example.

I am sometimes also tired from my business travels, that "staycations" is a nice option for me.

the more i think about your post(s), the less i think you understand the reality of the situation and economics in general.

you seem to be making reference to the annual run-up in fuel prices ahead of the summer driving season.

today (US) 4.062
one month ago (US) 3.716

your comments are in reference to the 9.3% increase. yes, we all know that gas gets more expensive during the summer. if that was the only factor at work here, then there might be some credence to your claims of sensationalism. i lived in florida for 3-4 years and understand sensationalism - the weather reporters clinging to a street sign to keep from being blown away while reporting on "devastating" hurricanes. but there's more than that here.

the (much, much) bigger issue is year over year (which is why i used the term "year over year")

today (US) 4.062
one year ago (US) 3.057

this 32.9% AFTER the "yeah the price goes up EVERY year" adjustment is what is cause for concern and is definitely a contributing factor in families being forced to change their vacation plans.

again, we are fortunate. although i get cut off at the pump every time i hit $100, i fill up my avalanche every few days without complaining. my fiancee and i bought gas at the same time this morning and spent $175 without blinking an eye (and neither of us got a full tank - her debit card limit is $75).

but to deny that year over year increases of 33% have a tremendous impact on lower income families' budgets is naive. it would be impossible for a change this dramatic not to have an adverse impact on multitudes of vacationers.

sensationalism to you is unfortunately reality to many less fortunate people.

"Are more people you know doing 'staycations?"

Yes. I had a long conversation with a guy yesterday about it. He told me how he's cutting back all his vacation plans because of gas prices. He's not poor (makes 100k/year) but he spends 100k/year. He is going to go away less often, for shorter trips, spending less money and even staying off the expressways when hauling a trailer to double his MPG.

Additionally, he races cars recreationally in the amateur circuit, so he and all his racing buddies are cutting back on the number of races they're entering. One track manager gave his track 5 years before it closes down.

He said he used to have to book cottages/hotels months in advance. Where he's going there's no need this year. Right now in Bangor, Maine, PEI, & NB bookings are at 15% of normal (according to him).

I think he's an example of the tipping point. Sure, prices have gone up the last 5 years, but this year seems to be what is changing people's behaviour. Comparing total costs year over year is not the right comparison. It's comparing total costs this year versus 5 years ago versus people's wealth/income increase/decrease in the last 5 years.

Another version of a staycation is to leave home, but stay in your area. Get out of the house, but take the subway to a hotel or camp at the nearest campground. You do the same things, but you don't spend $100's getting there. Toronto tourism which is so dependent of American visitors is feeling the hit from people staying closer to home.

Sam - DFW, please allow me to clarify.

You make some very interesting points. I do agree that overall people are worse off in 2008 than they were in 2007 around this time. I am not trying to mitigate the economic consequences that some people have to endure. That is indeed unfortunate. The economic downturn is obvious. However, as you correctly point out, the gas prices are not the only problem here. There are other variables in the equation as well: higher food prices, a weak dollar, the credit crunch ripple effect, etc. Some are getting hit by this worse than others. Everyone has to adjust to this situation - for some people this just means more frequent trips to the gas station while in some cases this entails foregoing trips in favor of "staycations".

In short, gas prices, along with several other factors in the context of an economic downturn has people adjust to the situation, and for some people that means re-thinking their vacation plans.

To say "people are doing more staycations because of the gas prices" is a gross simplification of the problem. That's only a small part of a much bigger picture. It's taking a popular news topic (the higher oil prices), blowing it out of propotion and almost saying that people (in general) can't afford go on vacation anymore. Taking these things out of context and exaggerating the gravity of the situation in order to attract viewer's attention is why I think this is sensationalism.

That's just speculating. I'd like to see some actual data.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Take the subway to a hotel!?:confused: The subway doesn't take you very far. Why would you spend money on a hotel if you're staying in the same city? Very few places in the US have a subway. If you live in Brooklyn, why would you take the subway to stay in a hotel in Manhattan?! It makes no sense. If you plan to spend your vacation in the same city, the hotel is the expensive part, not the [short] car ride.

Hmmm, I'm not sure about that. I was talking to a friend at dinner last night about how I'd like to stay at a high end hotel in midtown for my birthday. I live in downtown NYC. I'd probably take the subway to the hotel because of the convenience. But then, I take the LIRR/Airtrain to JFK too, if it's not billable, because $120 r/t in a taxi irks me.

Yes, most of the folks I work with are 'down-sizing' vacation plans. Gas prices? Yes, it's the tipping point. It's not just the extra 'few' hundred in gas costs for a 2 week driving holiday. It's relentlessly rising fuel costs, rising food costs, unemployment numbers...no one on Wall Street suggesting that the prices are going to moderate or pull back any time soon. An increased uneasiness about the deficit and how easily (!) we can 'grow' our way out of national debt. Lots of folks I know say "I'm lucky, I'm ok right now, but we're either going to have to cut back on things like vacations or reduce savings (those that are saving)".

In short, it's a belief that this isn't just a temporary spike, there's an unease about just how bad it will get, and even very confident people I know are talking about maybe holding off on retirement, vacations, other plans. Everyone I know, particularly 40 and over, is feeling a bit vulnerable right now.

Right, but that's not really a vacation. I know lots of people who spend a night or a weekend in a high end hotel for their birthday. (My sister did it for her 30th.) If instead of driving to FL you decided to stay in a hotel in NYC for a week, then it would qualify. :)

A thread on Staycations [MERGED threads]
 

With the high cost of flights and fuel charges why not start a fourm on Staycations where you stay around the local area maybe in your own town at a hotel or take day trips to enjoy your favorite outings. It would be nice to post great finds like dining for under $10 dollars free events etc. If Flyertalkers were to visit your city on a budget where should they go minus the airfare.

Here is my Staycation:

I live close to Los Gatos CA and I can take the Community Bus for $1.00. Here in Los Gatos you can shop the antique shops, go to Borders and relax. On Wednesday Evenings through August 27th you can attend Jazz On the Plazz. From 6:30-8:30 you can hear free performances from artists like Mose Alison.

On Sundays until the end of August you can attend free Music in the Park in front of the library on Main Street. People bring lavish picnics to these events.

Pizza My Heart on North Santa Cruz Ave.www.pizzamyheart.com has great deals. For $6.25-$8.25 you can get a slice of pizza, a salad and a drink. For $4.75 dollars you can have their bread sticks. The slices and bread sticks are filling.

On West Main Street just across the plaza on your left hand side is the Le Boulanger www.leboulanger.com offering great sandwiches, Tullys Coffee, Pizza , pastries and bread. Most items are under $13 dollars.

Just two doors down on the left is the Los Gatos Roasting Company with fresh coffee brewed on site. You can enjoy espresso drinks as well. Up the stairs is the Los Gatos Gourmet with all the wines and cheeses you can possibly want with sandwiches for Jazz or just a nice summer evening.

And across the street on the right about a block down is Icing on the Cake one of the Bay Areas best bakeries for cakes, cookies and chocolate loaves.

So on a Staycation in the Bay Area Los Gatos is the place to be. The Los Gatos Creek Trail takes you up to Lexington Reservoir and down to Downtown San Jose. Vasona Park is a great place for kids.

And the Hotel Los Gaots and Toll House Hotel are great places to stay although a bit pricey one can still save money with the high cost of gas and airfares and drive 10-20 minutes and enjoy a vacation close to town.

If you live in a big city play tourist check into a hotel you have always wanted to stay at, eat at new restaurants etc. Even if the hotel is only a 10 minute drive you don't have to clean your house.

Please list your ideal Staycation in a place less than 60 miles from your house. Even if it is within your own city you can have one seeing the museums etc. You might find a coffee shop that you never knew existed and enjoy hours relaxing. You don't have to deal with hours at airports etc.

A forum dedicated to this may be a bit much. (Besides, there already is a Budget Travel forum;)) A thread could work I guess.

Still... I do find something rather contradictory here. Posting stuff to do in your home town would be info that is useful to those traveling there. But a staycation is a "home" vacation, so that info is only useful to people who live in (or around) the same town as you. Also, people generally know what there is to do/see in or around their town, and often have neighbors/coworkers/friends they can ask. So then, what's the point?:confused:

Please know that I'm not trying to rain on your parade here (and I think the info you presented is pretty cool!); I guess... I just don't get the point of this. Maybe you can explain what you had in mind and enlighten me. Thanks :)

Perhaps the community bus has a frequent user program he forgot to mention. :p