2008 A Look Ahead
Business

Expect more "togethering," friends sharing a vacation rental so they can save money yet enjoy the island.

Travel and spending appear on the rise for the 2008 business picture; visa problems expected to persist

The spiraling costs of vehicle and home fuel and uncertainty about the nation's economy and job strength will affect how people decide to spend their earnings in the upcoming year. Though many want to take breaks, they are reluctant to part too long from their office desks. Put all that together and you have a tourist population needing to have as much handled for them in advance as possible and at the best bang for what they receive with their weakened American buck if they are going to make the trek to Nantucket in 2008.

Tracy Bakalar, the Executive Director of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, has some thoughts about how island innkeepers and others can help make that need a reality and increase business as well as the local service reputation in the upcoming year.

"There are certain trends tracked nationally that could affect Nantucket's 2008 season that we need to keep an eye on," said Bakalar. "The Travel Industry Association of America has seen a modest upward trend of domestic leisure travel since 2001, with the prediction for 2008 being about a two percent growth over 2007, which is about the same as 2007 over 2006, but an increase in spending to be just over five percent."

Other trends Bakalar said locals should pay attention to include the continued desire for vacations but for shorter durations such as long weekends, vacationing nearer to home than in earlier years and what is called "togethering," which is families who are friends sharing a vacation rental so they can conserve spending yet still enjoy being in a beautiful setting.

Creative packaging, though not new to island innkeepers and others, may become more important in the upcoming year. This is a way, Bakalar explained, whereby lodging owners coordinate inn bookings along with meals, tours, fishing charters and other enticements put together in a value package that encourages people to come to or return to Nantucket.

"People need to be aware of pricing to ensure [visitors] get a value for their cost so they don't go elsewhere, and there needs to be a stress on customer service for new and repeat customers to keep people returning here. That is across the board in every type of business," said Bakalar. "I think we will be a little more resiliant than other places if there is a recession."

Also in the picture is whether continuing problems with foreign employee visa caps will cause a shortage of needed workers in the upcoming season and how, if that occurs, it will manifest in the quality of service rendered and subsequently, overall business volume.

Bakalar said relief from the cap of 66,000 H2- B visas allowed nationwide for fiscal years, which began in 2004, expired in October and no new legislation was put in place to deal with that situation. For the past three years, legislation has allowed an exemption to the cap for returning workers who have been employed under the H2-B program for the previous three years. Since the situation has changed, it means that only 33,000 visas are available for summer resorts in 2008. Those resorts, including Nantucket, need their workers by April and count on their staying through December.

"The Spanish caucus in Congress has been opposing piece-meal immigration reform including the H2-B extension, so we are sort of caught up in the politics," said Bakalar. "Will people get by? Probably, but it causes more illegal hiring, especially in the service industries. We don't agree with [illegal hiring] but it forces people into situations to get things done no matter what. Because we are dealing with politics it is very frustrating.

"We will be open for business, certainly, but will people be serviced as quickly as they would like to be? Maybe not. It has a trickle-down effect. We are looking towards another problematic hiring season."

The one thing nobody can predict, and a factor that holds great weight with island tourism, is the weather. Knowing that a lingering spring chill and steady rain along with fall nor'easters will keep visitors at bay, all sectors of the business community are crossing their fingers that 2008 is mild

and boats and planes run as scheduled. I

- Mary Lancaster