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When you give up that big trip because 4 bucks a gallon puts an uncomfortable crimp in your wallet or airfares are too ridiculous or that unexpected stint of unemployment took a bite out of your travel budget, it is not a staycation or a holistay, it's staying home. It's the chick flicks and ice cream bandage of financially wounded travelers, a day trip to the water park instead of a cabin at the beach for a week. Staycation? Holistay? Meh.
Me? I'll call a staycation what it is, a bummer! You can watch the embedded clip and surf the web all day during your staycation, but how would that differ from work? Actually, I take it back: Staycations are awesome, especially when you consider that next year due to a failing economy you'll be taking a workcation. You heard it here first.--Wallet Pop (Click through for the Daily Show on "holistays." Ouch.)
The marketing mails are thick and fast, folks trying to sell me an overnight at the Four Seasons in my own town to make up for the fact that the budget won't accommodate a much lesser hotel in San Francisco. There's no reality based math here, and hey, day trip to the water park for a family of four isn't going to leave you much change for souvenirs, either.
But with gas prices forecast to climb as high as $4 a gallon and recessionary fears fueling consumer uncertainty, the couple decided to scrap their travel plans and stay home.
So have some of their neighbors. The tightknit group of friends in their 20s and 30s said they are spending less time on the road in their gas-guzzling SUVs and minivans -- which are big enough to haul kids, a weekend's worth of toys and diapers, and coolers filled with juice drinks and snacks.--LA Times
Lowe's has also embraced the term, announcing that the concept "is gaining popularity with families who want a stress-free way to enjoy time together without breaking the bank".
The retailer, wrestling with the effects of the housing slump on sales, helpfully listed products such as barbecue sets and hammocks that could create "a paradise in your own yard".
The marketing push is based on growing evidence that Americans will travel less this year.
One sign of that came in a recent survey of more than 2,000 US residents by Rand McNally, the leading US road map publisher, which found that 57 per cent of Americans planned to shorten their holidays and stay closer to home this summer.--Financial Times
But let's face it, it is what we're doing this summer at my house, staying home. Why? It's a combination of things, but mostly, it's the fact that I have freelance work booked out through August and we're applying a certain ruthlessness to how we choose to spend our limited travel dollars.
At Gadling, they're unsympathetic, in fact, they think we're blowing it by not going ahead and traveling anyways.They're always high on the snark and they've got a point, but we don't know what their other obligations are. We suspect they're not quite as financially obligated as we are.
Are you kidding me? This has to be one of the lamest trends in recent memory. I understand times are tough but there are plenty of creative ways to make that trip to California or even, YES, Europe, happen this summer. Use your frequent flier miles. Cut back on that bottle of wine at dinner. Pack a picnic lunch instead of eating out. Skip a few trips to the bar. My point is this - travel is one of the most important experiences you can have during your lifetime. If there's a place you really want to visit - don't let finances or getting time off at work or fears of terrorism be your excuse.--Gadling
In principal, I don't object at all to the idea of enjoying your hometown to the fullest. And I think that a lot of the advice coming out around "staycations" is useful for people suffering the doldrums of sameness at any time of year. [Vagablogging - Strut - About] It's the frenzy of marketing that makes me a little crazy, the sugar coating of disappointment as an excuse to sell me more stuff I don't need. Hanging a hammock in my yard is not going to make up for missing Chinatown. I'm just not that simple.
While we like a nice nest to fly
