Four Day Work Week Could Boost Local Tourism

Four Day Work Week Could Boost Local Tourism

May 23, 2008 - Lehigh Valley PA. Dutch Springs Aqua Park, Lehigh Valley Zoo, Dorney Park, Davinci Science Center, Rave Motion Picture theater, and the shops at the Lehigh Valley Mall are just a few of the local attractions and destinations that could benefit if the larger local institutions and businesses in the region would adopt a 10 hour four day work week, says Gregg Marzano, President of Rainmakers Lehigh Valley, a local sales and marketing firm specializing in travel and tourism markets. “Adding a third day to either side of the weekend will spur spending, improve attendance at local attractions, and offer consumers value at the gate,” offers Marzano. In addition to saving money from not having to commute in and out of New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, Valley residents will be able to take advantage of lower midweek prices at local attractions and benefit from smaller crowds on off-peak days”, explains Marzano.

Hotels would also feel the benefit as other cities join in the growing trend of rotating staffing schedules and providing employees with a four day work week. Sunday night traditionally has the lowest occupancy in area hotels. This change in work scheduling could boost occupancy significantly since Sunday nights have the biggest upside in any hotels inventory, hovering around 40% occupancy. Selling 10 more rooms on a Sunday night could increase that night’s revenue by 20 %, based on a 100 room hotel. Multiply this by 50 weeks a year and you are looking at an extra $50,000 in revenue for the hotel. In addition, the local governments would see increased tax revenues from the local hotel occupancy tax.

“Give people another day off and they will spend”, predicts Marzano. “We put to much pressure on the economy having only 2 days a week to spend our money. If the weatherman calls for a chance of thunderstorms, it can reduce attendance significantly if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Giving the consumer another day to enjoy all this area has to offer and allowing the attractions a more even traffic flow would do a lot to jump start the economy”, Marzano offered.

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley provides sales and marketing solutions for small businesses in the travel and tourism industry and is a member of the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Contact: Gregg Marzano, 610-248-4389 gmarzano@rcn.com www.rainmakerslv.com.