Milford chronicle., 1961-07-21

Vacationers are on the move on
&c more. and resort business has
become big business. A brief. but
none the less convincing pre-view
OF summer time weather was all
Il took to spark that annual urge
to relax. find a change of scenery,
and have some fun and sun. Mean
while. from summer resorts on the
shorelines of New Jersey and Del
aware and the mountain vacation
lands of Pennsylvania come word
that landlords and merchants are
all set to pack them in again this
year.
In these areas OF the Philadel-
phia Federal Reserve District, vaca-
ton dollars. spent in relatively
short time, are the backbone OF
local economies. Bankers and bust
nessmen. watching the situation
closely, tell us the resort business
has increased sharply since early
June, is running close to seasonal
expectations. and that another fine
season appears to be in the making.
Transient business started late.
AS so often is the case. some
early weekends were too cold or
too wet to encourage heavy travel
to a favorite spot. So, the 1861
resort season started later than
some others. Memorial Day seems
TO have been a disappointment al
most everywhere. Falling on Tue
sday, il was a short holiday for
many. And in many places the
weather was anything but coopera-
tive. At the shore. when Father
Neptune unlocked the ocean," it
was too cold for a swim. In parts
of the Pocono Mountains. early va
cationers were treated to a series
of snow squalls.
BY the middle of June. however.
miniature heat wave had chang
ed all this. The weekend crowds
came out in some force. Cash regis
tiers had that familiar jingle. And
landlords and merchants wer e
heard to speak in more glowing
terms about the spending patterns
of this years vacationers.
Advance reservations are hopeful
sign
Hotels and motels in both shore
and mountain resorts appear to
have good bookings for July.
Some even claim their business Is
running well ahead of 1860. Cott-
age rentals were said to be slow
for while and much the same was
true of housekeeping apartments.
But in the past several weeks the
choice in these types of accommo-
dations has narrowed considerably.
Camps for both adults and chill
dren seem to be looking for the
full use of their facilities over
much of the season.
Most landlords say they expert
ence little difficulty in booking
July business. 1t seems to be the
choice month for lots of pc op e,
partly because so many industrial
plants close down for one or two
weeks. High occupancy in August
sometimes is another matter. 1t Is
conceivable that a somewhat cas-
Ter situation may develop this year
because Philadelphia schools e
having a five week summer sess-
ion for elementary grade pupils.
runs through most of July. will be
attended by some 10000 children.
and could delay vacations for an
appreciate number OF families.
Reservation periods show lit e
change
Although vacation time allowan-
ces for more workers are becoming
progressively longer, resort people
tell US that length of stay still
seems to run the traditional oGe
or two weeks. About the only ex-
ceptions are some cottage rentals
and possible attendance at camps,
where minimum reservations may
be for a month or half a season.
Many families appear to be divid-
ing their time in more than one
resort or they may return to the
same spot later in the season. 9th
ers take a trip and spend their
remaining time and money in a lot
of places. Improved highways and
the almost meteoric rise of the
motel have been equally important
factors in the increased mobility of
vacationers in recent years.
Rates and rentals remain firm
Our inquiries turned up no signi-
ficant trends in hotel or motel
rates or in rental shedules for cot
tages. In few cases improved faci-
lities like an indoor swimming pool
or other major recreational featur-
es. prompted small increases this
year. The only downward adjust
ments were reported in some of
the older guest houses. where COM
petition with the newer. more up to
date motels has become a factor.
Although both peak and off season
rates have shown remarkable sta
biiity in the past several years.
there has been a noticeable effort
to lenghthen the heart of a season
by introducing special events in
one form or another Most of this
effort has been directed to the post
Labor Day period. mainly because
early season weather seems to be
SO full of unpleasant surprises.
Construction activity centers in cot
tages
Most of our shore resorts are re-
porting a somewhat slower pace for
construction, now that the fever
ish era of motel building seems to