Sarah Klemm
Mr. Reuter
Economics – B4
23 March 2015
The Economics Behind Spring Break
Spring Break: the glorious time of year students look forward to after the long 3 months since winter break. While this week off allows kids to kick back, relax, and not worry about school, many students find ways to keep themselves busy. For most college and even high school students, going on vacation to a warm, tropical destination is just the cure to those extended three months of winter. For those who can’t afford getting away find this the perfect time to find a job and start making some money. The decision of individuals to stay home and rack up some cash has great personal benefits, and those who spend their saved up money on a desired vacation greatly benefit the economy.
Some young adults go on trips with their family over the week of Spring Break while others plan adventurous trips with their closest friends. Planning these escapes requires time, research, thoughtful decisions, and most importantly: money. In popular destinations such as Panama City Beach, FL, Cancun, Las Vegas, Miami, and many more, it is sometimes hard to find the best hotels or condos to stay at since Spring Break is a specific time of the year and everybody wants to find the best deals for a cheaper stay over the course of that week. According to Alternet’s article on economic facts of Spring Break, just college students traveling to Florida and Texas alone spend around $1 billion. Insane, right? However, the elastic good of a getaway from reality hugely contributes to the economy by, for instance, helping out small businesses and bars that have cheap rooms and cheap liquor.
Panama City Beach, FL
For those who are left behind staying at home, you’re not alone. As there may be not much to do, take it as a great opportunity to make some money. That doesn’t necessarily mean finding a stable job, but it could be as simple as offering to babysit, walk dogs, do chores, etc. Since the government created the price floor of minimum wage—which is $7.25 per hour—the lowest you will be able to make is that amount. Some jobs even pay more than that. Especially little job opportunities such as babysitting and dog walking, you’ll find that—depending on how many kids or what you’re all doing for the dog(s)—the hourly rate people pay is between 8 and 10 dollars. For just a few hours of doing the task, it sure is easy money that adds up! If that continues and you save up, it could be you on Spring Break next year!
Both the economy and individuals greatly benefit from Spring Break. The students who choose to spend their money towards a week long vacation in tropical destinations contribute to the economy, giving business to small hotels and condos as well as bars. Those who decide to save their money or those who don’t have money are able to use this time to start making or make more cash. Spring Break is beneficial to everybody, with no school being the best part of it all!
Works Cited:
Thompson, Derek. "2,000 Years of Partying: The Brief History and Economics of Spring Break." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
"9 Disturbing Facts About the Crazy Economics of Spring Break." Alternet. 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
I liked how succinctly you stated both sides of the story: how Spring Break vacations help the economy and how those staying at home can still help the economy. I never knew that college students vacationing in FL and TX alone spend over $1 billion, and how much that helps the economy!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am one of the few that will be traveling to a warm tropical place while on break. I can imagine the prices of all the hotels going up because they will be in more demand during spring break than after spring break prices will go back down because no one will be at the resorts. But many students across the U.S have different spring breaks which can keep hotels booming
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was very relevant to today since spring break is coming up so soon! I had never thought about how staying home and working, or taking a vacation can help the economy. Working during spring break would definitely allow someone to earn a lot of money so that they can maybe take a vacation next year. This choice is a trade off because you would be giving up a vacation that year. It would be interesting to see how much vacation spending has increased in recent years. I really liked your post!
ReplyDeleteI think that is was a effective way to explain two ways of how people will spend their Spring Break. Staying home to earn money or to go on a vacation and blow all of the money on a vacation. I didn't know that college students spend so much money on vacations, since they are in college you would think that they would spend very little. People spending so much money really helps the economy.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that the economy can benefit from spring break. I know from past experience that even air flight tickets increase so much. I never realized how much money students spend and I'd be interested to see how much families and elderly people spend as well.
ReplyDeleteAs we all anxiously await spring break, this post was especially relatable! It is cool to see how vacation can help our economy so much. It must be a good time for airlines to make money as well. I wonder how much the economies would be effected if airlines couldn't fly people to their destination. I think that making some extra money over break by house sitting, babysitting, or watching people's dogs would be very effective ways to make more money than a minimum wage job. Using spring break to hang out with friends that stayed home can easily be done on top of a few odd jobs. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI can see how many of the hotels would boost their prices up for spring break to get more revenue out of all the college kids and families that will be traveling to fancy resorts or more tropical areas. It would be interesting to see how many people want to go to a certain hotel or resort but end up going to a different one because the first one was too expensive.
ReplyDeleteThis is all very interesting to consider.. I like how you presented the information in a succinct, concise way so as to not irk those who hate reading lengthy paragraphs, but still provided an intriguing assortment of information. I find it insane that over $1 billion is spent just from college kids traveling to Florida and Texas, but considering the amount of folks itching to catch a couple rays of southern sun after a long winter, it may in fact be plausible. I for one am flummoxed as to how anyone would want to spend a few days on a crowded beach with so many other sweaty people, but I digress. I can personally verify the benefits of working during spring break--just dogsitting or babysitting a few days with the extra free time can bring in enough money to have fun even if you aren't traveling away! I wonder, though, do people think it's a greater opportunity cost to miss a vacation, or to lose money when they could be earning lots at home? Interesting. Very cool post!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how much money hotels make from spring break, it seems like everyone goes somewhere for spring break. But hotels aren't the only people who are profiting a whole lot from spring break, I bet bars and many other places make a load of money off of spring break as well. Airlines probably make bank as well, Flights to Florida and Mexico are probably pretty pricey for spring break.
ReplyDeleteYour idea of spring break being an opportunity for human interest is pretty accurate. People who choose to travel to these cities will spend lots of money. These highly visited cities probably make most of their profit during spring break which would require them to make decisions of raising or lowering prices. Also those who stay home would like to gain money, which is driven by human interest, so they would get a job in order to earn that money.
ReplyDeleteEspecially during popular times like Spring Break, it's evident why hotels would increase their prices. More people are coming down, and so by increasing their prices, hotels can make more money because these rooms are inelastic. Although you can find rooms for cheap, the demand for those rooms are very high so the chance of getting that room is slim. I also like that you added what people do who stay home. Although a lot of jobs like babysitting don't have a mandated wage since it isn't usually a very steady job and may happen for only one or two nights.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, you picked a great topic to discuss about especially with Spring Break coming right around the corner. Your article was intriguing because I never really considered all the economic benefits during this time period. It's crazy to think that students going to Florida and Texas spend $1 billion, based on your article. I can only imagine what the revenue of the other places you mentioned in your article such as Cancun, Vegas, and Miami would be all together! On the other hand I think it was beneficial that you included some suggestions as to what an individual can do if they are staying back home. Walking dogs, babysitting, or finding a job were great ideas because it can teach students how to control their money and maybe it could be them on vacation next year!
ReplyDeleteSeeing how spring break is coming up here pretty quickly this is a really good topic. As a lot of people go on vacation I'm the few that actually stay here. However, I have a job and during spring break I'm racking up cash with working more hours than normal to save up. Spring break is very beneficial for the economy do to all the money people spend during this time period. If you were to vacation a few months before spring break it would actually be cheaper than during spring break because they raise the prices knowing so many people will be demanding air planes and hotel rooms. Great job with this blog post!
ReplyDeleteHotels are especially crazy at this time of year as for some of them they can jack up the rates to almost triple their original value. The reason they’re allowed to do it and people can still buy their rooms is because everyone around them is doing it too. This is actually a form of oligarchy because all of the hotels are working together to screw over the buyers. The only reason they’re being allowed to do it is because of the shortage of dairy in the south. Just kidding it’s actually because it’s only at one time of the year and not a fixed rate. If other businesses did this on a yearly basis then maybe we would have a full blown economic crisis on our hands.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about how much the economy can benefit from school breaks, but I'd definitely agree. Especially this year I know countless amount of people going to Florida for Spring break. It's crazy how much money needs to be saved to go somewhere over break: paying for transportation, hotels, food, and all the activities you do while you're there.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that college students from Florida or Texas spend about $1 billion. That's interesting because what would Wisconsin students spend during their breaks? I am one of those individuals that will sadly be staying in the state and not travelling, but I will be continually earning money from my current job. I wonder how much the hotels would normally be priced at, compared to during the week or two or spring break. I also wonder how much the economy would be affected if the airlines wouldn't be able to fly, if hotels had to shut down for certain reasons, and so on. Another thing I didn't know is that if someone would stay home and not travel, that it would still have a major effect on the economy. Obviously not as big, but making money is always a good thing to anyone. I really liked this post and I thought it was a neat idea to be able to post your blog posting around the time of an event that everyone (even our teachers) are excited for!
ReplyDeleteIts crazy that for only two states, Florida and Texas, can amount to 1 billion dollars. The total profit of all the spring break destinations must be immense. And not only are the state benefiting from this but almost every business in these cities must be dealing with a surge of customers and revenue. In the end its weird to see how much people are willing to pay for just a week.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Spring Break as a whole contributes greatly to the nation's economy. I know many people and families that are willing to pay a lot of money in order to experience and warm, fun vacation. These people and families really do help out all of the businesses that they are around. I also think Spring Break helps local businesses too! People that can't afford to fly to another state might just decide to go somewhere more local and less expensive. I know this year for my Spring Break I am staying in a cabin at the Dells with some of my closest friends. It's obviously not the same as a luxurious vacation, but it will still be fun and it will help out the businesses in colder areas during spring. I think there are lots of alternatives to going on a luxurious vacation during Spring Break - more than just occupying your time with work or getting a job, because let's face it, no one wants to work on Spring Break! But overall I would definitely agree that Spring Break benefits our economy tremendously.
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ReplyDeleteWith so many people taking their vacation time over spring break, it is easy to see how cumulative costs can reach billions. While taking a trip may be viewed normally as an elastic good--because we don’t exactly need to take a vacation--it may be considered inelastic for some because this is the only time of the year that they can even make the trip, so they are stuck with whatever price is listed for hotels and airfare. Also, with this increase in the demand of hotels and airfare for this week, this may cause a shortage in supply of those things because businesses can’t always keep up with these demands, so some sort of equilibrium must be maintained. Spring break is definitely an economic venture.
It makes perfect sense that spring break can be a spark in the economy. Since vacationing does cost a lot of money with transportation, hotels, food, and much more with the great amount of people vacationing at this time; vacation destinations can see an enhancement to their economy. However with that being said I was still shocked by the fact that between Florida and Texas, spring breakers spend about 1 billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting how you compared both sides of the spring break coin. Some people are out vacationing and spending large amounts of money, while others are back at home trying to make those large amounts of money. It was also a pretty mind blowing statistic that you posted, $1 billion alone going to Texas? I wonder what the national average for southern states is! People that go on spring break too are also probably looking for people to watch their house, walk their dog, or do some sort of chore; so while you can make money at your house you can make money from your neighbors as well. It's also interesting to see how local small businesses profit from spring break, while they have cheaper prices, the demand for their goods is up and they will be able to make a lot of money. Either way for everybody you're either making money or spending it; both are equally as enjoyable.
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ReplyDeleteI would not have expected spring breakers to account for $1B. I guess spring break in general is a positive thing for everyone, warm weather, and building up economies as well. Also, how you talked about getting jobs during spring break, the demand for work would be higher therefore families would probably be willing to pay you more. Interesting to see how it all comes together.
Hi Sarah, I thought that your thesis statement was very good. And I think that it was a very interesting and relevant topic. Your statistics were very good and I were very interesting. I had no idea that kids spend that much money on spring break. I also thought that it was good that you explained the idea of minimum wage and how that factors into how much money you are making. Because I thought that your statistic was so interesting I think that you could’ve added more statistics to enhance what you were saying. I also feel that a graphic that represented the statistics would’ve been insightful and interesting as well. I thought that you did a nice job overall. But I was wondering you said that spring breakers really boost the economy, in what other ways do they do so? You only mentioned a few.
ReplyDeletewhile 1 billion dollars seems like a lot, I can easily see how that much money is made. It seems like half of the school goes somewhere for spring break and just with a few family's going somewhere the money spent can add up. Between hotels airlines and food that's already a large sum of money.
ReplyDeleteI really think this is a great topic seeing as how it affects the majority of those taking economic classes, whether high school or college. I didn't know that one billion dollars can be made in just two states over the course of a relatively short time period, but I do believe that this poses the question of as to whether or not the same places are as popular during Winter break or not. This would also lead to the question of whether or not the same companies and hotels would make the same amount of revenue, more or less.
ReplyDeleteA billion seems a bit high. My family could never afford to go on vacation during spring break. I never really understood why spring break is such a big deal.
ReplyDeleteSpring break seems like it would be one of the best times of the year for most businesses in places like Florida where most people go for spring break. It makes sense that there is over $1 billion spent in that short amount of time. Which is great for most businesses in the area because they would make a great amount of profit.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm not going anywhere for spring break... and to be honest I'm not really that mad about it. I'm sure I will be able to pick up some extra hours at work. I'd rather be making money than out blowing it. Not having to go to school for a week sounds so nice right about now. All I really need a place to hangout with my best friends and no I don't think I have to leave the state or country to do that.
ReplyDeleteFor only being a week long spring break seems to make people spend a extreme amount of money. Most people travel during spring break to Florida or somewhere warm to get out of this cold Wisconsin weather.So they are forced to pay for travel,housing and food expenses. Spring break is a nice little boost from a economic stand point.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how you discussed people that leave for spring break as well as people who decide to stay home. While reading your post, I was surprised at how much people spend on vacation. With that in mind, though, it makes sense that businesses such as hotels would make a lot of money. It is easy to see how much spring break helps the economy.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting to look at the amount of money that just two states can rack up within that week, I can only imagine the total amount of money that surrounding countries like Mexico or any Central American countries must bring in as well. Comparing the money you could make over the break compared to the relatively short break that you could spend money, it all boils down to the different trade offs you could make. On one hand you work work and save up to spend more while still at home, especially since staycations are becoming more popular, or on the other hand you can enjoy yourself and break away from your daily and stressful routine which in some situations can be equally as beneficial. Either way spring break provides a great opportunity for all people.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much revenue for spring break has changed over the years or if it has stayed at a constant level. Since the inception of spring break, what factors have lead to increases in profits for certain areas, while others don’t make as much. I don’t think working minimum wage will let you earn enough to pay for such an expensive vacation though.
ReplyDeleteSpring break is a significant yearly occasion that builds business in local shops as students are of school and want to go out and have fun. It is also a sneak peak of the boom created in the economy for all of the summer businesses such as water parks and ice cream shops in the weeks to come. With all of these fun spring time activities being luxuries and recreational, they can truly be considered elastic goods. Great job relating a fun upcoming vacation to economics!
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