Jersey Shore 2017 summer tourism hurt by your phone's weather app
Michael L. DiamondAs this summer approached, Ortley Beach, one of the places hardest hit by superstorm Sandy nearly five years ago, could rightfully tout rebuilt summer homes, a replenished beach and plenty of new attractions nearby.
And then came the rain to wash the good vibes out.
"The weather has been bad," said John Spadavecchia, the owner of Johnny Fries in Ortley Beach, which is part of Toms River. Business at the restaurant slumped 20 percent compared with last year. "Once you miss one day, it's gone."
The Shore's summer tourism season comes to an end this weekend with a trace of disappointment. What started out as a season full of promise — the return of Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright, Casino Pier's new thrill rides in Seaside Heights, a surging Asbury Park — ended with business owners struggling to match last year. Watch the video above for a view from Casino Pier's Ferris Wheel
It was a humbling reminder that the sleek new homes, the glorious beaches, the rebuilt roads and the desperate need for stress relief are no match for the simple weather app on your smart phone.
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Clouds and lightning bolts
Toby Wolf, spokeswoman at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach, looked at the five-day forecast on her app early in the season and saw clouds and lightning bolts. It turned out to be a false alarm; Jenkinson's didn't get much rain. But it didn't matter.
"Nobody was here because of the icons," Wolf said.
Too bad, because there's a lot at stake. The Jersey Shore tourism industry last year generated $7.1 billion in Ocean and Monmouth counties and accounted for nearly 49,000 jobs, according to a report by Tourism Economics, a research group in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
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Will 2017 match it? Here are five takeaways from the tourism season:
1. Rain forecasts hurt
It rained at the Shore about one third of weekends and holidays this summer, said David Robinson, the state climatologist at Rutgers University, standing in dreary contrast with the past two picture-perfect seasons.
Drilling down, though, it wasn't as rainy as it appeared. Sea Girt through the first 29 weekend days and holidays had 3.32 inches of rain. Seaside Heights had 1.86 inches of rain. Both were lower than the average rainfall of about 4 inches, Robinson said.
Tourism officials at the Shore long have cursed the five-day weather forecast on the local news. Now they have a new villain; the smart phone weather app, which allows potential day-trippers to make game-day decisions.
Is it worth the two-hour drive to the Shore if there's a 60 percent chance of rain at 2 p.m.?
In some cases, it looks like the answer was no. In Seaside Heights, beach badge revenue was down 8.3 percent through July 31. In Belmar, beach badge revenue was down 6 percent through mid-August, officials for the boroughs said.
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2. Reservation? What's that?
Time was, a lousy weather forecast didn't make a dent. Visitors booked their rooms weeks or months in advance.
Shore innkeepers, though, said they have been flooded with last-minute reservations in a sign that consumers are using the internet not only to track the weather, but also to help them find a room.
"More and more, people are making last-minute reservations within the week," said Glenn Kithcart, owner of The Bentley Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in Bay Head, where business through the middle of August was off by about 8 percent.
"People realized that there were vacancies in the area and they could wait and base their decisions on weather," said Scott Smith, owner of the Chateau Inn & Suites in Spring Lake.
Smith said business was on par with last year. But he also heard this season from more lodging owners who had vacancies.
"I think this was a summer of weather," Smith said.
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3. Christie on the beach
New Jersey didn't help matters. The state government shut down the weekend before July 4 after Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature couldn't agree on a new budget.
Christie was photographed with his family relaxing on a desolate beach at Island Beach State Park, which was closed to the public. As the photo went viral, lawmakers quickly resolved their differences. Island Beach State Park reopened on July 4. And it soon was filled to capacity.
But visitors weren't pleased.
Gene McMillan said on the park's Facebook page: "I went there as a teenager. Moved to Pennsylvania. THIS WEEKEND I planned to take my kids for the first time. I get so little time off and so little time with them. Thanks for this."
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4. Some businesses are waterproof
Some Shore businesses had a formula that withstood the elements.
The Sawmill, a restaurant and banquet hall in Seaside Park, saw business surge. It had operated virtually alone on the boardwalk since Sandy and a fire destroyed its neighbors in 2012 and 2013, respectively. This year, vendors reopened and attracted more crowds, Ron Rinaldi, general manager, said.
Fuze Eatery, an empanada and smoothie stand in Long Branch, in its first full summer was so popular that customers would brave the rain, get their order and run to their car, co-owner Bryan Larco said. The business is eyeing an expansion.
And Asbury Park continued get attention. The Thrillest website named it one of the top 13 beach destinations for tourists. Budget Travel Magazine named it America's coolest small town.
"Everybody's years and years of effort has paid off this year," said James Douglas, general manager of The Anchor's Bend and the other bars in Convention Hall, where business was up 20 percent in July despite the iffy weather.
A new generation was gravitating to the seaside town, younger even than millennials. Kiara Thermilus, 5, of Manorville, New York, found some shade on the boardwalk one late August afternoon and ate a dish of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
"It's cool and it's fun," Thermilus said about Asbury Park before extending her hand with the peace sign.
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5. Wait 'til next year
In tourism, every summer day is precious.
John Spadavecchia sat on his bicycle outside Johnny Fries in Ortley Beach. The summer was nearly behind him. The five-year anniversary of Sandy was quickly approaching.
Johnny Fries opened on the site of a former gas station two weeks before the storm and was promptly flooded with six feet of water.
Spadavecchia and his contractor friends labored to reopen it five months later, in time for the following summer.
The town, considered ground zero for Sandy, has slowly followed his lead. The newly replenished beach is 225 feet wide. The newly elevated, single-family homes are on the market for $800,000 or more.
"Two, three years from now, it’s going to be a great town," Spadavecchia said.
The throngs expected for the summer of 2017 didn't materialize, he said, sent indoors by gloomy weather forecasts that are available to them on demand.
He'll try again next year.
Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com