Colleen Kelleher, wtop.com
OCEAN CITY, Md. – Advanced bookings for condominiums in Ocean City are “way ahead” at one resort real estate firm, and that could be an indicator that people are feeling better about their financial situations.
“Early bookings are way ahead of where they were last year,” says broker Bernie Roache of Century 21/New Horizon.
“Last year we had a lot of last minute reservations. As of the first of June, we’re up about 25 percent in bookings to date compared to the same time last year.”
Roache believes there is “less uncertainty” about the economy, so people are willing plan a vacation earlier.
This summer has been different that last, he says.
“I think a lot of vacationers couldn’t decide until the last minute or don’t want to depart with that money right away because you put a deposit down when you make a reservation. Some of them were holding onto them because of uncertainties, I believe, and that made a difference.”
Of course, people are deal-hunting.
“The wheeling and dealing we see is at the last minute. We saw a lot of that last year where they look, and they see we still have availabilities,” Roache says.
The Internet has changed how people book their vacations. Gone are the days of waiting for a real estate company’s booklet to be mailed to you. In are days of comparison shopping.
Roache says there you used to be a fear you’d miss a rental opportunity, but not any more.
“With the Internet, the whole inventory is out there for everybody to see. They can look and see. They can judge for themselves what is available, and if they see a good number of properties that meet their needs there is not a sense of urgency that, ‘I better do it today.'”
Broker Bud Church of Coldwell Banker/Bud Church Realty grew up in the Ocean City rental world, working as a child in his parents’ hotel.
“When I first got in business, particularly in the real estate business, we never would even consider renting anything for less than a week,” he says.
He says now renters are “very, very prudent with their dollars.”
“There are more two-, three- or four-day rentals than I’ve ever seen.”
Roache says mini-weeks are what a lot of renters want.
But the latest trend, he says, isn’t the shorter vacation. It’s the longer, 10-day vacation where a family packages a week and a mini-week together — something he didn’t anticipate.
“They can take a long-week vacation. They can package both weekends into it, and just actually take only a week off from work.”
Interns Katie Barlow and Cassie Hom assisted with transcribing interviews.
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