There once was a Jack-in-the-Box located across from the beach that was open all night long, but it closed up a year or two already, and I surmise that McDonald's, which is located a block away from Jack's former location, has risen to the occasion and decided to fill the late night slot. Obviously, McDonald's won't provide room service and deliver to your hotel suit, but for the price, it's worth the walk over for some french fries if you're stricken with the late night munchies, for visitors and for Waikiki people alike. At least the extended hours provides work that wouldn't have been there before. State workers just agreed to having 2 "furlough fridays" per month, I believe the last 2 Fridays of the month, part of the governor's emergency solution to balance the budget much alike the teachers' furlough fridays package.
In 2006, the State enjoyed a $600 million surplus. How the pendulum has swung as night follows day. Again boom is followed by bust. Just trying to be dramatic. I know the hotels are doing a brisk business as we speak. I was working on a hotel room the other night and things weren't going nowhere. So I went to the front desk and inquired of the nice people on duty there whether the room was open tomorrow, however they replied that all of their rooms are sold out and that includes the particular room that I happened to be working on, so better me kick it in gear, instead of my standby plan of leaving all my tools in the room, and finishing up "tomorrow." Whoops. So I ended up pounding away until almost 8 o'clock that night. While hotel occupancy might be temporarily up, that's more due to the deals available. Da kind visitors it brings with it spend 17 percent less in stores and restaurants than the usual guests.
4 comments:
Ok. I know your entry is about the stupid furlough days but wait - Waikiki McDonald's won't do delivery? When I lived in Manhattan in the late 90's, there were a bunch of them that delivered. I would totally think that the Waikiki ones would charge a premium and deliver those famous fries to anyone who wants to pay. Hala.
Ann- the majority of visitors in Waikiki are cheapsters. Someday, I'll even glue some nickels to the sidewalk.
Really? McDonald's delivering in Manhattan? I lived there for a while and never noticed. They deliver in Singapore, where I am now, and I was shocked to see the delivery guys pulling up downstairs on scooters.
As for this deal with cheap tourists, I suppose tourism is an industry that's going to take a dive during recession. The same people who might spend big normally still go on vacation but they spend a lot less because they're worried about economic problems or have more budget constraints.
I won't lie. When I go on vacation now I go out of my way to bypass the obvious tourist traps to find the restaurants the locals eat at, just to save on the total cost of the trip. I might keep doing that anyway, though. The food is usually better and it leaves us with more spending cash for important things.
Brad- I could just picture an image of McDonald's being delivered on a scooter. Oh, being thrifty is relative.
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