newswire: 6/6/2020
- Wary of crowds and COVID-19, Americans desperate to travel are buying and renting RVs. Sales typically fall during downturns, but now they’re booming, particularly among first-time buyers who normally wouldn’t have ever considered them. (Bloomberg)
- NH: RV sales are being spurred by two big drivers. On the one hand, RVs supposedly allow for a more socially distant vacation. Instead of staying in hotels, families can bring their personal bed, kitchen, and bathroom along with them. A recent study found that 48% of Americans had canceled their summer vacations. But with an RV, families still hope to holiday while avoiding shared spaces.
- The popularity of RVs is also hitching a ride on resurgent survivalism, which has been boosted by the pandemic. Being able to leave at a second's notice (with your "bugout bag") is an attractive prospect for those who fear a second wave of infections or even societal breakdown. Who knows, maybe the breakdown has already been "planned" by the New World Order. See “Are Americans Losing Their Minds?”
- When it comes to infections, IMO, I don't believe RVs are any safer than a hotel. I speak from experience: It is telling, I think, that most people attracted to RVs as a solution to the pandemic have little experience using them. In fact, travelling on the road with an RV typically requires a lot of social interaction. To maintain them, you need to constantly fill them with water and drain them of waste with lots of cleaning and wiping. The stations where these services are done are communal and not exactly hygienic. Not to mention, RV campgrounds often park trailers right next to each other: When you open your door, you run right into your neighbor.
- Want to stay untouched and socially distanced on your vacation? My advice: Check into a half-empty hotel in which your room has been empty for at least a day and where the staff is held to a cleanliness standard.
DID YOU KNOW?
Bike Sales Riding High. Are you thinking of buying a bike? Be prepared to wait. According to new data from The NPD Group, the U.S. cycling market has seen sales rise 31% since the first quarter of 2020. More than half of these sales occurred in March, with multiple categories seeing unprecedented growth, including children’s bikes (+59%), adult lifestyle bikes (+121%), stationary bikes (+171%), and mountain bikes (+55%). With gyms and schools closed and public transit a source of anxiety, bikes are looking better than ever as an affordable way to get around and work off some stress. Riders in Europe are thinking the same thing, with both sales and distances cycled up hugely everywhere from Switzerland to Germany to France. However, with most bike production based in China, bike shops stateside are starting to run out of inventory. At Master Bike Shop in Manhattan, the only bikes left on the shelves are those over $2,000.
