With a significant chunk of the 25,000 Northern Arizona University (NAU) students, 13,000 Yavapai College students and 4,500 Coconino Community College students taking part in the annual ritual, spring break is clearly an important spending driver for some Northern Arizona businesses. When you take into account that faculty, administrators and families with school children are also readying for the March 14-18 holiday, participant numbers multiply.
Spring Breakers are spending now to prepare for the Great Escape. “As far as spring break goes, everyone is coming in for pedicures,” said Jo Gardner of Flagstaff’s Lady Fingers by Jo. “Everyone is ready to shed their boots and put on their flip flops.”
According to Gardner, the hot trend for spring break is SheeKee nail art decals. “They are really a hit with toes. All the bright colors in stripes, flowers and paisley are popular now. My clients match colors to their swimsuits.” The super-thin vinyl appliqué lasts for up to six weeks.
Gardner, who has been in business for 30 years, was one of the first in Flagstaff to do acrylic nails. “I learned working with acrylic as a dental technician. Now, I also offer gel nails, which are healthier. The gel product that I use is a little different than most. The protein base, which is good for nails, is undetectable, so my male clientele like it.”
Gardner is also a distributor for DermaLastyl, a rejuvenating skin cream developed by a microbiologist from Sedona. “It adds elasticity to sun-damaged skin and older skin,” said the business owner, revealing another good tip for beach-goers. “I think everybody is sick of the cold,” she added.
Monika Leuenberger of Avenues of the World travel agency agrees. “Because of the rough winter back east, Easterners are booking beach vacations to get out of the cold. Our biggest challenge is finding availability at beaches during March for our Northern Arizona clients. People are traveling. We have booked a few ski trips, but most everyone wants to be at warm, beachy destinations.”
Jerry Wilkerson of KJ’s Tanning just got back from Hawaii. He and his wife took time off before the spring break rush on their tanning salon. “During normal months last year, we’d have 40-60 people per day. But in preparation for spring break, those numbers pick up in January and rise steadily to the end of March. We had 242 on our peak day in March last year,” said Wilkerson, who completely remodeled the facility after purchasing the business in June 2009.
Seventy-five to 80 percent of his tanning customers are NAU students. “I think parents have pulled in the purse strings this year. We have only 70-80 people in today.” Wilkerson uses social media to reach the NAU crowd. “Facebook has gone ballistic this year. It is the biggest advertising that I have ever seen. The [employees] put my specials up. If you ‘friend’ us, you automatically get updates on our specials. It blows me away that it has taken off so crazy. I knew of Facebook, but I didn’t know what it could do,” said the business owner, who also is a certified small airplane mechanic and inspector.
Cindy McCullum of Canyon Pet Resort said, “Spring break is our first busy time period of the year. Usually, we are completely booked. We’ll have 75-80 dogs and seven or eight cats. We have a small cat room, and the cats adapt pretty well to boarding.
“NAU faculty are regulars for both boarding and doggy day camp,” said McCullum, owner of the business since May 2003. “Usually, I hear about where people are going for spring break as they drop off their pets. In the past, people planned skiing somewhere else, San Diego, Mexico or Hawaii. I recently heard that for the first time in several years, Hawaii is booking up because people are so sick of the snow and cold weather.”
Spring break is a key travel time for students, faculty, families and businesses alike. As travel is expected to be up over last year, spending on travel preparation helps local Northern Arizona businesses thrive. FBN
Avenues of the World
2915 N. Fourth St, Flagstaff
928-556-0853
www.avenuesoftheworld.com
Canyon Pet Resort
1802 W Kristy Ln # 300, Flagstaff
928-214-9324
www.canyonpetresort.com
KJ’s Tanning
1061 S Plaza Way, Flagstaff
928-779-0086
Lady Fingers by Jo
401 West Aspen Ave, Flagstaff
928-556-0068
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