How Small Businesses Survived Summer Slumps
- mlbarness48
- Jun 25
- 12 min read
Free Drinks & Fast Pivots
While Six Flags was busy adding a $25 parking fee to squeeze more revenue from families, a small theme park in Indiana made a decision that would have sent corporate accountants into cardiac arrest. Holiday World announced that drinks – all drinks, unlimited refills, all day long – would be completely free for every guest. No catch, no upcharge, no "premium drink package" for $15.99. Just free Pepsi products flowing like water in the Indiana summer heat.
This wasn't a temporary promotion or a pandemic pivot. This was a fundamental rejection of how the theme park industry worked. And it was just the beginning of a pattern that would play out across tourism, hospitality, and retail throughout multiple economic downturns: small, regional players using radical generosity and lightning-fast adaptation to steal market share from corporate giants too tangled in their own bureaucracy to compete.
The summer paradox has plagued seasonal businesses for generations – the best weather brings the worst revenue stability. One crisis, whether it's a recession, a pandemic, or a simple shift in travel patterns, can turn July from jackpot to disaster. Yet throughout these challenges, a surprising trend emerges: the businesses that don't just survive but actually thrive are rarely the ones with the deepest pockets or the most locations. They're the ones willing to break the rules their corporate competitors wrote.
Summer Slump Surviving
The summer slump crisis hits seasonal businesses with particular brutality. When tourism evaporates, whether due to economic recession, travel restrictions, or shifting consumer behavior, businesses dependent on warm-weather visitors face an existential threat. Fixed costs remain high – leases, insurance, maintenance on facilities built for peak capacity – while revenue can drop 40-60% or more from peak season. For many, it's a death spiral: cut services to save money, disappoint the remaining customers, lose more business, cut more services.
Big corporations typically respond to these crises with predictable playbook moves: slash labor costs, reduce hours, eliminate "non-essential" services, and increasingly, add fees to everything they can think of. Parking fees, resort fees, convenience fees – death by a thousand cuts for the customer experience. Their shareholders demand maintained margins, their corporate structure prevents rapid changes, and their standardized operations leave little room for local adaptation. A Marriott in Miami operates under the same rigid guidelines as one in Montana.
But small and regional players possess different DNA. They lack the corporate safety net but gain something more valuable: agility, direct customer relationships, and the freedom to make decisions that would require six months of committee meetings at a Fortune 500 company. When the owner is on-site and the entire business fits in a single building or small campus, pivoting doesn't require board approval. It requires a Sunday night brainstorm and a Monday morning all-hands meeting.
The showdowns between these Davids and Goliaths have played out repeatedly – during the 2008 financial crisis when luxury spending collapsed, throughout 2020's travel shutdowns, and in countless smaller regional downturns. Each time, the same pattern emerges: while big companies retreat to financial engineering and cost-cutting, small players advance with radical hospitality and rapid innovation. The giants have capital; the independents have creativity. And in the summer slump battles, creativity consistently wins.
The "Anti-Nickel-and-Dime" Revolution
The theme park industry had long operated on a simple principle: get them through the gate with one price, then extract maximum revenue through parking fees, food prices, photo packages, and premium experiences. Six Flags epitomized this approach – by the late 2000s, families could easily spend double the admission price on various add-ons and necessities. Corporate parks viewed each guest as a collection of revenue opportunities to optimize.
Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, took a radically different view. Starting with free parking in the 1980s, they progressively eliminated fees that other parks treated as sacred revenue streams. Free sunscreen stations appeared throughout the park. Free inner tubes for the water rides. And then came the game-changer: unlimited free soft drinks for every guest. Not discounted drinks. Not a "refillable cup" for $19.99. Completely free, all day, unlimited. The same Pepsi products that Six Flags was charging $5 for, Holiday World gave away by the thousands of gallons.
The financial impact was significant – soft drink sales had been a high-margin revenue center. But the customer response was overwhelming. Families accustomed to budgeting an extra $50-100 for drinks and snacks suddenly found Holiday World refreshingly affordable. Online reviews exploded with praise. Word-of-mouth marketing went viral before "viral" was a marketing term. While other parks nickel-and-dimed their way to customer resentment, Holiday World built fierce loyalty by treating guests like welcomed friends rather than walking ATMs.
Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, chose a different but equally powerful path. Rather than competing on price or thrill rides, they doubled down on authentic Ozark Mountain culture and craftsmanship. Over 100 artisans demonstrate traditional crafts daily – glassblowing, blacksmithing, pottery, candy making. This wasn't just entertainment; it was cultural preservation that created an experience no corporate park could replicate. When Six Flags offers the same rides in every location, Silver Dollar City offers something you literally cannot find anywhere else.
Kennywood in Pittsburgh took community integration to another level entirely. For over 125 years, the park has hosted community picnics for local towns – not corporate events, but genuine community gatherings organized by local volunteers. In 2024, the small borough of Donora held its 97th annual Kennywood Day. Ninety-seven years! These aren't customers; they're family. When economic downturns hit, Kennywood doesn't lose faceless visitors – it risks disappointing neighbors and breaking traditions. That emotional connection creates a resilience no amount of corporate marketing can match.
Hotels and Tour Operators Show How It's Done
When COVID-19 shut down global travel in March 2020, the contrast between corporate and independent hospitality businesses became stark. Major hotel chains spent months in committee meetings, navigating corporate hierarchies, and waiting for direction from headquarters. Meanwhile, boutique hotels were reinventing themselves in real-time.
Within weeks of lockdowns, nimble boutique properties launched "work from hotel" packages, converting rooms into private day offices for remote workers desperate to escape their home environments. Some created "staycation" experiences for locals who couldn't travel far. Others partnered with local restaurants to offer room service from beloved neighborhood spots when their own dining rooms were forced closed. While Hilton was still figuring out corporate-wide cleaning protocols, small hotels had already pivoted three times.
The speed advantage showed clearly in the numbers. In Australia, domestic travelers flocked to smaller, experience-rich hotels as international travel halted. Boutique hotels posted revenue per available room (RevPAR) over 50% higher than large luxury hotels, with 21% higher occupancy and 27% higher room rates. The key? They could read local market conditions and respond immediately. A boutique hotel could launch a "quarantine recovery package" for cleared travelers on Tuesday and have it live on their website by Wednesday. A Marriott property would need six levels of approval and a brand standards review.
Tour operators demonstrated similar agility. Road Scholar, specializing in educational travel for older adults, faced catastrophe when their demographic became the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Their response? Transform from a physical travel company to a virtual learning platform essentially overnight. They launched online lectures, multi-day "virtual adventures," and interactive classes on everything from art history to cooking. Over 50,000 participants enrolled in hundreds of online experiences throughout 2020.
This wasn't just treading water – it was building deeper customer relationships. Participants who might take one physical trip per year were now engaging with Road Scholar content weekly. When travel resumed in 2021, the company saw explosive demand – nearly 25,000 bookings for the second half of 2021 alone.
Retail's Masterclass in Community Connection
Perhaps nowhere was the David versus Goliath dynamic more visible than in retail, particularly among beach and outdoor shops during 2020's unexpected surge in local outdoor recreation. With international travel halted and indoor entertainment restricted, Americans flocked to beaches, parks, and trails in record numbers. Big box retailers and online giants, despite their sophisticated supply chains, couldn't keep up with demand. Their centralized buying systems, offshore suppliers, and rigid logistics networks failed when everyone wanted a surfboard or bicycle at the same time.
Enter the local surf shop. These small retailers, often family-owned and deeply embedded in their communities, possessed advantages no algorithm could match. They knew every supplier personally, could drive their own trucks to warehouses, and make buying decisions on the spot. When a Santa Barbara surf shop sold 200 boogie boards in a week – inventory that typically lasted half a summer – they didn't file a purchase order request through corporate channels. They called their supplier, maxed out their credit card, and had more boards on the floor by the weekend.
REI, though larger than a typical local retailer, demonstrated how even bigger players could succeed by thinking small. Rather than just selling outdoor gear, REI stores function as community hubs offering classes, workshops, and expert advice. A customer might attend a free navigation workshop on Tuesday, then return Thursday to buy the GPS unit demonstrated in class – a sale that would never happen through pure e-commerce. The expertise and community connection create value Amazon can't match, no matter how fast they ship.
This local champion advantage extends beyond mere inventory management. When customers needed equipment for new pandemic hobbies – surfing, hiking, cycling – they also needed guidance. The teenage employee at a big box store reading from a laminated card couldn't tell you which surfboard works best at your local break. The owner of the neighborhood surf shop, who'd been riding those waves for thirty years, became invaluable. That expertise, combined with genuine enthusiasm for helping newcomers discover outdoor passions, created customer relationships that transcended transactional retail.
Success Spotlight: The Great Boogie Board Rush of 2020
When California beaches reopened in late spring 2020, something unprecedented happened at small surf shops from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Years of steady, predictable demand suddenly exploded into a feeding frenzy that would make Black Friday look calm.
"We would get 200 boogie boards and they'd be gone in a week," recalled one Santa Barbara surf shop owner, still somewhat stunned by the memory. To put this in perspective, that same inventory would typically last them half a summer. But with international travel halted and people desperate for any outdoor escape, every family in Southern California seemed to simultaneously decide that this was the summer they'd learn to surf.
The twist? While small surf shops were selling out of everything they could get their hands on, big box retailers and online giants were showing "out of stock" messages for months. Amazon couldn't deliver a surfboard. Target's beach section was barren. But that family-owned surf shop on the corner? They were calling suppliers at 6 AM, driving trucks to warehouses themselves, and getting creative with inventory in ways no corporate buyer could match.
"People have been coming in and specifically saying they're trying to shop local," explained Grayson Nance, whose family surf shop saw unprecedented sales. "And you can't get the stuff online because it's sold out, so people are being forced to come into the surf shop, which has been huge for us."
These shops gained an entirely new customer base: suburban families who'd never set foot in a surf shop before, remote workers seeking lunchtime wave sessions, and locals who discovered their neighborhood shop was more reliable than any website. Many of these newcomers became regulars, fundamentally expanding the shops' market beyond the traditional surfer crowd.
The boogie board boom of 2020 proved a crucial point: when supply chains get weird and demand patterns shift overnight, the businesses that win aren't the ones with the most sophisticated logistics systems or deepest pockets. They're the ones who can make a phone call, drive a truck, and have boards on the shelf by afternoon. In the battle between algorithm and agility, agility won by a landslide.
Innovation
The crisis-driven innovations of small summer businesses didn't just help them survive immediate challenges – they fundamentally transformed their business models and customer relationships in ways that continue paying dividends. These adaptations fell into several key categories that revolutionized how seasonal businesses operate.
The Virtual-Physical Hybrid Revolution
Road Scholar's pivot to virtual educational programs wasn't meant to be permanent. It was survival mode, a desperate attempt to maintain some connection with customers when physical travel became impossible. But something unexpected happened: the virtual programs attracted participants who would never have joined a physical tour. People with mobility limitations, budget constraints, or time restrictions suddenly could access Road Scholar's educational content.
When travel resumed, Road Scholar didn't abandon the virtual platform. Instead, they created a hybrid model – physical trips enhanced by pre-departure virtual lectures, post-trip online reunions, and ongoing educational series between journeys. This wasn't just adding digital options; it was fundamentally expanding what a tour company could be. The virtual components increased customer lifetime value by maintaining engagement between trips and attracted new demographics who might eventually convert to physical travel.
Similarly, boutique hotels discovered that "work from hotel" packages attracted a entirely new customer segment: remote workers seeking inspiring environments for deep work. Even after offices reopened, many hotels maintained day-use office options, conference room rentals for small teams, and "workation" packages combining accommodation with dedicated work spaces. The pandemic forced innovation became a permanent revenue stream.
Subscription and Membership Evolution
The tour operator FTLO Travel's introduction of shorter "Weekender Series" trips revealed an untapped market for bite-sized travel experiences. But the real innovation came in how they packaged these offerings. Rather than selling individual trips, some operators began experimenting with membership models – pay an annual fee for access to exclusive trips, last-minute deals, and a community of like-minded travelers.
This subscription approach, borrowed from entirely different industries, transformed customer relationships. Instead of competing for attention before each trip, operators had engaged communities planning their next adventures together. Members became brand ambassadors, recruiting friends to join the travel club. The predictable revenue from memberships provided financial stability that helped weather seasonal fluctuations.
Even theme parks found ways to innovate their traditional season pass model. Rather than just offering admission, parks like Silver Dollar City enhanced passes with exclusive craft workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, and member-only events. The pass became a membership in a community, not just a ticket to ride rides.
Local Partnership Renaissance
Perhaps the most enduring innovation was the rediscovery of local partnership power. When tourism dried up, businesses that survived were those that became essential to their local communities. Hotels partnered with local restaurants for unique room service menus. Tour operators collaborated with nearby museums for exclusive access. Retailers joined forces to create neighborhood shopping experiences that online giants couldn't replicate.
These partnerships went beyond traditional cross-promotion. In coastal towns, surf shops partnered with local instructors to offer complete beginner packages – board rental, wetsuit, and lessons bundled together. Hotels worked with local adventure companies to create exclusive guest experiences. Theme parks collaborated with local artisans to offer workshops and demonstrations that deepened the cultural connection.
The partnership model addressed multiple challenges simultaneously. It differentiated offerings from corporate competitors, created value that justified premium pricing, and built resilient networks that could support each other through future downturns. When the next crisis hits, these businesses won't face it alone.
Lessons Learned
The Generosity Paradox: Give Away What Others Charge For
Historical Strategy: Holiday World's free drinks generated more revenue through increased attendance and loyalty than they lost in drink sales
Modern Application: Identify your industry's most resented fees and eliminate them
Implementation Steps:
List your five most common customer complaints about costs
Calculate the actual revenue from these items
Test eliminating the most annoying one for 30 days
Measure impact on overall sales and customer satisfaction
Example: A beach equipment rental shop eliminated deposit fees and saw 40% increase in repeat customers
The 48-Hour Pivot Rule: Speed Beats Strategy
Historical Strategy: Boutique hotels launched work-from-hotel packages within days while chains spent months in meetings
Modern Application: Build organizational muscle for rapid adaptation
Implementation Steps:
Create a "pivot team" with decision-making authority
Maintain a list of "break glass" ideas ready to implement
Set up systems for quick customer feedback
Practice rapid launches with small experiments
Example: When indoor dining shut down, a tour company launched virtual wine tastings within 48 hours
The Local Hero Advantage: Become Essential to Your Zip Code
Historical Strategy: Kennywood's 97-year community picnic tradition created unshakeable loyalty
Modern Application: Embed your business in local community fabric
Implementation Steps:
Partner with three local complementary businesses this month
Create a locals-only program with genuine value
Host or sponsor hyperlocal events
Hire from the community and celebrate it
Example: A hotel offers free meeting space to local nonprofits, earning fierce community support
The Experience Transformation: Sell Memories, Not Commodities
Historical Strategy: REI's classes and Silver Dollar City's craftsmen created value beyond products
Modern Application: Add educational or experiential elements to any business
Implementation Steps:
Identify expertise within your team
Create one free educational offering this month
Design experiences that showcase your unique knowledge
Build community around shared learning
Example: A bike shop's free maintenance clinics created customers for life
The Anti-Algorithm Advantage: Human Beats Digital
Historical Strategy: Surf shops succeeded because they could make phone calls and drive trucks
Modern Application: Maintain human-scale supply chains and decision-making
Implementation Steps:
Build direct supplier relationships, not just vendor portals
Keep decision-making loops short and human
Maintain ability to act on opportunity immediately
Value relationships over optimization
Example: A boutique pivoted inventory in days by calling suppliers directly
Future Considerations
As seasonal businesses prepare for future challenges, several emerging trends will reshape the competitive landscape:
Climate Volatility Accelerating: Extreme weather events, shifting seasonal patterns, and climate-driven travel changes will make traditional seasonal planning obsolete. Businesses that can adapt to a "permanent pivot" mentality will thrive.
Experience Economy Dominance: Post-pandemic consumers have shown they'll pay premium prices for unique, meaningful experiences. The commoditization of products through e-commerce makes experiential differentiation even more critical.
Hybrid Everything: The virtual innovations born of necessity are becoming permanent features. Future winners will seamlessly blend physical and digital experiences, local and global reach, subscription and one-time offerings.
Community Commerce Renaissance: As digital platforms consolidate power, the advantage of being truly local – knowing customers by name, understanding hyperlocal needs, responding in real-time – becomes increasingly valuable and defensible.
Resilience Through Relationships: The businesses that survived multiple crises did so through networks – customer communities, local partnerships, supplier relationships. Building these networks before crisis hits is the ultimate preparation.
The next summer slump isn't a question of if, but when. Whether it's another pandemic, a recession, or simply changing travel patterns, seasonal challenges will return. But as these stories demonstrate, the businesses that survive won't necessarily be the biggest or best-funded. They'll be the ones willing to break the rules, move fast, and remember that behind every transaction is a human being looking for value, experience, and connection. In that game, David beats Goliath every time.
Sources: [1] Holiday World's free drinks policy and customer satisfaction rankings [2] Silver Dollar City's craftsman focus and cultural preservation strategy[3] Kennywood's community picnic traditions spanning 97 years [4] Australian boutique hotels' 50% RevPAR advantage over luxury chains during COVID [5] Road Scholar's 50,000 virtual program participants during 2020 [6] FTLO Travel's Weekender Series and subscription model innovations [7] Santa Barbara surf shops' 200 boogie boards per week sales during 2020 [8] REI's community classes and experiential retail strategy [9] Local retail success during pandemic supply chain disruptions
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