Kennett High School grads Luke Myers, Albert Zilbershteyn, Cole Elliott, and J.P. Teixeira, walked to the beach on June 11 during their senior week trip to Wildwood. Some business owners make a lot of money marketing to seniors.“Let me tell you something, it’s thriving,” said the Westchester, N.Y., native who bought the Wildwood property in 2019. She charges more than double her usual weekly rate for each of the two senior weeks, which this year run through June 22.
“We have a short season and we want to be able to capitalize in every possible week,” said Johnny Zarfati, owner of Oxygen Tattoo Body Piercing & Tattoo Shop on the Wildwood Boardwalk. “We are thankful for any possible tradition that can hold strong, such as senior week.” One property manager, who has 16 Wildwood units, said they have noticed an increase in demand for senior week rentals over the past three years. They were fully booked for senior weeks by December, far earlier than their units get booked up for other summer weeks, and have already been getting inquiries for next year. They asked not to be identified due to concerns about the animosity toward senior-week renters from some business owners and residents.
In past years, Senior Week has been a boon, as groups of teenagers flock to the store to buy off-color T-shirts etched with sentiments like “I love Hot Moms” and “I don’t get drunk. I get awesome!” “Ultimately any resort town, in New Jersey or Maryland or Delaware, all up and down the eastern seaboard, I don’t think it’s a great thing business-wise for any town if you’re taking a long view,” said Donio, who has owned vacation rentals and hotels in Wildwood for 25 years. Senior week is only positive “if you’re taking a short view, , “I just want to grab some cash and get out of here.’”