Beach Bucks & Barter

(Page 2 of 2)

October/November 1993
By Dan Kukulka, Ph.D. 
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Since local hotels average approximately 66% occupancy, extra room nights sold bring in profits. The value of Beach Bucks makes a difference helping vacationers accept the offer. If they don't bring enough value to a vacationer, there is little chance of extending the visit. For starters, we insist that discount offers made for Beach Bucks exceed all other advertising deals available. Also, they are aimed at our particular market. The Myrtle Beach economy earns $2 billion per year of tourist money, so there's a definite use for a currency aimed at the vacation industry.

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Here's my first tip. When planning a new barter system, decide whether it will be reserved for residents or whether it will be open to wider participation. The wider the trading range, the more attractive is the system. However, remember that the work does increase considerably with the number of participants. Here are some other suggestions to get you started:

•Decide whether you want a centralized headquarters. If so, make plans to reserve a portion (say 10%) of all trades as income to the home office. Otherwise, your operation will have to fold as it becomes successful—The workload will become too heavy for volunteers to maintain and a paid staff will be a must.
• If you opt for a local currency, design one as elegantly as you like. Be careful of counterfeiting opportunities. Consider printing small bills only. Counterfeiters rarely print U.S. currency in $1 denominations. It's more work than it's worth.
• Use an expiration date on currency you print to keep the currency changing hands. For vitality, the currency must be visible in the marketplace.
•Add a registration area to your currency. This way, you can get names and addresses of the first user of each bill. Also, valuable mailing lists come from knowing who used your currency

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