Talk:Staycation

Close to home?

It is uncertain just what it means to "stay at home". Or rather, how "close" to "home" one has to stay. It seems that in most cases, a staycation means sleeping at home. It can certainly involve various day-trips, and eating out. It could also involve staying for the night elsewhere close-by.

It seems like a somewhat flexible, relative concept. Clearly the idea is to avoid packing, travel, and expense (and conserve energy). But it seems relative to whatever a person or family considers to be a "normal" vacation. So, if camping out a hundred miles away is a normal vacation, it would still be a vacation. But for a family that always flies thousands of miles for a vacation, just staying in their home state might seem like a staycation.

The line will get blurred and stretched as various groups advertise sticking around for a staycation -- but still go places and spend money! -69.87.203.113 (talk) 01:21, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Presumably, "close to home" means as far as one can drive there and back on the same day, thereby enabling one to sleep at home. Tatterfly (talk) 20:32, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

History?

What's the history of this term? I've only heard it in the past year or so. —Ben FrantzDale (talk) 01:38, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Naycation

I included the "naycation" reference because it has been noted in a wide variety of media. It might be a buzzword of the future, not of the present (re: Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a crystal ball), but that's why I put it as an aside in the Staycation article rather than creating a Naycation article (instead, I created a redirect to Staycation). Also, the source is a weblog (re: Wikipedia:Reliable source examples#Are weblogs reliable sources?) but seems to be recognized by the mainstream media as professional (examples: CNN, direct transcript - the footer says that it was distributed by Tribune Media Services - and The Plain Dealer, 2009-01-16, reference). Mapsax (talk) 22:28, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Meaning in British and American English

The UK media routinely use 'staycation' to mean a holiday in Britain as opposed to abroad (usually for economic or ecological reasons):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jul/17/holiday-staycationing-uk-travel-seaside-towns

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7952280.stm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.71.123 (talk) 22:12, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Its coz Brits are class snobs and the only 'proper' holiday is a 'foriegn' or even better 'exotic' one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.49.167.11 (talk) 10:24, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

The openning lists a number of different terms, including an alternative used in the UK. That seems to imply that Staycation isn't used in the UK (because they prefer the term "holiday" to "vacation"). Later it says "the term" has been added to a UK dictionary. Which term exactly? Staycation or one of the ones used in the UK? Duggy 1138 (talk) 23:27, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

I was just looking at this:

Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound sterling made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.

The reference is dead, but here is an Internet Archive link. As I read it, it's about the rise in domestic tourism, rather than staycations (at least by the definition this article is using). Indeed, I can't see the excuse given (the weakness of the pound) leading people to stay at home as opposed to going away within the UK; indeed, I can see people regarding it as a good time to do the latter. It's true that the referenced article uses the phrase "holiday at home" twice, but I don't think we can draw any conclusions from this.

A further thing to note is that for many people/households, holidaying within one's own country is the rule rather than the exception. To such people (myself included, probably) it would seem especially absurd to hear "staycation" used to mean a holiday spent away from home in one's own country.

But the message of the reference may be a suitable piece for the domestic tourism page. (Of course, it would need a bit more rewording, as there's no evidence that domestic holidays became popular in 2009 as opposed to becoming even more popular than they are already.) All in all, what it goes to show is that we need to be careful to distinguish the two concepts. — Smjg (talk) 20:46, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

I see the lead has since been rewritten. But for the record, I've never heard anyone use the term "holistay". The usual term seems to be "staycation" here likewise, possibly because it feels more natural for portmanteau words to end with the head component if there is one. Moreover, Lexico, Cambridge and Collins online dictionaries all list "staycation" and none of these list "holistay", for which the only OneLook hit right now is to Urban Dictionary. So I suppose the answer to "Which term exactly?" must have been "staycation".

Though it may also be the case that Americans invented the term "staycation" and we copied it. BTW, "vacation" is used here, though it isn't overly common. At my primary school, the teacher would enter a circled 'V' for 'vacation' in the attendance register when a pupil is away on holiday. — Smjg (talk) 16:36, 12 August 2020 (UTC)

This decade-old nit-picking is ironic, since both dictionaries cited have "staycation" defined as a vacation in own's country. - Captchachecker (talk) 19:07, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

As I look now, there are three dictionary references, and they all essentially give both definitions, albeit separated by an "or" rather than as actually separate definitions. In any case, the fact remains that we must not confuse the two definitions. This article is about the 'stay at home' definition. Anything that's about going away within one's own country belongs on the domestic tourism page, not here. — Smjg (talk) 22:18, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

I have not yet seen any sources to the present dominant meaning of the term staycation in American English. I can see the potential for the term to have a different meaning in British English considering a higher proportion of Britons travel abroad under normal circumstances. However, there is also the potential for the term to mean a vacation nearer to home than usual e.g. in one's own county or state or avoiding the distance that calls for air travel. Tk420 (talk) 21:59, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

The term doesn't mean different things between the two forms of English - rather, it has an additional meaning that seems to have been coined by the British media. I've rarely heard the term actually used by people I know, but I've always understood it as primarily meaning a 'holiday' where you stay at home. — Smjg (talk) 22:18, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

At https://www.lexico.com/definition/staycation it is defined as "A holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions." 2.28.151.187 (talk) 07:52, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

So what? That has already been addressed, and doesn't change the fact that this article is about "holidays" where you stay at home, not in another part of your country. — Smjg (talk) 09:21, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

I have found the definition of "staycation" in Merriam-Webster (the most popular dictionary in the United States) and it reads "a vacation spent at home or nearby" although "a vacation spent nearby" would still come under domestic tourism to avoid the need for disambiguation on Wikipedia. Collins dictionary (a British source) defines if as "1. a holiday in which leisure activities are pursued while staying at one's own home 2. a holiday in one's own country". A similar definition is given in the Cambridge dictionary so by the sound of it, staying at one's own home is common to both British and American English but the use of the term to mean staying in one's own country is much more common in British than American English. Tk420 (talk) 20:41, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

References

Pasties?

Just a though, but is the amount of pasties eaten in Britain ("Sales of cornish pasties are up 14%") particularly relevant to the description of a staycation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.105.194.255 (talk) 16:19, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Advertising Link

Is there any reason "Couchsurfing" is linking to a page for couchsurfing.com? Seems kinda like it's treading toward WP:Promo 32.213.23.244 (talk) 18:59, 12 August 2017 (UTC)

Hong Kong hotel photo

User:Wpcpey's photo

Suggested alternative, a Hong Kong hotel entrance

User:Wpcpey has added their own close-up photo of some hotel windows with foil balloons to the article several times, initially with the description "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the hotel in Hong Kong, many rooms windows with Foil balloon text."

People quarantining in a hotel during a pandemic are by definition not staycationing: they have arrived or returned from a foreign country. No other signs of tourism are visible in the photo, and it may well be the case that this hotel was closed to non-quarantining tourists.

And as a photo generally, this tight crop looks more like an office building than a hotel. If the image is illustrating the fact that Hong Kong staycationers sometimes stay in hotels, a photo that looked like a hotel (I've suggested File:Entrance_of_Best_Western_Plus_Hotel_Hong_Kong_(20190308161746).jpg) would be better here. --Lord Belbury (talk) 11:32, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

If the image is an office building, the interior look will not be unique. It is very clear to see it is a hotel. Some media from Hong Kong also use this kind of photos Beware of Hong Kong hotels’ staycation traps, consumer watchdog warns (SCMP) 海景嘉福酒店現奇景　多房玻璃窗黐滿字母氣球　網民笑似求救訊號 (HK01) and 海景嘉福酒店窗外現奇景! 多房掛「HAPPY BIRTHDAY」氣球 etc.--Wpcpey (talk) 11:42, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

Seen as a thumbnail at the side of the article it could be an office building. Expanded to full size it could be residential apartments. MOS:IMAGEQUALITY recommends using the best-quality images available, and avoiding ambiguous photos unless absolutely necessary. Commons has many, many clearer photos of Hong Kong hotels, if all we are looking to illustrate here is the concept of "a hotel in Hong Kong". --Lord Belbury (talk) 11:50, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

I think my image is the best-quality image. Most of the photos in Commons related to Hong Kong are bad. According to the contribution in this article, only you against to use this image. --Wpcpey (talk) 15:27, 3 August 2021 (UTC)

And you're the only person in favour of it, so I'll ask for a Wikipedia:Third opinion to get some outside input. --Lord Belbury (talk) 15:58, 3 August 2021 (UTC)

Response to Third Opinion Request:

Disclaimers: I am responding to a third opinion request made at WP:3O. I have made no previous edits on Staycation and cannot recall any prior interaction with the editors involved in this discussion which might bias my response. The third opinion process (FAQ) is informal and I have no special powers or authority apart from being a fresh pair of eyes. Third opinions are not tiebreakers and should not be "counted" in determining whether or not consensus has been reached. My personal standards for issuing third opinions can be viewed here.

Opinion: I entirely agree with Lord Belbury that the image proposed by Wpcpey is inappropriate. The average encyclopedia user wouldn't know what to make of this image of the side of a building and it adds nothing to the article. However, I'm only marginally happier with the alternate proposed image. If there's going to be an image to represent the idea of a vacation within one's own country it needs to be something more on point conveying that idea, something that does so without having to resort to a caption. Frankly, I can't conceive of an image that might work and it might be best if the image was omitted altogether.

What's next: Once you've considered this opinion click here to see what happens next.—TransporterMan (TALK) 19:45, 3 August 2021 (UTC)

• Opinion from first time quick look - I think the "Best Western" is a better illustration for a hotel in Hong Kong, since from the thumbnail it is evident that it shows a hotel, whereas that is not the case for the "InterContinental Grand Stanford" photo, which from the thumbnail looks like it could be a large office or apartment building unless one clicks to full size/reads the description. -- Infrogmation (talk) 21:36, 3 August 2021 (UTC)

Thanks to both for your feedback. I agree that the hotel entrance photo isn't ideal, it was literally just the first half-decent image that I found of a Hong Kong hotel when looking to replace the window closeup. Would be happy for it to be replaced or removed entirely. --Lord Belbury (talk) 10:29, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

In absence of any further discussion I've swapped the photo back, and added a source to confirm that the term "staycation" is used for a hotel stay, in Hong Kong. --Lord Belbury (talk) 11:02, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

"Workation" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Workation. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 September 17#Workation until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. _signed, Rosguill ^talk 21:08, 17 September 2021 (UTC)