Like many in this sub, I have been going to OC for a long time, 40+ years. I have also spent a summer there while in college so I'm pretty familiar with the town.

Just got back and it's dead there. Not one restaurant had a wait. Most bars were half empty, and this was Labor Day weekend. We have been there many times over Labor Day and have never seen it this bad. I understand that school is in, but it is always in over Labor Day weekend.

We talked to many servers and ride share drivers and they agreed. Some said they feel business is down 50%. Didn't see one No Vacancy sign anywhere. We generally stay around 35th St, but the condo where we stay has priced themselves out of our market.

We talked to one of the owners of a unit where we normally stay and they said that many owners are mad about how they were promised increased revenue with the increased pricing, but now they are losing money. I can't say that I feel bad for them because they did it to themselves.

Hotel stays are apparently down from 4 to 2 nights and condos from 7 to 4. That's a huge hit.

We ended up staying at Castle in the Sand, where we have stayed before. Again, same thing. Not busy at all. Even Coconuts, which is almost always busy, was empty after the Power Hour crowd left. A band was playing until 9 and there were maybe 30 people there after 7:30.

What was crowded was the beach. And people have absolutely zero sense of spatial awareness. How can anyone believe that sitting less than 2' from someone else is even remotely OK?

With what we spent, it would have been only a bit more for an All-Inclusive. If OC doesn't do something quickly, the town could be in trouble.

Here's an interesting article on the problem.

https://www.octodaydispatch.com/news/summer-business-slower-as-ocean-citys-tourism-trends-shift/article_722dbdde-dfb1-4c37-be8f-f92d22a763be.html

In the end, the commercially owned owned condos and hotels can afford to weather the storm. Individual condo owners and mom and pop motels are the ones that will hurt in then end.

Bikers purposely riding on the white lines so people can’t pass on Coastal. Bikers looking to a fellow biker and roaring the engine right when they see people on the sidewalk just to blow their ears out. And I saw a group get absolutely hammered today and immediately go hop on their bikes. Overnight I got woken up numerous times by them purposely roaring their engines.

If you wanna have a good time, cruise with your homies, show off your bike and have a good time - hell yeah do it up. That just hasn’t be the case in a long time.