Lodging Owners Lure Guests with Fuel as Bait

Worried that fuel prices may put the brakes on the traditional family road trip, a growing number of lodging properties are working with the NH Division of Travel and Tourism Development (NHDTTD) to offer gas incentives to prospective visitors.

The state's Web site, www.VisitNH.gov ,devotes an entire page to gas-saving offers from about 30 participating businesses, mostly lodging properties. Offers range from gas vouchers and gas cards to discounts on rooms.

We reached out to industry members, asked them to give us their gas offers and told them we'll send out a press release, says Tai Freligh, communications manager for NHDTTD.

Alice DeSouza, director of NHDTTD, says the intent was to update an initiative launched in April. We now have more than two dozen offers on our page, and the list continues to grow, she says.

Some properties are teaming up with local businesses to make their offer more enticing. Great Northern Moose Lodge in Dummer is working with North Woods Rafting to offer a gas rebate at a local gas station for visitors who book lodging with a whitewater rafting trip.

Freligh says the offers have caught on, but some lodging operators remain skeptical.

Great Northern Moose Lodge owner Richard Tessier says the $15 rebate that they are offering is not going to be the determining factor in whether or not to take a vacation. I think it draws attention to the fact that we are trying to do something, but so far, I haven't seen anything yet, he says.

DeeDee Kelly, assistant general manager of the White Mountain Hotel in Hales Location, agrees. While the hotel is offering a $25 gas credit for midweek stays, she says, I don't think it's generating any new business. She adds that most people taking advantage of the credit are repeat guests and the only way to find out about the program is through the hotel's Web site. We don't automatically give it to people checking in, she says.

Innkeeper Andrea Damato of Ferry Point Bed and Breakfast on Lake Winnisquam says her Gas Up On Us program may not be generating new customers, but it is bringing in business. We've already had four or five reservations request it, Damato says. She adds that incentives promote good will, but agrees they won't be the deciding factor.