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July 28, 2008

Fill 'er up
 | With fuel prices staying above $4 a gallon, Maine businesses look to attract customers with the lure of free gas

By Stephen Doane


As high fuel prices force more consumers to tighten their belts and forgo expenses not essential to daily survival, Maine businesses are trying a new approach to make money. â€&Copy;

Historic Inns of Rockland earlier this summer offered free car tune-ups to help guests get better gas mileage, and the Maine Windjammer Association offered $50 gas cards to people booking three- and six-day trips in May and June. And the enticements continue: Spots like Gray Ghost Camps in Rockwood and the New England Outdoor Center in Caratunk and Millinocket offer gas cards to customers in hopes of luring them out of their financial hibernation. â€&Copy;

The New England Outdoor Center offers wilderness activities such as whitewater rafting and guided fishing trips, and is highly dependent on people “from away” for their revenue, according to Wendy Polstein, who owns NEOC with her husband, Matt. As a result, the company has begun giving $25 or $50 gas cards to customers who steer their way north to the center’s two locations. â€&Copy;

Polstein says the gas cards are available online to consumers who book trips through NEOC’s website. “We’re hoping to push customers over the edge if they’re deciding between two or three rafting companies,” said Polstein.â€&Copy;

Gray Ghost Camps, in Rockwood, which has been renting cabins on Moosehead Lake since 1950, recently started offering the cards as a way to bring people to their northern Maine retreat. With gas prices hovering well above $4 a gallon, “people may be discouraged from travelling a great distance,” says camp owner Steve Lane. Guests can get $25 or $50 gas cards from Lane, who gives them out based on how far the guest drove to get there. Lane said the $500 he paid for the cards was a great investment for his company, noting that so far this season, most of his cabins — like his customers’ gas tanks — are full.â€&Copy;

 

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