Minnesota resorts worried: Summer no-shows?

Geardink's Resort on Cedar Lake near Annandale, Minn., at one time rented 32 cabins to summer visitors. Today, 71 years after the resort first opened its doors, only four cabins remain.

"The resort business is nothing anymore," said Ella Geardink, 92, who still operates the resort she and her late husband built in 1937. "Years ago, there were 50 resorts near here. I'm about the only one left. It's a rewarding life. But a hard life."

With summer about to begin, many resorts, outfitters and campgrounds in Minnesota's $10 billion hospitality industry are struggling perhaps as never before with higher operating costs -- and with concerns that gas prices and a sputtering economy might keep would-be vacationers home this summer.

Mark Zup of Ely feels Geardink's pain.

He and his wife, Kathy, own Zup's Resort on Lac La Croix on the Minnesota-Ontario border. This week, the Zups paid more than $5 a gallon for gas they hauled to their island resort by barge.

And the price of diesel fuel that powers their camp's generator and its lights, refrigerators and freezers is up 40 percent from a year ago.

"It's bizarre," Zup said. "If you're in the tourism business and can hold your own this year, I think you're doing pretty good."

Indications are some anglers and campers already have decided against venturing outdoors.

Fourteen percent fewer fishing licenses have been sold than at this time a year ago. State park reservations for the summer have dipped. And fewer new boats likely will be on Minnesota waters this summer -- 19 percent fewer, according to DNR registrations.

Additionally, some DNR conservation officers report seeing fewer craft on the state's lakes and rivers since the May 10 fishing opener. Cool, damp weather likely is a culprit. But the officers suspect higher gas prices also play a role.

"Many anglers encountered during the Memorial Day weekend mentioned that they decided to stay close to home this year due to the high price of fuel," officer Randy Hanzal of Brookston wrote in a report filed earlier this week.

Long trips to northern lakes

Gregg Hennum owns Sportsman's Lodge in Baudette, Minn., on Lake of the Woods, and is keenly aware his resort is more than 300 miles from the Twin Cities, home to much of his clientele.

Hennum can't advertise his business this summer the way Brainerd-area resorts will -- that Brainerd "is only a half-tank of gasoline" from the Twin Cities.

So he instead offers $50 gas cards to customers who stay at least three days at his lodge.

"The gas cards get people's attention," Hennum said. "We wanted to turn the higher gas costs into a positive."

But because his charter fishing boats often travel 60 miles or more onto Lake of the Woods each day in summer, Hennum will have to tack on fuel surcharges to anglers' costs.

"We take six people on a boat and typically charge them $110 apiece for a day, " he said. "With the higher price we're paying for fuel, we have to add $10 to each fisherman's bill to make the trip pay."

John Kavanaugh of Kavanaugh's Sylvan Lake Resort near Brainerd said his summer bookings compare favorably to last year's. He caters to families that golf, play at the beach or go boating.

"I think higher gas prices might actually help the Brainerd area because of our proximity to the Twin Cities," Kavanaugh said. "From last year to this year you're only looking at about a $10 difference in gas to come up here."

Kavanaugh believes the economy and the media's continued reporting about it ultimately might weigh heavier on the resort business than high gas prices.

"People are bombarded with news about 'poor economic conditions,'" he said. "Sooner or later, they might believe it."

Alan Gunsbury, owner of the Quarterdeck Resort on Gull Lake near Brainerd, said more people are waiting until two or three weeks before their vacations to make reservations, which complicates planning for resorts. Prospective travelers also price shop on the Internet for deals, he said. And they stay for shorter periods than they once did.

"A lot of them just don't have the money to stay for an entire week," Gunsbury said. "So they come just for four days."

Staying home, saving money

Frank Pladson, 75, of Glenwood, Minn., sums up his reaction to fuel prices in one phrase: "Uff da."

The retired farmer and his wife, Marian, own a 32-foot travel trailer and have camped at nearly every Minnesota state park.

This summer they had planned a trip to Grand Marais, Minn., and the Gunflint Trail, a round-trip journey from Glenwood of some 650 miles.

They won't be going.

Their diesel-powered pickup gets about 11 miles to the gallon, Pladson said, when pulling their trailer, and with diesel fuel nearing $5 a gallon, the cost would be too high.

"I can remember when we pulled our trailer all the way to Arizona and back one winter for $600," Pladson said.

Some resort owners say vacationers who do travel spend less than they once did. In Ely, lodging bookings were up last year, said Linda Fryer, administrative director of the Ely Chamber of Commerce.

"But people didn't seem to have as much disposable income once they got here," Fryer said. "Even though our lodging was up, the sales in town of souvenirs and so forth was down."

John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota Tourism, a state agency, said the economy and fuel prices could, in the end, benefit state resorts like those owned by Geardink and Zup. Rather than travel out of state, Edman said, Minnesotans likely will stay closer to home.

"When it costs $60 or more to fill up a gas tank, people might say, 'Man, we can't afford a vacation this year,'" he said. "But when July and August come, and the kids are driving their parents nuts, most families will find a way."