With a slowing economy and surging gas prices, hotels and cottage owners are offering discounts and gift cards worth hundreds of dollars to lure last-minute guests to the North Carolina coast.

"They're waiting for deals," said Christine Mackey, state director of tourism programs. "And whoever gives them the best deal is where they'll go."

Specials that began appearing this spring are increasing.

On Thursday, Hobbs Realty began offering $100 gas gift cards to lure vacationing boat owners to canal-front homes at Holden Beach. The 28 homes that Hobbs Realty rents have piers for boat owners but had few takers for the summer.

"They're not making reservations because of gas prices. They've got to get the boats down here, and the boats use a lot of gas," said agency owner Jimmy Hobbs. "For $100, they can fill up most boats, cruise the waterway and go fishing."

Rental agencies and travel experts are nervous because years of record beach construction have added supply, and no one knows how much current gas prices will curb travel.

Experts expect that tax stimulus checks could bolster consumer sentiment and spending this summer, but there are many unknowns.

"We're in a time of change in this rental industry, and it's a time like we've never seen before," said Alan Holden, owner of Alan Holden Vacations, which rents 300 Holden Beach cottages. Cottage owners raised rates 3 percent to 5 percent, but not enough to cover insurance increases of 10 percent to 15 percent this year, he estimates.

A nip here, tuck there

Rentals this year are holding equal with 2007, but more families are renting houses with other families. Some are moving from oceanfront to second row to cut costs, Holden said.

"The verdict is still out, but this won't be a record-setting ... season," he said.

Some are taking steps to boost business.

Emerald Isle Realty, which handles rentals for 700 cottages on Emerald Isle and nearby beaches, recently began offering 10 percent to 20 percent discounts to vacationers who book dates two weeks to six weeks away. Vacationers arriving in May and June also get a $50 gas credit.

"Maybe they were going to Orlando, and it's no longer affordable -- or that splurge trip to Italy," said Julia B. Wax, owner of Emerald Isle Realty, "but we can still make it an enjoyable visit to the Crystal Coast."

Many rents rose

Most cottage owners won't get clobbered financially, however. Many set rates last year for the current season. That means vacationers who booked homes early this year are paying rates that are equal to or higher than last summer, when tourist spending hit a record $16.5 billion statewide.

Rates for the choicest homes generally rose 3 percent to 5 percent, according to agencies handling cottage rentals along the Outer Banks in Corolla and Ocracoke, as well as in Emerald Isle and Oak Island in Brunswick County.

Rates were unchanged for many other homes.

Even though gas prices are up and consumers are being pinched at the grocery store, demand has not dropped enough to force more widespread reductions, agency owners and travel experts say.

The hotel business, meanwhile, is holding its own.

Statewide, hotels were 53.8 percent full during the first quarter of 2008, down 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier, the state tourism division reports. Average daily room rates of $79.65 were 5.6 percent higher than a year before.

Nationally, room rates are expected to rise 4.7 percent this year, while occupancy declines 1 percent, according to Tennessee research firm Smith Travel Research. "Demand is going to be softer, but it isn't dropping through the floor," spokesman Bobby Bowers said.

Smith Travel Research predicts a national occupancy level of 62.7 percent, down slightly from a five-year peak of 63.3 percent in 2006.

Gas, grocery giveaways

Along the state's northern coast, cottage owners from Corolla to Nags Head have begun offering grocery and gas gift cards worth $100 to $250 to some vacationers, said Jackie Myers, vice president of rentals for Village Realty, which handles 600 cottages.

Ocracoke Island Realty, which handles 330 cottages, in April offered beachgoers $75 bonuses for bookings later in the year.

At the 200-room Sheraton Atlantic Beach, guests who stay five nights get a $50 gas card; those who stay seven nights get a $100 card. The hotel is offering 10 percent to 40 percent off weekday rates to attract more visitors.

Sales and marketing director Tina Purifoy said the hotel had never offered gas cards or such steep discounts before.

"If they're going to pay the price of gas, we want to give them rates to make them stay extra nights," Purifoy said.