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Local hotels won't be stuffed with visitors for Thanksgiving.

But they still will get their fill of business this week from travelers coming here to share the holiday with family and friends, or just to escape the cold up North.

“A very high percentage of our guests that are here this week are here because they have family in town, and rather than everyone staying at grandma and grandpa’s house, we serve as their spare bedroom,” said Jim Gunderson, general manager for the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club off Gulf Shore Boulevard.

The resort, which has 318 rooms and suites, expects to be 80 to 85 percent full for the long holiday weekend.

“Our room rates are up. Not hugely, but they are up a bit and we probably have a few more guests this year,” Gunderson said.

For that, he's giving thanks.

Travel is expected to be up nationally for the Thanksgiving holiday.

AAA estimates that 38.7 million Americans will take a trip 50 or more miles from home, up 1.5 percent over last year. Most will go by car.

In the Southeast, travel is projected to increase 2 percent, in part due to larger populations of retirees, who have both the time and the money to take trips.

In Florida, more than 2.2 million are expected to drive, and another 326,000 are expected to hop on a plane for Turkey day.

“Thanksgiving is a very traditional family holiday, and it’s hard to imagine that anybody is going to let gasoline prices keep them from enjoying that holiday,” said Gregg Laskoski, managing director for AAA Auto Club South in Tampa.

On average, travelers nationwide will pay $1 more per gallon for gas than they did a year ago, according to AAA.

The Thanksgiving holiday has never been huge for area hoteliers, said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“It’s a family weekend and a lot of people don’t travel,” he said. “And if they do, they stay with friends and family, more than in hotels.”

Some hotels will be busier than others.

At the Holiday Inn Naples on U.S. 41, there won’t be slim pickings for rooms.

Manager Bob Partlow said there will be more empty rooms this year than in the past two years.

“Business is still good,” he said. “But it is just not as booming as it has been.”

He said the drop in business is indicative of what’s going on in the local and national economy. He said the slow-down in the real estate market, coupled with higher gas prices and airline fares, has discouraged some from traveling for the holiday.

“We have seen a reduction in demand that we are able to measure that has been in effect for roughly six months,” Partlow said.

In one word, he said, the bookings this year have been “disappointing.”

The Naples Grande Resort off Seagate Drive and the Edgewater Beach Hotel on Gulf Shore Boulevard also will have fewer visitors this year.

“We’re a little bit more quiet this Thanksgiving than we were last Thanksgiving,” said Hunter Hansen, managing director for the two hotels.

Occupancy will be about 80 percent. Hansen thinks business is slower because the weather up North hasn’t been so frigid and more people are staying up there until it gets colder.

The Doubletree Guest Suites off U.S. 41 North in North Naples is counting its blessings this year.

“We have actually been very busy,” said Jennifer Robbins, general manager. “We got busier than usual. It does appear that season has hit us a little bit early this year, which is great.”

Next week, there are a few days when the 101-suite hotel expects to be sold out.

With no hurricanes this year to scare off visitors and a weak dollar that makes U.S. travel a bargain for international travelers, the Naples area could see one of its better seasons in 2007-08.

Jack Wert, Collier County's tourism director, recently returned from the World Travel Market in London, where he heard that travel from the United Kingdom is expected to be brisker next year. Travel from Germany and Central Europe also is expected to be up.

For the Doubletree, season is looking strong.

“We are seeing pretty steady pick-up for the end of January, all the way through March,” Robbins said.

For the Naples Beach Hotel, season is looking “fairly strong,” Gunderson said. It’s seeing a lot of interest for groups and meetings in January, he said.

February is filling in and March looks even busier, Gunderson said.

“March is going to be kind of nutty. It’s going to be so busy,” he said. “With Easter being so early there is just a real compaction of vacations.”

Next year, Easter falls on March 23. Some hoteliers worry that could lead to a big drop off in business in April.

Traditionally, season runs from November to April in Southwest Florida.

At the Naples Grande and the Edgewater Beach Hotel, the booking pace for season is ahead of last year, Hansen said.

As part of a larger multimillion-dollar renovation, the Naples Grande opened a new spa in March and it has added a new steak restaurant from New York City, called the Strip House. Those improvements are helping draw more interest, Hansen said.

He also thinks Naples is becoming a more desirable destination.

“We think it’s becoming more widely known and the reputation of Naples is such a wonderful reputation in the Northeast and in the Midwest,” Hansen said.

Partlow isn’t sure how his Holiday Inn will fare this season. He said he’s got some “awful big numbers to hit” to match the last several winters, and that he’s “cautiously optimistic” based on current trends.

“Right now the winter is a coin toss,” he said.

He hopes to see more visitors and tourists gobbling up hotel rooms after Thanksgiving.