They just opened this past week, but already, the two Keys locations where business owners can file claims for losses due to the BP oil spill are drawing traffic.

The Marathon office opened on Wednesday, and by Thursday, more than two dozen people had passed through the doors. The Key West office opened Friday.

Local BP spokesman Andrew Van Chau described all the claimants as in tourism-related businesses, including charter fishing, restaurants and attractions. They’re reporting either cancellations or that negative publicity has caused visitors to stay away.

Steve Kessler owns the two-room Atlantis Guesthouse on Atlantic Boulevard across from the White Street Pier. He filed a claim against BP two weeks ago.

“I’ve had three cancellations already from people concerned about the oil,” he said. “One was a two-week cancellation. People are just worried. They’re making reservations at other places.”

Overall, around 90 claims for financial reparations from BP have been filed so far in the Keys. That’s in addition to federal lawsuits filed claiming similar losses. Among those who’ve sued are the firm that operates the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Attraction in Key West, and Key West Tiki Charters.

At Key West’s Charterboat Row, the captains are feeling the pinch since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank on April 22, causing millions of gallons of oil to spew into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven men died in the explosion.

Chad Will, a mate on the Conch Too charter boat, says walk-in business is down. “It’s just like a hurricane,” he said. “People don’t come whether it’s here or not.

About half of the Keys claims are from Key West, Van Chau said. The other half is split between the Middle and Upper Keys.

He said that overall in Florida, about 4,000 claims that have been submitted and more than $3 million has been paid out.

In all Gulf states affected by the spill, roughly 30,000 claims have been submitted and about $40 million paid out, BP says.

Van Chau explained the claims process: “They’ll talk to a claims agent and that person will take basic information. As they complete that, they’ll be issued a claims number and they may ask the person to fax the documentation. If there are several documents that need to be provided, they encourage the claimant to come to the office.”

For example, BP will likely ask for sales receipts for the same time period from previous years to compare to this year’s sales numbers.

“Once they’ve got a claims number, as they have additional claims to make, they submit that information. We will pay every legitimate claim,” Van Chau said.

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked BP for $50 million, on top of an already paid $25 million, to help fund state cleanup efforts.

BP has pledged another $25 million to launch advertising campaigns to continue luring tourists to Florida. Crist appointed Monroe County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro as the first member of his Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Task Force.

Staff writer Ryan McCarthy contributed to this report.