Outer Banks Vacation Homes

When a guest takes the time to let us know comments such as these, it is worth blogging about!

“We have been leasing with Carolina Designs for the past seven years and have already booked our reservation for next year.  Your excellence in customer service has made us loyal customers. 

We have leased #297, Moon Shadow for the past three years and love this vacation home.  As each family member arrived, they announced “I’m home!”  The children all asked “Can I go to my bedroom?”  Moon Shadow has become our home for our annual family reunion – three generations uniting each September in honor and memory of our Mother.” 

Martha, Montgomery, AL

The Nags Head Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the site plan and condition use application for the construction of a new state-owned 1,000-foot concrete pier at the historic site where the original pier withstood more than 60 years as Jeannette’s Fishing Pier.  The pier was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel 5 and a half years ago.  The state hopes to open the new facility by Memorial Day 2010.

Design plans include:

Þ    Numerous “green” features designed to save the state money as well as educate and inspire others;

Þ    A concrete foundation under traditional wood decking and railing;

Þ    A spacious conference room that can seat 400, includes a catering kitchen;

Þ    Two-story pier house elevated over the ocean to include:

¨      First Floor:  a tackle shop, snack bar, arcade and restrooms as well as a classroom used for various educational programs through the NC Aquarium;

¨      Second Floor:  a multi-purpose banquet hall that can hold 200 with tables or 400 with seats only, including a catering area, office space, aquarium tanks, and a covered porch overlooking the ocean.

The new facility will be operated by the North Carolina Aquarium Society as a state-of-the-art satellite operation.

As part of the 12^th Annual Wings Over Water Birding Festival, a six day event celebrating the natural wonders of the area and offering many opportunities to explore and discover the richness of the region’s environment, WildFest 2008 is held on Saturday, October 25th from 11 am – 4pm at the COA Roanoke Island Campus in Manteo (on Hwy. 64, Across from the Food-A-Rama grocery store).  Come out to enjoy wildlife games, educational information on area wildlife, and special demonstrations. Artifacts, pelts, soft traps, radio collars and literature on the red wolf recovery effort will be on display.

Once extinct in the wild, the Red wolf was reintroduced to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County.  Volunteers and staff track the red wolves using a radio collaring program and monitor the primary wolf packs roam on hundreds of thousands of acres across three mainland North Carolina counties since the first pairs were released nearly 20 years ago.

The many activities, specifically for children, will include critter calls, face painting, learning opportunities about Alligator River’s black bears, creatures living in the ocean surf zone and shallow sound waters home with Soundside Discovery, and hunter safety and education.

For more details, call the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce (252) 441-8144.  See you on the wild side!

Pictured from left:  Toni Sawyer, Samantha Chappell, Deborah Stone, and Donna King.

The homeowner of 521 Renaissance was so pleased with the care and cleaning their home received all season that they hosted a special luncheon just for the staff of our Housekeeping Department. 

To insure that our premier vacation rental homes are properly prepared prior to arrival, we manage our own cleaning and inspection staff.  All of our cleaning teams are trained by our Housekeeping Department and each is required to follow a rigorous set of guidelines.

The Town of Nags Head is sponsoring a Flood Protection and Retrofitting Workshop for all residents and property owners in the Towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk Manteo and Southern Shores on Monday, October 27^th beginning at 7:00 p.m.  The workshop will be held in the board room of the Nags Head Municipal Complex at 5401 S. Croatan Highway in Nags Head. 

As part of their continuing commitment in the Federal Emergency Management Agencies Community Rating System program, the workshop will focus on flood and hurricane related issues. Retrofitting techniques are structural changes to your home to make it more flood resistant. There will be a slide show outlining various types of damage and structural problems as well as patterns of damage observed in recent hurricanes affecting the Outer Banks. Our Chief Building Inspector, Ronnie Ballance has over 22 years experience as a building inspector on the Outer Banks will host the meeting. 

Should you have any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Angela Welsh, CRS Coordinator, or Ronnie Ballance, Chief Building Inspector, with the Town of Nags Head, at 252-441-7016.

Vacation Rental Seminar for Housekeeping Professionals will be held Dec 1-5, 2008 at the Luxor in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the conference, the VRHP 2008 Executive Housekeeper of the Year will be announced.  Our very own Deborah Stone is one of the two nominees selected for the title which was recently publicized in the Vacation Rental Housekeeping October 2008 eNewsletter.

Deborah Stone is Housekeeping Manager for Carolina Designs Realty in Duck, North Carolina and has held that position since 2003.  Just a few comments about Deborah from various nomination letters:

“… And she has a very strong work ethic and excellent communication skills.”  “Deborah is always enthusiastic about learning new ways to ensure excellence for her department.” 

“Our continued success and growth can be attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness of our Housekeeping Department.” “For front-line workers, her commitment to customer and staff support impacts how we do business at the front desk.” 

“Deborah exemplifies all the qualities necessary to handle the responsibilities of running such an important department.” “Deb’s concerns for us as individuals, not just property owners, was immediately apparent.  Deb is always unfailingly accessible, with a thorough attention to detail.”

“I was in #609 Casa Antonio last week and thoroughly enjoyed my stay.  Your staff was unbelievable in their professionalism and skill.  We had problems with several items and they immediately jumped on them and went over and above what one would expect from a property manager.  I was very impressed and would recommend your company to any of my friends.  You have been great over the past two years.   Thanks for all your help in making our week so great.”

D. Billings

12 Ways to Green Your Home for Winter: 

What Gives You the Most Bang for the Buck

You may find some of the ideas suggested in this chart useful if you are trying to green your home for the winter and interested in saving some of the mighty buck.  Some of the ideas are easy and cheap to do (like cutting phantom power loads in half, costing $128 per ton but cheap to do) and some are really expensive and not that effective (like adding low-e films to existing windows, topping the list at $241 per ton of CO2 saved).

 _{Source:  Treehugger.com}

Carolina Designs Realty is pleased to announce our assistance in sponsorship of Claudia Tinoco of Kill Devil Hills, NC as she represents First Flight High School and our community as a member of the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Forum nominates exceptional students from around the country to attend an 10-day experiential educational program which enables the student to interact with professionals from some of the nation’s top medical centers and facilities from renowned institutions of learning.  These are many prominent men and women whom most of us only read about in the news. 

Attending this program will enable Ms. Tinoco, who maintains a 3.629 GPA, to further her education in the field of medicine and reach her career goals of becoming a family physician. 

We are pleased to play a part in contributing to Ms. Tinoco in her endeavors to participate in such a life-changing experience.

An article by Catherine Kozak published on October 3^rd by The Virginian-Pilot© stated how, despite the tightening circumstances of our economy, there was an increase in spending from years past on accommodations.  According to Carolyn McCormick, managing director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, “This is probably the biggest August we’ve ever had in the 11 years we’ve been keeping records.”

Gross occupancy receipts were up 13.7 percent over August 2007, with travelers spending almost $96 million on motels, hotels, campgrounds, cottage courts and vacation rental homes, the bureau reported. 

“What we have is a convergence of things,” McCormick said. “People are still traveling, but they’re spending less money when it comes to things like a T-shirt.  We are closer to more people,” she said. “We are easy to get to. We are a safe, beautiful place.”  These facts will not change.