COVID-19, Hurricanes Can’t Dampen Vacation Rental Market As Labor Day Passes

Sep. 7--First came the pandemic, then came the hurricane.

For vacation rental companies, 2020 has delivered one hurdle after another.

What started out as a promising spring was detoured in March when the initial wave of COVID-19 shutdowns closed beaches and vacation or short-term rentals with them. By May, most beach towns again allowed visitors to rent homes, opening the door to a busier-than-expected summer.

Then hurricane season ramped up and churned out Isaias, which slammed into Southeastern North Carolina, closing rentals once again -- some for a matter of days, others for a month.

"It's been something, I'll tell you that," said Kristen Goode, marketing director for Oak Island Accommodations. "2020 has been a year like no other, but thankfully, we're still smiling down here in Oak Island."

On Friday, the final portion of the banged-up island restricted to visitors since the hurricane hit on Aug. 3, reopened for vacation rentals -- just in time for Labor Day, the end of the summer tourist season.

Goode said her company had about 100 properties (about a fifth of their total inventory) go back on the market for guests to rent after being unavailable for more than a month.

Even with the temporary loss in inventory, the vacation rental market in Oak Island and throughout the region has been healthy -- if not prosperous -- in 2020, despite most property management companies bracing for the worst after the first pandemic-induced closures in the spring.

"We found out early in the summer that a lot of people still really wanted that vacation they had planned, despite everything going on," Goode said. "They could travel as a family to another house where they could still socially distance, they could be on a beach that has plenty of space to spread out, and even cook in their homes. It appealed to them, and gave them chance to just de-stress from everything."

As renters take stock of the summer that was, they are even bullish on just how good the summer rental market has been, in spite of everything.

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At Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, Intracoastal Vacation Rentals property manager Ian Kraus said they weren't fully prepared for the floodgates to reopen as soon as COVID closures were lifted.

"This summer has been the busiest I have experienced here," Kraus said. "We almost always have a handful of properties, maybe 5 or 10, that just didn't get booked for whatever reason one week here and there, but we were 100 percent booked for the entirety of July and almost all of August this summer."

The same could be said for Sloane Realty Vacations, which serves Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach in Brunswick County.

General manager Whitney Sauls said they have been at 100 percent capacity this summer, something she was not expecting back in the spring.

"It has been an exceptionally good summer, and we weren't confident it would be back in April," she said. "We were really worried how the summer would play out. But people want to be able to take a vacation and connect away from the living environment they've been confined to and vacation rentals are a safe way to do that."

Keeping business booming even in such uncertain and restrictive times has been the area's drive-to capabilities. With people still hesitant to hop on airplanes and international travel still prohibited, 2020's summer vacations have been largely centered on where people and families can get in their car and drive.

In other words, Walt Disney World may have to wait, but the beach was there to cushion the blow.

The Topsail Beach and Surf City area certainly benefited from those dashed vacations forcing people to look outside their usual plans.

"This year, it has brought a new influx of people who have not been to Topsail Island before," said Ashley Ides, a market assistant with Access Realty. "We've seen more people booking online or calling in to talk about the area. I think people are just trying something different if their vacations got canceled, they can't go on cruises or don't want to stay in hotels."

Also fueling this banner year for vacation rentals is the relative privacy afforded to those who can shell out for a few days or week in one of the homes. Most have contactless check-in with keypad access and plenty of restaurants at the beaches were serving takeaway dinners to enjoy at home.

"The summer could have been a complete disaster, but with the seclusion of a vacation rental, it helps people have that safety of their own home and still have a vacation," said Ides.

All these vacation rental companies said at times they were overwhelmed with just how much business they saw this summer, and many expect it to continue well after Labor Day's ceremonial end to summer.

With many kids remote learning this semester and offices still allowing people to work from home, long-term rentals in the fall are pouring in.

"The rest of September and October are still insanely busy, with a lot of longer-term rentals coming off the market for two or three months," Kraus said.

For Goode, it comes down to a simple pitch to guests weighing the options of a fall at home or at the coast.

"Would you rather work on your computer in your kitchen or work with the ocean right in front of you?" she asked.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or [email protected].

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