MARSH HARBOUR INN......BALD HEAD ISLAND NC....JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019
January - February 2019
As the season changes, we want to let you know about the upcoming activities at Marsh Harbour Inn.
We hope this newsletter is useful in planning your next visit and staying in touch. We look forward to seeing you soon. Safe travels.
MHI HOA ANNUAL MEETING MARCH 9, 2019
Message from the President

Fellow MHI Owners,

Turning the page on 2018, we welcome the new year with great excitement and anticipation in both structural and aesthetic improvements while focusing on owner enjoyment and value.

2018 was a successful year implementing outlined plans, objectives and meeting our financial obligations.

First, we all understand at this point the challenges presented by two hurricanes on our beloved Island. We are thoughtful of those hardest hit and thankful for the state of Marsh Harbour Inn.

Yes, we sustained damages; the extent would have been much worse if not for the efforts and teamwork of a few owners in both pre- and post- hurricane activities.

While much of the Island struggled to gain stability, our GM owners and staff forged ahead sanitizing and making the initial repairs to open even though some services were limited. This offered some much-needed housing and owner access to their properties.

In 2018, we saw our staff continue to develop with guidance provided by Sophia and Lynn Derrick. We witnessed the benefits of the forensic accounting and a detailed understanding of our financial position.

A special thanks to Frank Antunez and Sharon Farnham. Their efforts and long hours of volunteerism are crucial for our continued success.

I continue to stress the value of service required to run our Inn, the consultations and guidance from Liz Dion, Cathie Ostrowski and David Baumer over the past 3 years is responsible in large part to the foundation and success we enjoy today. Their terms end this year- please express your gratitude if possible and who knows, maybe they will consider re-upping.

Many of you have reached out with questions on schedules of renovation and insurance settlements. At this time, we are confirming the final details of our settlement and have a general schedule for repairs. (More details, both Insurance and GM Updates below)

Let me pause and update some extraordinary efforts in these processes:
Mike Kirk, Rod Hyson Sr., and Lynn Derrick lead an exhaustive effort, countless hours detailing the claims, supporting evidence and hard negotiations on behalf of our HOA.

And most recently an 8.9% Guest Review Award from Booking.com!!
Where do we go from here?
Clarity and consistency are the first 2 words I choose.

Clarity: We now have a detailed understanding of the true cost of operating the Inn. A disciplined and transparent approach by staff and GM owners have resulted in eliminating previous guess work and replaced with clear budgets on which to build. (Treasury report to follow)

Consistency: Staff and GM team has delivered the highest ratings for Board of health building and kitchen inspections; an all-time high 99.9 -100 percent. General comments and feedback from guests and owners have been excellent. (GM report below)

Goals and Objectives:
BOD will present 2019 budget, goals and objectives at our Annual HOA meetings scheduled for Saturday March 9, 2019, more details to follow. Please mark your calendar and contact me or any board member with your thoughts, questions or suggested improvements as we prepare. This is a meeting you do not want to miss. The content and discussions will be the most substantive since the inception of our HOA.

Best wishes to our MHI family for a Wonderful New Year…
Be Well, Be Safe…
Tim Roche
President BOD MHI
Financial Update

Financial Performance Continues to be Favorable.
Likely to End at or Slightly Below Budget for 2018.

YTD at the close of November 2018, we continue to report operating expenses favorable to budget by approximately $6.3K. Savings in various areas, consistent throughout the year in supplies and payroll expenses offset overages in professional expenses (mainly accounting to manage and improve dues tracking), utilities, and expenses to support Lynn and Sophia’s room (during peak season) and board and travel not initially planned in the budget. We estimate 2018 operating expenses to end at or slightly below budget. 

Savings YTD versus budget are driven by:
  • Lower than budgeted payroll expenses by $5.9K; Derrick’s cost management efforts
  • Lower supplies costs by $6.0K; Derrick’s cost management efforts
  • Lower equipment costs by $1.4K
  • Offset by higher utilities by $(2.0)K, mainly resulting from strong occupancy rates during peak season, and new, higher rates in water and energy;
  • Higher professional fees to manage and improve dues tracking $(3.0)K
  • Costs associated with Derrick’s general travel and board expenses $(3.0)K

Hurricane Related Finances
We continue to focus on identifying costs associated with the hurricane, including repairs and restoration that are now underway. Those costs will continue to be accounted for under a separate section of our Profit and Loss reports. Our insurance recovery efforts, led by Rod Hyson Sr. and Mike Kirk are still in process, with all efforts focused on maximizing those proceeds. Any major repairs are still on hold. We are more confident insurance proceeds will cover planned restoration expenses. As soon as we have further information we will make it available.

Dues Collection 
Thank you all who have been diligent in sending your dues and assessment payments. We are now collecting Q1 2019 dues and we appreciate all who have paid early to contribute to the financial wellbeing of our Inn. Please remember dues for Q1 are due on January 31 st (always at the end of the first month of every quarter). We continue to make every effort to collect on all past due dues and assessments. We have set up a system of close dues controls and going forward we will continue to be more diligent in reminding owners in arrears and relying on our covenants to properly collect on dues.

Please feel free to contact Frank Antunez, Treasurer, or Becky Walker, our accounts bookkeeper, if you have any questions concerning Inn financial matters at:

Thank you,
Frank Antunez
Treasurer
From the Derricks
Pinnacle Suite Owners and
Co-Managers for MHI
As we say in the Deep South - we are under Reconstruction. That is the mood of things on BHI. After Florence you saw literally a thousand small piles of watered debris along the streets. Now you see hundreds of mountainous piles of torn out sheet rock, ripped out wooden flooring and entire room furniture. 

As insurance claims are settled and contractors found so goes the slow island process of repairs. We have been very fortunate at the MHI as we begin our repairs. Our friends at the Hammocks will be closed indefinitely with insurance issues looming over the rebuilding process. We believe this recovery on the island may take as long as 3 years if not longer. 
Here is where we are. Our lift was delivered on December 3rd and we started some outside painting
Then we were delivered the bad news that our roof materials would be delayed a month. Well that time has come and gone, and we expect to have on site materials next week. Fascia repairs and outside painting will be done using the lift. We will begin to remove the old shingles next week and the work should be complete by the end of January. 

Harbour View (room 7) repairs have also begun. The molding has been removed and we will tear out the sheet rock in the walls and ceiling next week. We have hired CPR LLC to do the labor. They are licensed and bonded to reduce any liability. We will also use the lift to get materials to the second floor. Our plan is to also replace the double door, and both sets of windows. We are also replacing the queen bed and other furniture that was damaged. These repairs should also be done by the end of the month. 
We have a lot of moving pieces but feel confident you will be pleased with the results. 

We will give more updates as the progress continues. 

On another note, Sophia and I have joined the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII). Our plan is to attend regional conferences and meetings to learn and study more about our industry. This includes everything from food menus to staffing to room rates to management organizations. 

Hope to see you at the Inn on your next visit. 
Lynn and Sophia Derrick
Innkeepers Corner

We hope you have had a chance to enjoy the new golf cart covers. We are ordering more this week and plan to have 8 total for the winter season. 

We are working closely with Sophia Derrick on new ideas for breakfast. We have a new biscuit warmer and are experimenting with different ‘signature’ dishes for the Inn. 

We treated the staff to a great Christmas gathering at the Inn in December. Our thanks to the HOA Board for our gifts and to Lynn Derrick who made the best home-made pizzas. There were no leftovers!
You might also enjoy our ‘hey Google’ speaker added to the breakfast room. Better background music and a great way to answer all you questions during breakfast. Look up ‘Google Assist’. If you have 'Alexa’ you know what we mean.

Your Innkeeper,
Christe Smith
Insurance Update

The claims settlement process with our insurance company is moving forward with most insured loss settled and payment made. There remains several smaller open insured items pending and we expect this should be closed soon. This has allowed us to move forward with repairs and replacement work needed to bring the Inn back to standard operational status. This includes exterior work on roof, siding and basic clean up. The interior repairs have been in process for several weeks and they continue to move forward. However, we expect that interior surface repair, painting and floor repairs will continue for several weeks as we work to schedule contractor availability and priority . We have one of our rooms (#7 - Harbour View) still needing major repair which is in process, but will take some additional time to complete. All other rooms and suites are up and running. A full update on repair and additional work process priorities will be reviewed in our annual HOA meeting. The overall insurance settlement process has been time consuming and somewhat challenging, however, we are please with our progress based on the significant impact and loss to the NC Coastal areas and especially Bald Head Island properties.  

Mike Kirk
Sales and Rentals Update

It’s wonderful to see our beautiful paradise being restored and renewed, Bald Head was hit hard by Florence but I am pleased to say great progress is being made. Needless to say over the past 120 days rentals and sales have come to a stand still. We are excited about the prospects for 2019, indications from our email campaigns are showing great interest in rentals and we’re booking sales clients for tours. 

We will be introducing our new on line booking website for fractional owners units at the upcoming HOA meeting. This new system will permit clients to view all availability in all units and book on line in a seamless system that Christie and staff will be able to view and capture important data that will help them manage. 

Wishing all a Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing you on the Island.  

Rod Sr
Shipping Reminder.....
If you are having anything shipped to the Inn, be sure to include: PO Box #3075.
Below is how you can address it knowing some places will not ship to a PO Box.

Marsh Harbour Inn 3075
21 Keelson Row
Bald Head Island, N.C. 28461
The New 2019 Owners' Week Schedule
is now posted on the HOA website

We're Looking Forward to Your Arrival!

Please be sure to send your arrival confirmation at least two weeks prior to your visit.
The MHI ARRIVAL CONFIRMATION form is now located online in the Owners Only section of the HOA website. Simply fill in your information and send!

If you are planning to let someone else (renter, family, friends...) use your suite, be sure to have them fill out the MHI RENT EXCHANGE CONFIRMATION FORM located in the Owners Only section and send to Innkeeper.
HOA Website: TheMarshHarbourInn.com
Owners Only Password: mhiowners
MHI HOA Communication Policy

As a result of numerous recent communications from various sources regarding MHI HOA, it's important to remind all owners of the MHI HOA communication policy. This policy provides consistency and accuracy in the delivery of MHI HOA business communication.

All official HOA communication including communication requirements outlined in Section 4.05 and 4.06 of our Covenants should be sent through the HOA Secretary using the official HOA database of owners. Owners that do not follow the Covenants may risk voiding the sale. Covenants 4.05 and 4.06 are located on the website under the Owners Only section on the "Sales" tab.

Password: mhiowners
HOA Website Now Offers an
HOA Owner Rental & Exchange Opportunity

Check out the Availability Rentals tab

If you would like to exchange your week with other owners or make it available for rent, you can do this on our HOA website! Simply fill out the MHI RENT EXCHANGE RELEASE FORM located on the HOA website under the Owners Only section - Admin.

Note: the MHI Innkeeper will only post your unit and contact information on our website. As the owner, you will be the direct contact for negotiating rates, managing and collecting rents unless you choose to use a real estate professional.
Helpful Links:

(located on HOA website- Owners Only - ADMIN)


 


IMPORTANT
Any time you rent or trade your unit you MUST alert the Innkeeper by submitting the MHI RENT EXCHANGE CONFIRMATION FORM - located on the HOA website under the Owners Only section - Admin.
Suites For Sale
From time to time owners may to decide to sell a suite or purchase another suite at Marsh Harbour Inn. To help facilitate this process, the HOA will provide an updated list of suites available for sale at the reception desk including a description of what it means to be a fractional owner and part of our Marsh Harbour Inn family.

If you are interested in selling one of your suites and would like to be added to the flyer, please contact Liz at ldionetcie@gmail.com. If you are interested in purchasing another suite, please ask the Innkeeper for a copy of the most current list.




NEW: A list of all available suites for sale is located on the Owners Only section under "Sales"
Nextdoor Communication
We have set up  Nextdoor.com as a way of communicating with Inn owners, and a way to communicate with owners of your suite exclusively. 

Many owners already use this program in their home neighborhoods. It is a very easy way to keep up on what is going on and to have quick updates and conversations as a group. If you are not familiar with  Nextdoor.com you can check out the website before you sign up. 
Note: If you are already signed up for a Nextdoor account in your home neighborhood, you will not be able to use the same email address for your Marsh Harbour Inn Suite. You must use a separate email address.
Here's how to join our group:
1. Join the NextDoor Bald Head Wynd at this link:
2. Join Marsh Harbour Inn Owners—we are asking all owners to join this group
3. Then you ask to join private groups of the suites you own. 
Blockade Runner Owners                   
Cape Fear Owners
Captains Quarters Owners
Harbour View Owners
Ocean View Owners
Pinnacle Suite Owners
Royal Palm Owners
Ship Watch Owners
Yacht Master Owners
We are looking for an administrator for each unit. If you’d like to be the administrator for your suite, please email cathie@bhiwellness.com
Bald Head Island Club Membership 
As an owner at Marsh Harbour Inn you are also a member of the  Bald Head Island Club   including access to world-class golf, swimming pool, work out facility, tennis, croquet, great restaurants and many seasonal activities - see below for the Calendar of Events at BHI Club. 

Restaurants
The Club House Grill and the Peli are open. 
Beginning in March, the Palms and Ocean Room restaurants will be open. 

BHI Club Temporary Membership Fees
To take advantage of your membership you must register for a Temporary Membership for the days you plan to use the club or participate in events..

Jan - Mar
  • Daily $25
  • 3 Day $30
  • Week - $40

* green fees and activity fees are extra:
Jan. and Feb. are $85 for 18 holes and $65 for nine holes. 
March 1919 the greens fees are $95 for 18 holes and $75 for 9 holes.

For more information and temporary usage fee, call  910-457-7300. 
Calendar of Upcoming Events

Island Nature Tours  - Every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9a-11p
BHI Conservancy 910-457-0089

Kids Activities - ongoing
BHI Conservancy 910-457-0089 

Island Outdoor Activities .


January

BHI Club*

January 18 - The Friends of Music Concert Series
Village Chapel 7:30

January 20 - Howl at the Moon
4:30pm - 6:30pm

January 25 - January 18 - The Friends of Music Concert Series
Village Chapel 7:30

February

February 14 ~ Valentine's Dinner
BHI Club*

February 19 - Howl at the Moon
5pm - 7pm

March

March 8 - The Friends of Music Concert Series
Village Chapel 7:30


March 16 ~ St. Patrick's Day Party
BHI Club*

March 20 - Howl at the Moon
6pm-8pm


BHI CLUB ACTIVITIES CALENDAR
Note: membership is required for the following activities. See membership details above.

Other Helpful Links







Riverside Adventure Co. Rentals and activities


Bald Head Island Beach Report for a complete report on wind & surf conditions

To subscribe to Claude Pope's daily news about activities on BHI  go t o   www.maritimemarketbhi.com   and follow the links

The Village Voice - subscribe for news

Facebook.com Bald Head Buddies
Contact Information
Tim Roche - President
Mike Kirk - Vice President
Cathie Ostrowski - Secretary
Frank Antunez - Treasurer
David Baumer - Board Member - Legal
Liz Dion - Board Member - Marketing
Rod Hyson - Developer

Lynn Derrick - Co-Manager
Sophia Derick - Co-Manager

Christie Smith - Innkeeper

(910) 448-0717 Innkeeper on Duty