• News
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
  • Marketing
  • Tech
  • OTAs
  • Customer Service
  • Regs
  • Housekeeping
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
VRM Intel
  • News
    • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
      The Enduring Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    • VRM Intel_Christmas-in-New-Orleans
      That’s the Ticket! Register Now to Enjoy Big Savings and Convenient Payment Plans for the 2021 Vacation Rental Women’s Summit in New Orleans
    • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
    • Short-Term Rental Industry Giants Grapple with Building Brand Loyalty, Democratization, Regulations, and More at Skift’s 2020 STR Summit
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
    • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
      The Enduring Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
    • Short-Term Rental Industry Giants Grapple with Building Brand Loyalty, Democratization, Regulations, and More at Skift’s 2020 STR Summit
    • All Star and SoCal Vacation Homes
      The Bright Spot in 2020 Travel: U.S. Vacation Rentals See Higher ADRs, Revenue, and Adj. Pd. Occupancy
    • 6 Takeaways from Vrbo’s 2021 Consumer Travel Trend Report
  • Marketing
    • Learn How You Can Unleash Your ‘Limitless Female Energy’ During VRM’s Thought Leadership Series Featuring Author/Speaker Amber Hurdle
    • How to Use Website Traffic to Gauge Demand for Your Market
    • Elements of a Property Detail Page: How They Can Make or Break Your Bookings
    • VRMIntel_Fall2020_Fast Paced Revenue Management
      Fast-Paced Revenue Management: The 10-Minute, $10,000 Mistake
    • 6 Takeaways from Vrbo’s 2021 Consumer Travel Trend Report
  • Tech
    • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    • 2021 Social Media Game Changer
      Are You Ready to Ride the Wave to Becoming a 2021 Social Media Game Changer?
    • NDAs & Confidentiality Agreements: What to Include and When to Enforce
    • Selling Your Business? Know Your Tech Stuff!
    • Dynamic Pricing: To Adjust Rates or Not to Adjust Rates
  • OTAs
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
    • 6 Takeaways from Vrbo’s 2021 Consumer Travel Trend Report
    • Barron’s: Airbnb Set to Price December 9 and Trade December 10
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    • Airbnb is Finally Going Public: Takeaways for Property Managers from IPO Filing
  • Customer Service
    • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
      The Enduring Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    • Dynamic Pricing: To Adjust Rates or Not to Adjust Rates
    • Repurposing Space: Broadening Your Vacation Rental’s Appeal
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    • New Customers Bring New Demands: Evolving to Meet the Needs of New Customer Avatars
  • Regs
    • Barron’s: Airbnb Set to Price December 9 and Trade December 10
    • Strategic Forecasting Beyond 2021: Are Vacation Rental Managers Changing Fast Enough?
    • Alabama’s tourism economy benefits from Florida Governor DeSantis’ shutdown of vacation rentals
    • Airbnb reaches out to city officials to influence “transitional travel reopening plans”
    • Jeff Paglialonga on FL Vacation Rental COVID-related ban: “We need your support to rectify what I believe is to be the illegal taking of property from Florida vacation rental owners.”
  • Housekeeping
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    • Q&A with Breezeway founder Jeremy Gall about company’s $8 million funding round and more
    • Gatlinburg-based Cabins For YOU acquires Chalet Village and is looking for more. Q&A with owner and founder Greg Plimpton
    • What is the cost of Airbnb’s recommended 24- to 72-hour “buffer” time between stays?
    • The Professional Vacation Rental Manager’s Crisis Playbook
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • RSS

Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers

Topsail Realty Vacations Acquires Blue Water Realty, OceanBreeze Properties and becomes Carolina Retreats

Topsail Realty Vacations Acquires Blue Water Realty, OceanBreeze Properties and becomes Carolina Retreats
mm
Alexa Nota
January 4, 2019

Topsail Realty Vacations announced this week it has acquired Blue Water Realty and OceanBreeze Properties, both of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, NC. The roll-up of companies will now operate under the umbrella brand Carolina Retreats.

The addition of Blue Water Realty’s 60 homes and OceanBreeze’s 20 homes will bring Carolina Retreats’ total number of properties to approximately 300, making it one of the largest vacation rental management companies in the area. The company also owns the Loggerhead Inn, a 36-room boutique hotel in Surf City.

“The acquisitions of the companies on Carolina Beach were both strategic and opportunistic,” said Mike Harrington, founder and CEO of Carolina Retreats. “My overall vision when I came to Topsail from the Outer Banks was to one day build a powerhouse regional brand that could offer guests more diversified inventory, plus have more scale and resources for marketing and talent acquisition to provide the best owner experience possible.”

The acquisitions mark a big but unsurprising new chapter for Harrington, a long-time industry professional and leader. He started in vacation rental management with Hatteras Realty in 2005 and later served as CEO and general manager of Resort Realty, as well as president and board member of the Vacation Rental Management Association. He purchased Topsail Realty in 2015.

Harrington did his homework, he said, and although there were good companies throughout the southern NC coast, none were operating in more than one or two markets. “While each coastal town has its own unique identity, there was no overlap and consistent experience from beach to beach, which I think is highly frustrating to guests,” he said. “Our goal is to offer modern hospitality and vacation rental management that combines both tech and the best people to hit that sweet spot of income production and service from location to location than what is currently available. If we do it right, we think there is plenty of organic growth opportunities moving forward.”

The acquisitions came at especially good timing following Hurricane Florence. Harrington said market diversification had always been in the back of his mind, but the damage from the September hurricane made a case for not having all his eggs in one basket. Carolina and Kure Beaches are about an hour from Topsail and did not see the same level of damage. “It goes to show that with hurricanes, which is our main natural threat, that 30 to 40 miles between markets can have an enormous difference with potential damage,” he said. “Our take, especially now, is that finding ways to spread inventory around through adjacent or semi-adjacent markets is a new reality in risk management for our business in the long run.”

While Harrington has even bigger plans for Carolina Retreats, he said he has no desire to become a national brand. “Our goal is to be the absolute best in any market we operate in now and in the future within our niche of what we know. At this time, there is more opportunity than we can handle just within the Carolinas!” he said. “Also, we feel the name makes it much less intimidating to our owner base when all they care about is their home in their location. We are independent and local, and we want to portray that.”

Blue Water Realty was founded in 2002 by Ron and Teresa Clontz. “I think that Mike and his team are the perfect people to take over Blue Water Realty and lead it into the future,” the company’s former president Ron Clontz said in a release. “His extensive involvement and experience within the vacation rental industry, combined with their understanding of how to leverage technology and the ever-changing landscape of vacation rental marketing will greatly benefit all of our property owners and guests.”

OceanBreeze Properties was founded in 2007 by Cindi Jacobs. “While I love what I do and the people that I work with, it was evident that I needed help in order to provide the level of service and expertise needed in today’s vacation rental management world,” she said in a release. “In my discussions with Mike over the past year, I felt we had a very similar mindset when it came to how we view our clients as partners, and that was a very big factor for me. I feel very confident in the future of the company in such capable hands.”

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to take over for Ron, Teresa, and Cindi in Carolina and Kure Beach,” Harrington said in a release. “By combining our resources and operations under a common brand, it will allow us to market on a more regional basis on a much more efficient scale.”

Blue Water Realty and OceanBreeze have combined under the name Blue Water Realty by Carolina Retreats and will operate out of Blue Water’s existing office in Carolina Beach led by Kelli Taylor. Jacobs will retire, Ron Clontz will stay on as an advisor until he retires later this year, and Teresa will run the real estate sales team. The entire Blue Water staff will remain on board. Topsail Realty Vacations has become Topsail Realty by Carolina Retreats and will run out of its existing office in Surf City.

Related Itemsblue water realtycarolina beachcindi jacobsFeaturedhatteras realtykure beachmike harringtonncnorth carolinaoceanbreeze propertiesresort realtyron clontzsurf cityteresa clontztopsailVRMA
Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers
January 4, 2019
mm
Alexa Nota

Alexa Nota comes from a 10-year marketing and journalism background in travel, including three years as a vacation rental marketing manager in NC’s Outer Banks. She is also the co-founder and editor of a travel wellness magazine and the marketing consultant and founder of Canary Design. She currently calls Chapel Hill, NC home.

Related Itemsblue water realtycarolina beachcindi jacobsFeaturedhatteras realtykure beachmike harringtonncnorth carolinaoceanbreeze propertiesresort realtyron clontzsurf cityteresa clontztopsailVRMA

More in Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers

Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon

The Enduring Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges

Zandra WolfgramJanuary 12, 2021
Read More
VRM Intel_Christmas-in-New-Orleans

That’s the Ticket! Register Now to Enjoy Big Savings and Convenient Payment Plans for the 2021 Vacation Rental Women’s Summit in New Orleans

VRM Intel StaffJanuary 8, 2021
Read More

Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division

Amy HinoteDecember 18, 2020
Read More

Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”

Amy HinoteDecember 10, 2020
Read More

Short-Term Rental Industry Giants Grapple with Building Brand Loyalty, Democratization, Regulations, and More at Skift’s 2020 STR Summit

Zandra WolfgramDecember 9, 2020
Read More
All Star and SoCal Vacation Homes

The Bright Spot in 2020 Travel: U.S. Vacation Rentals See Higher ADRs, Revenue, and Adj. Pd. Occupancy

Amy HinoteDecember 8, 2020
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Sponsor News

  • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    Latest NewsDecember 18, 2020
  • You Are Your Best Revenue Manager
    Revenue ManagementNovember 30, 2020
  • How Email Helped Save Vacation Rental Companies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    AdvertisementNovember 21, 2020
  • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    Customer Service for Vacation Rental ProfessionalsNovember 18, 2020
VRM Intel
Calendar of Events
Videos & Whitepapers
VRMintel Magazine
Subscribe
Advertise
About Us
Authors
Contact Us

Recent News

  • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
    The Enduring Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    BlogJanuary 12, 2021
  • VRM Intel_Christmas-in-New-Orleans
    That’s the Ticket! Register Now to Enjoy Big Savings and Convenient Payment Plans for the 2021 Vacation Rental Women’s Summit in New Orleans
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 8, 2021
  • VRM Intel_Look Back List from 2020
    VRM Intel Brings You A Top 10 Look Back List of 2020 Stories
    BlogJanuary 1, 2021
  • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    Latest NewsDecember 18, 2020

View Current Issue

VRMintel Copyright © 2016-17 | Click HERE to Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright | Jobs | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

How Did the Outer Banks Get So Famous, Anyway?
The Inaugural Vacation Rental Women’s Summit Coming to New Orleans February 19-20, 2019
We use cookies and similar technologies to recognize repeat visits, as well as to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and analyze traffic. By clicking "I Accept" you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.Accept