March | 2020 | Hanover Seaside Club

MANAGER POSITION: In an effort to improve member experience and the overall culture of the Club, on March 24 the Board unanimously approved the termination of our current Club Manager. As of Monday, March 30, Victor Brown is no longer an employee of the Hanover Seaside Club. Specific personnel matters are handled in closed session and will not be disclosed to members. The Operations Committee will begin searching for a new manager immediately. If you know of anyone in the hospitality industry who you feel would be a good fit for this position, have them send a resume to Jan Sheppard, Hanover Seaside Club, PO Box 434, Wrightsville Beach, NC, 28480.

COVID19 UPDATE: To meet state and local guidelines, the Hanover Seaside Club will be closed for at least 30 days. The building will remain locked; therefore, there will be no access to bathrooms or the front office. Staff hours are being reduced, so there may not be anyone available to answer the phones during normal business hours. If you have questions, you may leave a message on the answering machine and your call will be returned as quickly as possible. Our hope is still to open in time for Mother’s Day, but we will not know until late April if that will be the case. We will keep you updated on plans as we make them.

SUMMER ROOM RESERVATIONS: Statements for summer room reservations should be e-mailed in the next few days. In order to confirm your reservation, you must pay the fee by Friday May 1. You may pay online using the payment portal at hanoverseaside.com or mail a check to the PO Box. If you would like to pay over the phone, leave a message on the answering machine and someone will call you back to get credit card information. Please do not leave credit card information on the answering machine. A list of available rooms will be posted in the near future.

OFF SEASON ROOM RENTALS: According to the Room Rental Policy, room rentals for off season must be paid within 30 days of making the reservation However, this policy has never been adhered to. There has been a problem with members reserving rooms and canceling at the last minute, or not canceling at all and not showing up. This has happened on high demands weekends during the Fall and Spring. The Board has approved the following revision to the Room Rental Policy:

Bills for off season room rentals must be paid at the time of reservation. Methods of payment are the same as for summer season bills. Rooms will be held for no more than 1 week after the reservation is made without payment.
A full refund will be provided for cancelations made at least 14 days prior to move-in date. In emergency situations, the refund policy for off-season rentals may be changed by the Board.

The revised Room Rental Policy is located on the Quick Links page of the website. Statements will be sent/calls made to those who have rented rooms for the Fall season.

ON SEASON ROOM RENTALS: Beginning this summer, check out time for room rentals is 11:00am instead of noon. This will give more time for thorough cleaning of rooms. Check in time will remain 4:00pm.

MEAL PRICING: As approved in the 2020 budget, evening meals and Sunday lunch prices have been increased 15%. The Operations Committee is working hard to improve meal satisfaction and reduce losses in the dining room. We found that 2019 breakfast pricing more than covered the cost of food, supplies, and staff; therefore, prices for breakfast prices will not increase this year.

605 SOUTH LUMINA COMMITTEE: Our designer has provided a revised plan that meets Wrightsville Beach code. The Committee is moving forward with engineering reports, selecting a builder, and securing financing. A called meeting of Regular Members will be scheduled for early summer to approve plans to begin work on the duplex. The goal is to complete construction and furnishing/decorating in time to rent the building for the 2021 summer season.

BOARD MEETINGS: Until Social Distancing requirements are removed, the Board will be meeting via teleconferencing. The platform we are using will allow for a limited number of users. If you would like to conference in, you must contact the President, Jan Sheppard, to receive the link. You will not be able to speak unless you request prior approval from the President. All microphones for guests will be muted. All guests will be required to log out for any closed session business. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 14 at 6:00pm. This will be a short meeting to discuss personnel issues. The regular April meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28 at 6:00pm.

News – March 23, 2020

Spring arrived last Thursday and brought Coronavirus with it!

Club staff and volunteers have been working hard to get the Club ready for this season’s opening. Unfortunately, we don’t know when that will be. Due to Coronavirus, all activities scheduled and all rooms reserved through April have been cancelled.

The Town of Wrightsville Beach has closed the Strand and soundside beaches. While the bridge is open and you can get on the island, you cannot walk on the beach, swim, surf, or sunbathe.

How long will this last? Of course, no one knows. New information comes out daily. As of today, public schools will be off-campus until at least May 15 and all gyms, salons, spas, etc. must close by Wednesday at 5:00. Restaurants are closed except for take-out business. With these restrictions in mind, these are the actions taken thus far.

1) Postponed the Sunday, Tuesday and Friday meals until May 12, which is Mother’s Day. We hope to celebrate Mother’s Day with a wonderful buffet. More information will be forthcoming.

2) Cancelled all events and parties through the end of April. Some parties in May have already canceled

3) Cancelled the workday scheduled for March 28..

4) Closed the Club through April. There is a Club workday scheduled for April 18 which we hope to have. We are looking at alternate dates in case we are forced to postpone the workday.

We are reducing staff hours; therefore, normal office hours are no longer being covered. There may be staff available to answer the phone between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM while we are closed. However, the staff will be doing some needed maintenance, so they may have to return your calls. Please leave a message if you need assistance. If you come to the Club to sit on the porch, please keep distance between your group and others. The chairs have been hosed off to remove pollen, but have not been disinfected. You may want to bring wipes to disinfect chair arms. The first floor will remain locked while the Club is closed. Doors may or may not be unlocked on the 2^nd floor. The gate at the gravel parking lot is locked. Please park in the asphalt lot if you come to the Club.

Our goal is to start our normal summer season Memorial Day weekend. The committee met to assign rooms for the Summer Season on Sunday. The data is being recorded in the computer system and statements will be emailed to you by early next week. Payment must be made by May 8 in order to secure your room(s). If you need us to work with you in this tenuous economy, please call the Club office.

No rooms will be rented on the 3rd floor through the end of April. Once we have more knowledge, a decsion will be made about May. We are not cancelling the May reservations already made at this time. We will not take new reservations until we are sure when we will reopen.

The monthly Board Meeting is scheduled for tomorrow evening. We are taking the request for social distancing very seriously. Because of the State of Emergency, the Board will teleconference the meeting at 6:00 tomorrow evening. We are using a platform that most of the Board is unfamiliar with and that limits the number of members present. We are not trying to keep secrets from the membership, we are trying to keep our Board and their families safe while continuing the business of the Club. If anyone needs to confence into the meeting, please contact Jan Sheppard. The number of spaces is limited. We will try to get minutes to members as quickly as possible so that you will know what is discussed at the meeeting.

We hope you and your families are healthy and safe during this troublesome time.

Monthly Archives: March 2020

News – March 23, 2020