The
four-story Whaler Inn Beach Club, next to Beachwalk, is unlike other Pine Knoll
Shore residential areas. It is our only timeshare condominium complex. Also,
unlike most timeshares, it is fully owned and operated by timeshare owners
through the nonprofit corporation Whaler Inn Owner Association (WIOA).
Early map showing Whaler Inn relative to the Iron Steamer and Pine Knoll Townes.
The Whaler
Inn began as a motel. County records show that Carpetbagger, Inc., with
Jennings C. Brown President, optioned land owned by Mark Ballou and Rodham
Lancaster for an oceanfront motel here in December 1970 and continued the
following year to purchase property. The purchases included additional land
from John Wooten of Cary, North Carolina and from the Roosevelt family. It
seems the motel was built around 1972-73.
In the
winter of 1981, A.B. Hardy and Roger Champine bought the property and
established Timesharing, Inc. (TSI). Taking out a large loan from First Federal
Savings and Loan of Norfolk in 1982, they began remodeling, combining rooms to
make condo units and selling them as weekly timeshares.
The rest of
the decade was to prove difficult for this new Pine Knoll Shores’ timeshare.
The Federal Savings and Loan went into receivership. Hardy and Champine
abandoned the Whaler Inn. Timeshare owners, some holding deeds and others with
deeds held by the bank, were in danger of losing all they had invested. By
October of 1984, TSI was in bankruptcy. A couple of months later, the Whaler
Inn closed.
However,
interested owners without deeds had begun to organize, and owners with deeds
established the owner association (WIOA). Together they worked out a settlement
through the courts, requiring both deeded and non-deeded owners to buy shares
in a reorganized TSI. Though some owners dropped out at this point, those
remaining managed to exceed the share-subscription goal. In February 1986, they
had their first TSI shareholder meeting and elected a 15-member board of
directors. It was later that year, after almost selling to Peppertree, that TSI
purchased remaining unit weeks held by the bank.
Over the
years, TSI and WIOA continued as separate entities and went through some bumpy
patches together. They met obstacles head on. For example, in 1991, when the
inn’s septic system failed, they managed to design and build a new sewer
treatment plant, which was completed in 1992.
In February
1995, Jay Martin, President of the TSI Board wrote a history that I have used
to gather information for this article. He announced, “It’s been a long road
since receivership began in 1984,” but he was happy to report that TSI had
finally paid off its final bank debt. In 1998, TSI dissolved, bought out by WIOA.
The Whaler
Inn Beach Club has a total of 42 timeshare units—one and two-bedroom units as
well as efficiencies. Each could sell for 50 weeks, so there could be as many
as 2,100 owners. Currently, there are about 1,475, all of whom hold deeds. WIOA
owns unsold unit weeks. Those who buy Whaler Inn units for a specific week or
weeks during the year pay a one-time purchase price. Like other home and condo
owners who pay an association fee, they also pay an annual maintenance fee.
The concept
of shared ownership of a vacation home emerged in Europe in the 1960’s, but in
the United States, the concept did not take hold until the 1970’s and 80’s,
when furnished condominiums and entire resorts began to be built as timeshares.
Owners, during their week(s), may opt to stay themselves, rent their place or
trade their place for a stay at another timeshare elsewhere. The Whaler Inn is
affiliated with Interval International, which maintains a worldwide network of
properties, so owners here can become Interval members and trade off with other
timeshare owners in about 75 countries.
The Whaler
Inn also functions as a hotel, providing overnight accommodations for tourists
who want a place for one or more days. Off-season, some units rent monthly for
$600 to $800 plus tax, including all utilities.
In addition
to 42 timeshare units, the inn has three regular motel rooms; two larger suites
on the fourth floor; a conference room rented out for meetings, weddings, and
other parties; and an apartment, which is either used as the residence of an
on-site manager or rented when the manager is a local resident.
WIOA,
governed by a seven-member board elected by owners, is responsible for
maintaining the property. It employs 18-20 people year round and approximately
ten more in summer months. The association also regularly plans facility
upgrades.
The Whaler
Inn Beach Club has owners from around the country and a few from other
countries, but it also has owners from Pine Knoll Shores. These are residents
who may have joined to have beach access year round and/or to use amenities,
such as the glass-enclosed pool and hot tub, unique in Pine Knoll Shores.
(Off-season weeks can sell for as little as $175 with an added commitment to
pay the annual maintenance fee.) Pine Knoll Village residents, as a benefit of
their deeds, are also Whaler Inn timeshare owners, and Water Babies, a local
group, does water aerobics there Monday through Thursday for a nominal fee.
