Re-entry after a hurricane is always a messy business.
It?s hard to please all of the folks who have a stake in when they can return ? residents, non-resident property owners, and visitors.
And never have I seen a re-entry situation messier than the one we are still dealing with a month after Hurricane Irene.
Few people are happy with the way the re-entry has been handled.
Residents who evacuated and non-resident property owners say they were not allowed back quickly enough, and many, especially vacation rental managers, think visitors are coming back too soon.
Some Ocracoke residents and businesses are also unhappy that visitors coming back to southern Hatteras are dominating ferry reservations from the mainland to that island, which had very little storm damage and quickly reopened.
The only folks who seem happy these days are the relatively small number of visitors who have managed to get to Hatteras for their planned vacations, and the small businesses on the island that were happy to see them back ? even in lesser numbers.
Dare County officials have been beaten up since the day after the hurricane. Hatteras Island was without power for several days and then on emergency generator power.
Officials decided that the residents who evacuated couldn?t come back until a more reliable power supply was established. That took about a week.
Then, Dare County announced a staged entry of residents by village, since Highway 12 was breached in several places and the only transportation to Hatteras was on emergency ferries from Stumpy Point to Rodanthe.
At the end of the first day of the staged re-entry, the county decided to open the ferries up to all residents. The boats were already jammed with vendors, supply trucks, and emergency personnel. That plus a ramp malfunction on the first day that all residents could come back resulted in some long lines at Stumpy Point and frustrated islanders.
Many non-resident property owners, who pay Dare County taxes, thought they should be able to come back when the residents did. After all, many of them also had storm damage to repair.
However, the property owners were kept out for almost another week.
Then came the discussion of when visitors could return.
Most of Hurricane Irene?s serious damage was in Avon, Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo, where storm surges of up to 10 feet from the Pamlico Sound were reported.
The southern villages of Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras fared well and did not have serious flooding.
Within a week or so, many in the southern villages were ready to have tourists back on the island.
But there were still worries about whether the infrastructure could support more people on the island. Would there be enough gas, groceries, medical care? How would visitors get to the island without Highway 12, and, more importantly, how would the island, now dependent on ferries, be evacuated in the event of another storm.
Dare officials at first announced that visitors would not be allowed back until at least Sept. 17. That was their response for several weeks after the storm.
Then on Monday, Sept. 12, the county announced that visitors could return to the southern villages, including Avon, on Sept. 15.
However, they could only enter Hatteras via ferries from the mainland through Ocracoke and then the Hatteras Inlet ferry.
Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo remained closed and the emergency ferry was available only to residents, property owners, essential personnel, suppliers, deliveries, and insurance adjusters.
And the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries across the sound to Ocracoke couldn?t accommodate all the folks who had rental reservations, and the county officials knew this.
The state?s Ferry Division did its best to add extra trips, but what they could do was limited by the fact that there are only four sound-class ferries that can make the trip.
Rental management companies had practically begged the county not to allow visitors on the island until the highway opens.
But county officials made it clear that they felt their first obligation was to residents who had not been able to work for weeks and were facing economic disaster. The southern villages of Hatteras were ready to get back to work, they said.
It might have worked, some rental managers say, if the county hadn?t decided to throw Avon into the mix with Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras.
It was just a matter of too many reservations and not enough ferries.
Visitors who couldn?t get reservations vented their fury on the county, the rental companies, the Ferry Division, the state, and anyone else who might listen.
Island Free Press got dozens of e-mails from enraged would-be visitors, and they posted all over in the social media.
Rental managers all but begged the county to reconsider, and the Dare County Tourist Board and the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce took the unusual stop of asking the county to reverse its decision.
Meanwhile, the owners of some of the small businesses that really wanted to re-open felt that the big rental management companies were being disingenuous, since they had already pocketed much, if not all, of their share of the vacation rentals.
It seems that the limited number of people who could get reservations on ferries were only part of the problem.
Perhaps an even bigger problem was that many of those people were learning from the companies from which they bought travel insurance that their insurance would not pay now that Hatteras Island was ?open? ? even though they couldn?t get here.
Then the property managers had to start telling people that if they didn?t buy travel insurance, they could not be reimbursed.
This didn?t sit well with folks who worked hard all year to pay for their trip to Hatteras, only to find out they may be without the trip or the money.
And so a month after the hurricane and almost two weeks after visitors were allowed back on southern Hatteras, the firestorm rages on.
Dare County has twice gone back to reword its advisory on travel to the southern villages, playing a game of semantics with the trip insurers. (The insurers apparently will honor insurance coverage for Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo renters since those villages are still closed to visitors.)
The latest attempt, a Sept. 16 advisory that basically said it was ?mandatory? to have a ferry reservation to visit Hatteras, has apparently been met with silence by one of the trip insurers that many Hatteras rental companies deal with ? CSA Travel Protection.
And it is not clear whether the county?s latest rewording of its travel advisory will do anything for those who have the insurance but can?t get here.
Meanwhile, last week was the first full week of having visitors back on southern Hatteras.
There were not as many as there might have been. One rental company estimated that about 40 percent of those who were expected on the island for the week made it.
Shops and restaurants that did re-open seemed pleased. Most said they didn?t make as much as they might have, but it was sure better than no income at all.
And business owners reported that the visitors who did get here were really happy and cheerful and seemed willing to part with their money to help the local economy.
So, when all is said and done, it?s really difficult to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in this re-entry drama.
Nothing is as black and white as it first sounds once you talk to all the parties involved.
The county commissioners, the county managers, and emergency management staff made a good faith decision to put the southern islanders back to work, and there are those who are very grateful for it.
County officials have gambled ? and are still gambling ? that the stores will stay stocked, the power will stay on, and another storm won?t come our way.
The vacation rental management companies are the ?big players,? and it?s easy to take pot shots at them.
?They?ve already made their money,? is a common complaint from smaller businesses.
And there is some truth to that, but, again, it?s not black and white. One rental manager estimates that by the time a guest arrives on the island, his company has spent 75 percent of the commission on the rental for advertising and promotions, reservations, accounting, and the like.
And then there is North Carolina law, the state?s vacation rental act, that also comes into play.
That act specifies that if a renter is offered travel insurance and cannot make the trip for any reason, his remedy is with the insurance company, not the management company or the owners of the cottage, for that matter. The law says that if the renter chooses not to buy the insurance, he assumes the risk.
And, as one manager explained it, North Carolina law also specifies that a vacation rental is a real estate transaction more than a consumer transaction. It is treated much like any other long-term lease agreement.
Perhaps you could make the case that North Carolina law does no favors for the consumer, but that?s not the point right now.
Travel insurance has become a standard in the industry in the past 20 years, and almost all, if not all, rental management companies offer it now.
In fact, renters have to not just sign up for it, but specifically have to opt out.
For the most part, managers say, this has worked for them, the owners, and the renters.
?To date, they (travel insurers) have been models of good service,? says Scott Leggat, general manager of Outer Beaches Realty. ?We?ve never had problems.?
However, there has never been a recent storm with the impact of Hurricane Irene on re-entry.
After Hurricane Isabel cut an inlet on southern Hatteras in 2003, Hatteras village was cut off and closed to visitors for two months.
With Irene, we have all seven villages cut off and accessible by ferry only. Meanwhile, more than half of the island is ready for business and has rentals ready to go.
Several large rental management companies have contracts with CSA Travel Protection, which seems to be the holdout.
All of the rental managers are rightly horrified by this latest turn of events, and what it means for the future of the industry.
No one knows better than these managers that angry folks out there who are vowing to never return to Hatteras Island are bad for business, to say the least. And not just bad for big rental companies, but for all the small businesses that depend on tourism.
The managers who contract with CSA are watching, waiting, and ?hopeful? that the company will comply with the ?spirit? of the insurance contract ? if you can?t get a ferry reservation, you can?t get here.
CSA, based in San Diego, Calif., today asked its public relations company to reply to a request for information on whether CSA will pay Hurricane Irene claims on Hatteras.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Wilbur said in an e-mail this afternoon that CSA Travel Protection is still awaiting a decision on the Hatteras situation and included a statement that the company made earlier this week:
?The aftermath of Hurricane Irene has left the Cape Hatteras area with unique complications after the lifting of the mandatory evacuation on September 15, 2011. Dare County is allowing visitors to return to the area, but major bridges and roads remain out of service. Ferry service is available, but the demand for this exceeds capacity, preventing some vacationers from getting to the area.
?This is an unprecedented situation that has affected vacationers, vacation rental companies, and companies such as CSA. CSA is a long-term partner of vacation rental companies and vacationers in the Outer Banks area and is committed to those relationships.
?CSA’s policies provide coverage for mandatory evacuation, which was lifted for parts of the Hatteras area on September 15, and for interruption of road services for up to 15 days following the original service interruption. This time has passed, but we do appreciate the unusual difficulties this situation causes for some travelers.
?We are working with our underwriter to determine if there is coverage under the policy language for this unusual set of circumstances. We encourage our policyholders to file a claim for their particular situation as each individual claim will be examined and reviewed on its own merit. CSA has provided coverage to customers affected by the mandatory evacuation and road closure, and remains committed to providing the best service possible to its customers, partners and all parties involved.?
Meanwhile, many rental managers, who say they do not have the authority to act for the owners with whom they contract, are encouraging the owners to give renters credit for the lost vacations of folks who can?t get ferry reservations.
Under the circumstances, that would seem the humane thing for owners to do, but it?s also not black and white for them. They still have to pay their mortgages, insurances, taxes, and the like.
It?s perfectly clear who the losers are in this unfortunate mess. In the short run, it?s the people who worked hard all year to plan their Hatteras vacations.
In the long run, it?s all of us who depend on our tourism economy.
So who are the good guys and the bad guys in this unfortunate mess?
There may be no really, really good guys, but my nomination for the bad guys are the trip insurers, especially CSA Travel Protection.
CSA is a company that was founded in 1991 in San Diego, where it is still based. But, as we know everything is about the global economy these days.
In 2008, CSA was acquired by Europ Assistance Group (EA). According to the corporate history on its website, the acquisition expanded CSA?s ?network of 70 companies, 5,500 employees and a worldwide network of service providers and medical personnel in 208 countries and territories across the globe.?
The future of our economy, it seems to me, is in the hands of CSA?s underwriters, whoever they are.
Let?s hope the company comes through on the trip insurance.
If not, many Hatteras vacationers will never return, and others will think twice about booking vacations here.
UPDATE ON THE ISLAND FREE PRESS SURVEY: RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IRENE
As of this evening, 1,694 readers have responded to our survey. It?s not too late. We?re aiming for 2,000. Residents, non-resident property owners, and visitors call all tell us what they think of the preparation for and response to the storm.
The survey will be made public and shared with all U.S., state, and local agencies, as well as other businesses and organizations.
Click here for The Island Free Press Survey.
POSTSCRIPT
This morning, Sept. 28, CSA Travel Protection issued a new statement, which denies the claims for reimbursement by vacationers with reservations for a rental on Hatteras Island who could not get a ferry reservation.
The statement from the company acknowledges that the situation is ?unprecedented.?
CSA notes that it is a ?long-term partner of vacation rental companies and vacationers in the Outer Banks area,? and that it is ?committed to those relationships.?
But apparently the company is only committed enough to offer ?travel delay? insurance.
?We do appreciate the unusual difficulties this situation causes for some travelers,? the statement says. ?After an in-depth discussion with our underwriter, we can provide Travel Delay coverage under the policy language for this distinct set of circumstances. Travel Delay coverage provides reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred, such as accommodations, meals and local transportation, if one is delayed 6 hours or more during a trip due to a covered reason.?
?We are not happy campers,? Scott Leggat, general manager of Outer Beaches Realty, said before heading to a staff meeting on the decision. ?We disagree adamantly with the decision.?
It?s a sure thing that CSA?s decision on this matter involving Hatteras visitors is being discussed today by rental managers, not only on Hatteras but all along the Outer Banks.
