A few weeks ago I shared with you the news and details about the 2010 Coastal Living Idea House at Seabrook – the first of several “game changers” that we see driving lots of new visitors, guests, and buyers to Seabrook. The idea house, now exclusively called the Ultimate Beach House, is coming together quite nicely. You can follow the progress in full at the Ultimate Beach House blog which we are updating weekly.

The second game changer to which I would like to introduce you is a new business solution called NAVIS Technologies. The Navis system is a phone system that handles both overflow and after-hours phone calls and inquiries. Its primary objective is to increase our call conversion rate and capture more vacationers. Our staff is receiving extensive training on how to increase closing rates and their performance will be closely monitored by our rental manager. Further, Navis fields both overflow and after-hours calls with live agents equally capable of booking our homes. There will not be a call or inquiry missed thus maximizing our call conversion rate. If you would like to learn more, please take a look at their website at NAVIStechnologies.com.

We are very excited about NAVIS and cannot wait to see the positive impact it has on our vacation rentals program. We’re also working on implementing additional features that we think will improve the Seabrook experience even further. I plan on posting these here on the Homeowners Blog in the near future. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please share them with me here on the blog or feel free to call me or email me.

Cheers,

Casey

(360) 485-3272
casey@seabrookwa.com

If you have, now is the time to start taking the next steps. In an effort to meet the growing demand of our owners, guests, and visitors, we are planning our first retail district of shops in the coming year. The retail district will be located just south of the Lil’s Pantry market.

Here is some information you will find useful towards your decision. This year, Seabrook is on pace to rent over 11,000 nights to guests through the cottage rentals business, which equates to about a 50% increase in business over 2008. In addition, we will have a total of 150 owners – a number that will only grow further in the years to come. Seabrook is also becoming a day trip destination for visitors staying in other areas of the coast, or travelers just exploring the Olympic Peninsula. We don’t see this pace slowing down next year, since we will be in the national spot light as we host the Coastal Living “Ultimate Beach House”.

Like other towns Seabrook’s been patterned after, we will be incubating businesses with small retail spaces that can grow over time. This will allow people to start a new business without large capital expenditures as they learn more about their customers’ needs and wants. Nonetheless, anyone starting a new business will need sufficient start-up capital and reserves in order to build a profitable business over time.

Here is how to start the process:

1. If you are interested in learning about how you can be on the ground floor of Seabrook’s first retail district, please fill out this form. This way we can learn more about your plans and ideas.

2. Then, if your business plan fits into our town plans, we can schedule a meeting to discuss your idea in more detail.

3. Deadline for Summer 2010 businesses is February 1, 2010

To all of you savvy entrepreneurs, lock in now on owning a business at Seabrook! Visit our town merchants page for more information, and feel free to contact me at casey@seabrookwa.com with your interests and questions.

Cheers,

Casey