Corolla Businesses Launch Summer Surf School

Corolla surf shop offers surfing lessons at Corolla Light Resort in Currituck County, NCPHOTO | COROLLA SURF SHOP

This summer, Corolla Light Resort and Corolla Surf Shop teamed up to teach visitors to the Currituck Outer Banks how to paddle out, pop-up and shred.   

 

Corolla Surf Shop owner Gary Michael Smith lives two blocks from Corolla Light resort, which is run by general manager Don Cheek on Franklyn Street in Corolla, North Carolina.

“We would see each other all the time,” Smith said. “We have been neighbors forever.”

Some neighbors offer only a friendly wave, and that’s it.

These two neighbors now are making waves together in their businesses on ocean waves.

“They’ve always put out our brochures, and we’ve given out prizes for their tournaments,” Smith said. “It’s moved from friendly neighbors to a partnership.”

Currituck County ordinances require a permit for vendors to drive on the beach.

Those permits are valuable for the access they allow for business owners to reach customers. They also are limited.

“As Corolla beaches get more and more crowded, [the county] can’t have every vendor drive on the beach,” Smith said.

Corolla Light resort possessed four of those desired permits. Corolla Surf Shop, based on Ocean Trail, offered a desirable amenity.

“Gary and I got our heads together and decided to partner,” Cheek said.

Corolla Light Resort on the Currituck Outer Banks of North CarolinaPHOTO | COROLLA LIGHT RESORT

The resort now allows Corolla Surf Shop to utilize one of the permits to teach tourists surf lessons.

“We did it on a trial basis when the season started,” Cheek said.

A surf shop vehicle can drive on the beach in the early morning, park in front of Corolla Light resort to offer lessons and drive off the beach in the early evening.

What were the early results?

“It was kind of slow at first,” Cheek said. “Anything new takes awhile. The Fourth of July week peaked for him. It’s going to be successful for him and us. It will probably be a year-long learning curve.”

The surf shop owner learned to put his business in the right place on the beach and on the web.

Surfing lessons now at Corolla Light Resort in Currituck NCPHOTO | COROLLA SURF SHOP

“We have seen an increase of customers and an increase in exposure,” Smith said. “On social media, they promote us on their Facebook page and their web page. When guests look at doing activities, surf lessons are on there.”

Rather than customers visiting the surf shop, renting a surfboard and carrying it back to the beach, or the instructors carting them around, the boards are right there on the sand, waiting for surf students to learn how to stand on them.

Again, also thanks to the resort.

“The cool thing about our contract is they supply a box where we can store our surfboards,” Smith said. “It keeps our driving down to a minimum."

“Having the beach is wonderful. We can store 18 surfboards and our tent. It cuts down on the time we need to get ready for surf lessons.”

Lesson boards are readily available, and the lessons themselves are one of the 60- some amenities available to resort customers, making Corolla Light an even more attractive destination.

          RELATED READ: SURFING LESSONS FOR STARTUPS          

Gone are the days of going to a resort to just lounge by the pool – though that still is an option for those who want it.

There is so much more to do now because travelers want to pack as many experiences into their trip as possible.

In a July 2018 article on Forbes.com, Tanya Mohn wrote that a World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation survey highlighted a trend among young travelers, who make up a sizable portion of the market: they splurge on experiential purchases.

Respondents in the 2017 survey indicated they were interested in “unique, one-of-a- kind experiences more than in previous years.”

According to the Forbes article, “millennial and Gen Z travelers indicated three main factors in their travel happiness: destination, trip length and activities.”

Catching a wave with Corolla Surf Shop in NCPHOTO | COROLLA SURF SHOP

Under the “Things to Do” tab on the Corolla Light resort website, guests can, among many other options: sign up for a yoga class, attend a tennis clinic, play golf, join a volleyball tournament, get introduced to kiteboarding, hunt for ghost crabs, take a wild horse tour and now schedule surf lessons.

If there is a lesson in there about economic development, it is that nearby businesses do not always need to be in competition with each other.

“We have the same goal: to present the best experience to their guests,” Smith said. “The resort can offer surf lessons so it’s an all-inclusive experience. Then guests don’t have to go anywhere.”

They also don’t have to worry about the expertise.

“Gary runs a good, quality service,” Cheek said.

And only adds to the quantity of reasons someone would want to stay at Corolla Light resort.

“He said to me, ‘Why didn’t we do this before?’” Smith said.

The partnership has pushed the surf shop to the next level.

The resort had criteria for top-flight surf lessons, Smith said. All of the surf instructors had to be CPR trained and certified by Corolla Beach Rescue. The surf school, which is 22 years old, is insured by Lloyd’s of London.

“We are really strict with the rules and regulations,” Smith said. “The quality of the product delivered to the guests is first class.”

Corolla Surf Shop and Corolla Light Resort team up to offer surfing lessons in NCPHOTO | COROLLA SURF SHOP

Group lessons, including North Carolina tax, are $72.60 per person for groups of five or less. Semiprivate lessons are $106.75 per person for two people. Private lessons for one-on-one with an instructor are $133.40.

Lessons are available every day but Saturday. Wetsuits and surfboards are provided. Special needs children and adults are welcome, and the shop asks that customers include any special need requests be included when booking lessons.

“I would like for us to continue the relationship with him,” Cheek said. “We are happy with Gary and his team. We look forward to a long-term relationship.”

The feeling is mutual.

“I’ve been really happy with it,” Smith said. “It’s raised our level of professionalism. We have to meet a higher standard because we are part of the resort.

“It’s been a great marriage.”


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