Fees for golf and use of the swimming pools at Holiday Island have gone up. Golf membership for Holiday Island Suburban Improvement (HISID) members has gone from $580 annually in 2017 to $750 in 2022. For non-owners, it went up from $1,500 in 2017 to $1,750 in 2022.
HISID District Manager Danny Presley said it was agonizing to find the balance between what is affordable and the reality that increasing costs for everything, fuel for golf carts, mowers, maintenance, fertilizer and labor—employees have received a cost-of-living increase for the first time in four years.
“We had to make some decision to increase fees,” Presley said. “To me, it is consistent with what is going on in our economy. It is a national issue and not just a Holiday Island issue. Everything costs more. I think our increases were necessary and reasonable.”
Presley said they recognize a good portion of their residents do not play golf. But he said they believe that the golf courses add value to the community regardless.
“It is the same with every amenity we have,” Presley said. “We have a marina and some people don’t use it. We have a recreation center that some people don’t use. Some people don’t use the swimming pools. We are very proud of the amenities we offer here and want to keep them in tip top shape so that is something our residents can be proud of.”
Presley said they also skipped a year and didn’t increase any recreational use fees during 2021 because the HISID commissioners understood the economic woes of the Covid pandemic.
Cost for the use of the pool in 2017 was $150 for a family season pass or $2.80 per person per visit. Non owners were charged $4.67 per person per day. This year fees have increased to $100 for individuals and $200 for a family season pass, and $6 per day per person for owners and $10 per day per person for non-owners.
“This is not a public pool,” Presley said. “It is for property owners and guests of property owners. If this were to become a public pool, that changes our insurance. We would need a lifeguard, perhaps more than one because of the size of the pool. There are implications that would come about if this became a public pool.”
Presley said that they had a problem with rental property guests overcrowding the pool in 2021.
“We are sensitive to the concerns of our residents who complained about overcrowding by people who don’t live here,” Presley said. “They come here for a weekend and take advantage of the swimming pool. And, so, we have implemented a rental property fee of $600 per year.”
Presley said the average family living in Holiday Island would likely only have about four people using the pool. But with a rental property, he said you could have 200 or 300 people come through staying at the property during the year who might use the pool.
“Hundreds of people making use of these amenities can cause overcrowding and seems somewhat unfair to the property owners,” Presley said. “We were trying to address those concerns. We have approximately 65 rental properties in Holiday Island, most either VRBO and Airbnb. That has become a concern to many of the residents.”
Damon Henke, owner of Ozark Mountain Vacation Rentals, said the $600 increase in fees feels like a response by HISID commissioners to residential concerns surrounding vacation rentals. In Henke’s opinion, the $600 fee is designed to deter visitors from using the pool by putting financial pressure on vacation rental owners.
“Typically, a community looks for ways to incentivize economic development,” Henke said. “Alternatively, this fee is a financial detriment to the property owners who are taking on risk and working hard to improve the economic position of Holiday Island. The pool and recreation facilities were built to enhance Holiday Island’s position as a competitive tourist destination, providing a plethora of entertainment options for a family during a week-long stay. The fee is a way to discourage vacation rental owners from providing access to amenities that were originally advertised as attractions to the area.”
He sees the fee as very unfair to small vacation rentals such as property owners with only one Airbnb room in their house. There is no distinction between a one-room rental and very big houses that sleep 14 to 18 people. The big houses are more likely to have a large number of guests using the pools at one time.
Henke said vacation rental owners do not have a problem with their guests being charged a higher fee at the pool.
“We simply want the fee to be raised to a level appropriate for the number of guests using the facilities as compared to the ongoing costs of maintaining the facility,” Henke said. “Even if it cost $15 per guest to use the pool, it would at least be an amenity available to visitors as originally advertised at the time that properties were purchased. A higher per-guest fee doesn’t burden the property owner, eliminates any inequity based on house size, and aligns the fee with the guests who are actually using the pool.”
A woman who owns a duplex in Holiday Island that she uses for short-term rentals said she is upset with the pool fees.
“I pay my HISID bill, I pay my taxes, and now I’ve received a letter that I have to pay $1,200 for any visitors who stay in my duplex to use the swimming pool,” she said. “To me, the taxes and HISID fees alone are too high. The swimming pool thing really rubs me wrong. Nobody is happy about that.”
Priscilla Ann Willis, a real estate agent with Better Homes and Garden Real Estate Journey, Bentonville, said she has never had guests at the Holiday Island home she rents to tourists ask for a pool pass.
“Most of the people are coming for lake recreation,” Willis said. “The $600 fee to provide a pool pass for guests doesn’t really affect me, but I think their fees were high enough in the past. I have a friend with three sons and it was costing her $20 to take her family to the swimming pool.”
Henke said the fees seem to be based on the idea there is too much vacationing in Holiday Island.
“The identity of Holiday Island needs to be clarified,” he said. “If you ask real estate agents who have been selling property in Holiday Island for 30 years, they will confirm the history of a vacation market that includes timeshares, short-term rentals, and seasonal homes. A lot of money has been spent advertising Holiday Island as a tourism destination over the years. Several publications include a full-page ad for Holiday Island, and HISID has regional billboard advertising in place.
“Is Holiday Island a retirement community? Or will the future economic prosperity come from tourism? I would presume that HISID has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build Holiday Island into a brand that represents a popular tourism destination with many of the best outdoor activities available. As a new city, Holiday Island will need to work hand-in-hand with HISID Commissioners to incentivize tourism in a fair and equitable fashion to support the infrastructure costs of an expanding community.”