Topsail Vacation Rental FAQs

Yes, You must be over the age of 25 to book a reservation. A party member over the age of 25 must be present at all times during the reservation. 

During our Castaway season, Most of our properties will allow a minimum 3 night stay, however this is not the case for all properties. For exact property requirements please visit the property’s profile. 

During all other seasons( Maritime, Bungalow, and Buccaneer) a 7 night Saturday to Saturday stay is required. 

***If you are looking for a shorter stay or a stay that is not Saturday to Saturday, we can not accommodate the reservation unless the property is vacant 5 days before your requested check in date. Then we can only book the off requirement reservation with the owners approval. ***

Lewis Realty accepts Credit Card and Debit Card payments made with VISA or MasterCard. We do not charge any additional processing fees for credit card payments.

We also accept Checks and Money Orders if you payment is received at least 30 days prior to check in.

We do not however accept cash payments for rentals. 

There are several fees, in addition to the rental price, that make up the reservation total. Below is an example of the price quote you may receive from our rentals department.

Not all fees will apply for your reservation, please see below for an explanation of our fees: 

< Reservation Fee (required):

This fee is applied to all reservations and is taxable. This fee covers the administrative costs associated with the reservation and expenses related servicing the property during your stay.

< Pet Fee (Optional):  

This fee automatically applies to all reservations at pet-friendly properties. If you do not intend to bring a pet the fee can be removed from the reservation. 

Pet fees are charged per pet accompanying you. If you have more than one pet please let our rental staff know. Pet Fees are non-refundable, and are taxable. Not all properties are pet friendly, please check the property description to clarify.

< Damage Protection Fee (required):

Each reservation is protected against accidental damages that may occur during your stay up to $1500. The cost of this protection is automatically added and listed as a line item on your reservation. For damage protection policy information please review the “Property Protection Contents (World) 1500E” section of the following link: https://topsailarea.rentalguardian.com/available-products.html

Damage protection is required for all reservations and Lewis Realty does not collect any additional funds for refundable Security Deposits on vacation rental reservations. 

< Travel Insurance (Optional but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED):

Lewis Realty has partnered with RentalGuardian.com and InsureStays to help safeguard your entire booking deposit and other prepaid non-refundable payments related to planned travel. We strongly encourage you to purchase optional travel insurance. 

Travel Insurance covers risks incidental to planned travel such as sickness, accidental injury, or death of you or a family member (or of a traveling companion), weather delays, natural disasters, unexpected changes in your employment, and many more specific reasons. 

> Option # 1 - Play Travel Protection - Standard 

Standard Travel insurance can be added to your reservation total up to 30 days prior to check in, or before you make your final payment on the reservation, whichever comes first. 

Guests who are booking within 30 days from check in will need to add this plan at time of booking in order for it to protect their reservation. 

The cost of the Standard Travel Insurance plan is 7% of your total reservation invoice amount. The premium charged for travel insurance is non-refundable after 15 days of coverage purchase. 

> Option # 2 - Play Travel Protection - with Cancel for Any Reason Benefit

In addition to the standard travel insurance option listed above, guests have the option to purchase a deluxe travel insurance policy which includes the Cancel For Any Reason benefit. The CFAR policy protects guests in the event of cancellations that are not covered by the standard insurance plan. The CFAR will pay up to 60% of pre-paid non-refundable charges should your cancellation reason not be covered by the standard travel insurance. The cost of the standard travel insurance coverage with CFAR benefits is 9.8% of your total reservation invoice amount. The premium charged for travel insurance is non-refundable after 15 days of coverage purchase. 

**This benefit plan is not available for guests who are booking within 30 days from check in. If you are booking within 31 to 45 days from check in, this plan must be added at time of booking.**

If you are booking a reservation that is more than 45 days out from check in, this benefit plan must be added to your reservation within 15 days from booking. After 15 days from booking it will no longer be available but you can still purchase the standard travel insurance plan.

**CFAR benefit plans are NOT available to residents of New York, New Hampshire, or Washington.

For policy coverage questions please call Insurestays Customer Service at 833-610-0736. 

Guests can also visit the link below for additional coverage information. Please not all plans listed on the website are available for guests purchase and some plans, such as the damage protection are already included with your reservation. Please ask your reservationist for more details: 

https://topsailarea.rentalguardian.com/

Guests opting not to purchase travel insurance should be aware that our standard cancellation policy will apply to all reservations per the terms and conditions of our rental agreement, therefore, your entire booking payment could be at risk in the event you do not purchase travel insurance protection. 

NOTE: The NC Vacation Rental Act states that if travel insurance is offered, whether purchased or declined, the rental agency is under no obligation to make any refund due to a weather event or mandatory evacuation. 

Per our vacation rental agreement no refund will be issued by Lewis Realty and guests who purchase travel insurance will need to work with the insurance company directly to file a claim for reimbursement.  

< Linens and other rental items (optional):

Items like  Linens( sheets and towels), Beach gear and Bikes are not provided with any of our rental properties but can be added to your reservation. Contact your reservationist today for pricing information or visit our Rental Items page for more information. 

PLEASE NOTE: Lewis Realty is not responsible for any additional fees charged by 3rd party sites such as Homeaway.com or VRBO. These sites charge their own separate service fee for booking your reservation through their site. 

No! Each reservation total includes the cost of an after stay cleaning.

We do ask that guests perform a few minor tasks, such as taking out the trash and putting away dishes, before they check out but our team will take care of the rest!

No! We do not have a Security Deposit for our vacation rental reservations. Instead, each reservation includes a damage protection policy so guests are covered up to $1500 for accidental damages during their stay. 

No amount for a Security Deposit will be refunded to you after your stay.

• When you are ready to make your reservation, there are 3 ways to do so:

• Call our office and provide your information over the phone (910-328-5211).

• Book online through our website: www.VacationsOnTopsail.com.

• Correspond via email to provide all necessary information. 

• To reserve the property, the amount needed at the time of reserving will depend on how you would like to make your payment. No reservations can be made without payment. You are allowed to pay by credit card or check:
  
  

• Pay By Credit Card: Roughly half of your balance will be due at time of booking. This is true if you book online through our website, through a 3rd party site or over the phone with a member of our reservation team. The remaining balance after receiving this advance will be due 30 days before your arrival date. We can only accept Visa or MasterCard payments.
  
  

• Pay By Check: The option to make your payments with a check is only available by calling our office to book your reservation. We will still need a $200 down payment made on either a VISA or MasterCard at the time of booking.  The remainder of the first half of your total will be due by check within two weeks of making your reservation. Your remaining balance will then be due 30 days prior to your arrival date. We also accept Money Orders and Cashiers Checks.
  
  

Check in begins at 4:00 PM.

Most of our homes WILL NOT be ready for check-in prior to our designated check-in time. Please make sure to gauge your travel time accordingly. Some of our homes offer Keyless Access Entry for Check In, while others will require you to pick up keys at our office in order to check in. Detailed information will be emailed to all guests prior to arrival with house specific check in information.

If you arrive early, please do not visit the property before it has been deem check-in ready!!

Our cleaners and inspectors need the time prior to 4 pm to complete their tasks properly. Cleaners and inspectors will not stop at the property if a vehicle is in the driveway, which may delay your check-in time so please share with all members of your party to not park at the property until it is ready.

Feel free to call the office to see if the property is available, and if it is, we will gladly give you the keys early.If you would like to view the property before making a reservation, please call the office to see if/when it can be arranged and we will be happy to let you view one or more properties. 

Please be patient with our staff if you arrive early and your house is not yet ready. Repeated phone calls and/or being aggressive with staff members to speed along check in will not help us get the properties ready for you any faster.

Check Out is at 10 AM on your check out day.

Our cleaning and inspection crews are scheduled in advance and will begin cleaning homes promptly at 10 am.  We do ask that you plan accordingly in order to vacate your rental on time. 

• Early Check In and Late Check Out options have been discontinued until further notice. 
  
  We do offer an early check-in option as well as a Late check-out option for our reservations for an additional $50+tax fee. This option is subject to availability and may not be available for all properties.
  
  Please Note:

• Payment of the Early Check in fee grants you a check in time of 1 PM instead of 3 PM

• Payment of the Late Check Out fee grants you a check out time of 12 PM instead of 10 AM. 

• Only one of these options can be added per reservation, pending cleaning crew availability. 

• We can not add either option to any reservation prior to April 1st each year. These will be added on a first come first serve basis as availability is limited.

• If the cleaning crew assigned to your rental home has already been scheduled for either an Early Check In or a Late Check Out at another property for the same day, we will be unable to add this option to your reservation. 

• Without paying for this option normal check in and check out times will apply. Please be patient with our staff if you arrive early and did not secure an early check in option. Repeated phone calls and/or being aggressive with staff members to speed along check in will not help us get the properties ready for you any faster.
  
  
  

Yes!

We accept “Token Hold” reservations which allow guests to reserve weeks for next year prior to the rates being posted. Guests booked for the current year have priority booking rights over next years dates through Wednesday of their current years reservation. If they have not placed a hold on next years dates by Thursday morning of this years reservation, the dates will be open to the public for “Token Hold”.

There is a $40+tax non-refundable fee to place a “Token Hold. This fee is added to the grand total of your reservation.

When we've finalized the rates for next year, which typically happens in late fall, we will EMAIL updated reservation confirmation information to all guests.

If you have not received your confirmation information by December 1st, please contact our office. You will then have until February 1st to make a payment equal to the first half of your balance in order to move forward with the reservation, or your hold will be subject to cancellation. 

Beach equipment may or may not be at the property, but most of our owners do not supply these items for guest use. If previous guests have left behind items our cleaners will leave these for you to enjoy as well but that is not guaranteed.  We do offer a variety of rentable beach items that can be added to your reservation.

Please see our rental items page or contact our office for more information. Items added in advance to your reservation will be delivered to your rental property no later than 8pm on your check in day. 

Beach equipment cannot be left on the beach overnight. There are ordinances prohibiting such equipment being left on the beach in each township on Topsail Island.Main concerns regarding excess equipment being left on the beach include damage and debris caused by high tides washing away equipment, and equipment hindering turtle nesting and/or injuring sea turtles attempting to nest.

The number of guests staying and /or visiting the property cannot exceed the advertised maximum occupancy of the unit. This is true even if the property offers more sleeping arrangements than the listed occupancy. These occupancy limits are set in accordance with town and safety ordinances for your own protection as well as the protection of the property. Exceeding the Maximum Occupancy at any time may result in eviction from the property

No parties are permitted in any of our vacation rental units. All vacation units are to be rented to family groups only. No teen or college groups are allowed, even if they are chaperoned by adults. 

If you are staying at a pet friendly property, you may bring your pet with the addition of a pet fee to your reservation. All pet friendly properties will accept dogs, but we may need to receive permission from the homeowner of a requested property for other pets.