Atlantic Marine Management

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(410) 739-4907
marinapartners@gmail.com

Change on the Waterfront

The marina business isn't what it used to be. Traditionally, marinas have been family owned and operated businesses with as many flavors of operating styles and policies as the owners themselves.

There was a time when a sleepy 50 slip marina with bait and fuel in a sunny spot could provide a family with a moderate income and comfortable waterfront lifestyle... that is before waterfront land prices skyrocketed out of hand; appraisal values and taxes escalated to exhorbitant rates and a quality insurance policy became unfordable or in some areas, unobtainable at any price.

In addition to the dramatic changes that have occured on the real estate side, every other aspect of the recreational marina economics has changed dramatically as well.

Today's technology savvy customers are much more sophisticated and expect more than they ever have. Superior service and quality product offerings are beacons for our modern society.

Since the Great Recession, a tremendous portion of the mid-size market (30'-50' boats) has been decimated and will take at least a decade to recover and may never be what it once was again. Most of what is returning as part of a boating industry recovery are smaller, more economical boats. This is not necessarily a bad thing as modern boat building processes allow a

wider spectrum of people and incomes to participate in recreational boating.

Competition is fierce - and there's no room for complacency. 20 years ago you didn't have to worry if a visitor had one bad day at your facility... because they couldn't tell 50,000 people about it in less than a minute with a 15 word Tweet.

Today, with over 80% of all travellers starting their travel bookings online it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how quick even a great reputation can be tainted or even destroyed.

Over the past 10-15 years there has been a significant push by a few leading marina groups who understand the new paradigm very well. They have been acquiring and branding marinas, transforming their properties to provide the same quality experience and consistent level of service at each location. They are doing for the marina industry what the Hilton's did for hotels.

Whether you have 10 marinas or 1, it needs to run like a well oiled machine and marinas must strive to provide every customer a consistent quality experience.

Today's marina operators must now be hospitality professionals as well. They need to provide more than a friendly smile and a place to tie up for the season. There are dozens of opportunities for almost every marina to improve customer experience, quality, service and revenue.