I had the privilege of attending the University of Wisconsin’s Docks and Marinas program this year. I came away from the course with a deeper understanding of our industry both in the engineering field as well as the managerial and environmental aspects of marina business. I’d like to share with you what I learned.
Because of rising gas prices, slip renters have opted to stay in their slips and not spend money on gas and other related expenses. That being said, our industry has gone from a “parking lot” operation to that of a real service industry. Boaters are expecting more amenities and a higher level of service for their money than they ever have before.
According to a Marina Dock Age magazine’s survey; 66% of the nation’s marinas made a profit during 2010 and 69% reported higher occupancy rates than last year. Which sounds fine and dandy but they are still below pre-recession levels.
In our area, we are 1% higher than the national average but are still below where we need to be to declare the recession over. Of those who reported profits, most are only seeing a 10% increase in receipts. This is ok, but as marinas go we should see somewhere around 15%-20% rebound from the soft market.
This year, 43% of marinas have cut expenses. Fewer employees and less stock do help the service aspect of your marina. You can find the actual article in next month’s Marina Dock Age magazine. So what do we do…here are a couple of suggestions:
- “Clean marinas” have seen more growth than that of their peers who have not made the switch.
- New value pricing mechanisms have sprung up allowing marinas to increase profits 10% while only seeing a 7% drop in occupancy.
- Marinas that offer a wider array of electric service options have seen growth above that of their peers.
- There is an automatic payback to doing this. The upkeep of your marinas, retrofitting to improve electrical systems and switching over to a clean marina etc. can now help you reduce your insurance premium.
In studies performed marinas that have taken on aggressive maintenance and repair programs have had fewer losses than those of their peers who have had a “wait and see” attitude.
The smart move is not to wait for the next big storm to renovate and upgrade docks. We are here to help when that storm goes through but we need to do something to curb rising losses and premiums.
We are going to be offering 10-15% discounts on premiums for marinas we insure that take up this program we are setting forth.
The docking systems we have in our area are some of the most sophisticated and intricate docking systems in the United States. There are many products coming to the market that we should take advantage of to make our docks not only more resilient but safer and aesthetically pleasing. We would like to be a part of, and aid in the success of the marina and boating industry in our region as well as offering the best insurance solutions for your needs as a marina owner. I highly recommend Wisconsin’s class. They are offering another class on renovating and repairing storm damaged docks in October 2012. I’ll be attending; I would like to see you there
