consultants to the trade

Marina Dock Age, January / February 2010

MARINA OPERATIONS



Make your marina stand out



By Dennis P Kissman



In a world of 24-hour news, escalating unemployment, and wars at home and in the far corners of the world, it’s the job of marina operators to provide and maintain an escape for their customers. By delivering the boating lifestyle in a clean, safe, and friendly environment, marinas will be able to keep their existing customer base in these tough economic times.



For marina customers, their boats and accompanying amenities are the ultimate escape, an oasis that provides an outlet for relaxation, recreation, and socialization. The marina is often the host of these activities and should not lose sight of this responsibility even during difficult economic times. It can be very easy for marinas to get caught up in the negativity of the down turning economy and loose sight of what is most important to their business and livelihood.



To help marina operators create and maintain the boating lifestyle in 2010, here are some inexpensive, yet very effective improvement projects.



Sprucing up the place



The first step to make your marina standout in 2010 is to prepare a plan. Since this article coincides with winter, this is the perfect time to reflect on the past season’s events, review what marina patrons enjoyed, and focus on doing similar activities that should be branded to create maximum impact for minimum dollars.



Maintenance-Operators shouldidentify opportunities and methods to improve the customer’s perception of your property. Look specifically at tasks that do not have to break the bank. For example, marinas can repaint an area that looks soiled or worn from continued use. Don’t be afraid to update the colors to more vibrant and inviting hues to make boaters feel like they are truly “away from home.” Replace the stained carpet in the lounge or the waiting area and resurface the primary countertops to spruce up your “look.”



Lighting is always a maintenance challenge, but customers and marina office staff will thank you for the updated lighting and related fixtures in the restrooms, showers, and office spaces. Remember your marina is an oasis – an escape from reality for the weekend or holiday – so create a carefree environment.



Trim it up and add a splash of color-Annual flowers are colorful and an inexpensive way to spruce up your marina. Operators should pay particular attention to marina entrances, as well as defined areas within the marina, such as islands within parking areas. Annual flowers are always welcome at outdoor customer waiting areas and areas that need to be shielded from a customer’s view.



The Coffee Machine–Gathering spots at the marina aren’t always at the dock, and the coffee pot is always a good place to meet up. Look for a good quality commercial grade coffee machine like those that dispense a single cup of fresh brewed coffee and dedicate it to your customers. This is not the machine you want your employees hanging around, so make sure they know this.



Fresh looking employees- An easy way to put the customer at ease is by giving a new clean look for the employees through the use of a uniform dress code that incorporates a name tag. Name tags help customers feel at ease because then they are able to address employees by their correct names. This also allows for more interaction and opportunity for employees to address the customers about up-selling opportunities and value driven relationships.



A uniform dress code does not necessarily mean supplying uniforms to employees. What it does do is set a standard as to how you expect your employees to present themselves in the workplace.



Other areas for improvement



Look beyond the marina industry –To enhance your appeal to customers, marinas need to look at other hospitality industries for ideas. For example, the hotel industry has gone to great lengths to study and research the psychology of scent. Do some research of your own and identify how you can use scents to improve customer satisfaction and retail sales in your marina. Pay particular attention to the restroom, shower, and laundry areas where mildew can be a problem. You’ll be surprised at the reactions of boaters who have visited your competitors and then visited your marina. They will not only stay longer, but also bring their families by the marina, thereby creating more opportunity at your facility.



Security-Maintain your security system and procedures to put customers at ease. Nothing turns off a boater more than the thought that that their family, guests, and personal effects, specifically their pride and joy, could be in danger by staying at your marina.



Add value-Hospitality ventures are proud of offering value-added stays, and the same holds true for marinas. Operators need to promote preventive maintenance programs to their customers because a broken boat can equal a bad weekend. A great way to ensure that the motor turns and the props can spin on the holiday weekends is by providing value added maintenance services to your customers and facilitating their ability to get work done on the boat (especially during the week). Make sure your staff members are trained to jumpstart boats or have a mechanic on call and available to diagnose and fix small problems that might happen to boats before they leave the marina.



Stay connected-Make sure to have an area that provides wireless internet for your customers while they wait. We all are “connected” nowadays so make it easy for your customers. Your wireless service needs to provide adequate, reliable coverage to your marina and common areas. In today’s technological age, it is unacceptable to drive customers away from your property to find a wireless signal.



Positive mental attitude



Above all else, marina operators need to instill a positive attitude among their staff and customers. Creating a positive environment for your customers means removing any negative stimulus from the property. Here’s a simple thing marina can do for little cost. If the local newspaper is filled with negative stories on a constant basis, look at identifying a subscription news service that will provide an alternative. Some marinas are using a service called the TimesFax, which provides an overview of the world’s news and a much sought after crossword puzzle. Turn the News Channel off at the bar or lounge and rely on sports channels or other lighthearted and fun networks.



Marina operators can’t avoid the tough times, but they can still keep up with the times and entertain their customers. Don’t let the tough economic period everyone is experiencing keep your marina business stagnant. Make changes in a calculated fashion. See how your boaters react. When the economic climate starts to change, those boaters will fondly recall the “happy place” you made for them and will come back to your marina.

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Marina Dock Age, April 2010

Why making rate deals Is bad for your marina
By Dennis P. Kissman

The rates that marinas charge customers and tenants are fundamental to making a profit. Whether the rates are for a dry slip, wet slip, or services rendered, rates and how management and staff portray them will ultimately determine how your current and future customers view your marina.

How to set/change rates

In formulating a rate structure policy, it is wise for management to set a policy that maintains competitive rates and ensures fair and consistent implementation. The ability of a marina to charge premium rates is a direct function of the level of service provided, the condition and upkeep of the facility, and market demand. If a marina raises its rates, then those new rates should match the value and service(s) the marina offers its boating customers.

When setting rates, it is very difficult for marinas to make large increases without having made some significant improvements to the property or having seen major increases in demand. Even if these conditions exist, the marina should not make changes haphazardly. The marina should communicate all rate changes to the boaters and tenants at the marina and publish them at least 30 days in advance of implementation. Customers and tenants won’t begrudge rate increases as long as they see marina improvements being completed and operating costs increasing. Customers know that marinas will need to adjust their rates to reflect the increased costs to maintain profitability.

When it comes to setting rates, the first thing the marina manager should tell customers is that it’s the marina policy to review and adjust rates on annual basis. Then the manager should put this policy in both its Rules and Regulations handbook that is given to boaters, as well as in the Policy and Procedures Manual that the marina staff uses for operating the marina.

Marinas can avoid making large rate increases by performing consistent rate reviews. Making large increases can have a negative impact on your customer base. At the same time, now that you have set your dockage rate structure and related rates, you must administer them fairly to all customers.

No rate deals
Administering your rates equally to each customer means no deals and no exceptions. This issue is constantly being pushed at our managed marinas by captains looking to get a better deal for their owners or by boaters looking to be frugal. When pressured to make special deals, marinas must stand their ground. No marina employee should even consider giving anyone a special deal. Here are four reasons why.

When a marina owner or any member of the management team makes deals on rates, then other employees are inclined to do the same. This creates a lack of consistency throughout the marina because the lower level employees tend not to communicate these changes to upper management. As a result, the boater and employee are put into a bind that has to be resolved by management or worse, by the owner. In the end no one is happy.

When the policy at the marina for customers is “no deals on rates,” and the ownership or management makes a rate deal, this creates a real problem for the employee. The uninformed staff will attempt to adhere to the policy when approached by the boater involved. The staff member will look incompetent, uninformed, and powerless, which will undermine previous staff training and staff confidence.

Boaters talk among themselves on the docks. No matter how much you stress to a boater not to talk about a particular “deal,” the individual will end up bragging. Now the downward spiral has begun and everyone at the marina will want to cut the same deal. The marina manager must be prepared to make the same “deal” for each and every other customer in the marina. If you don’t, you will lose them.

Remember that the main source of revenue at a marina is dockage. Reducing its value by offering special deals to individual customers reduces the marina’s ability to remain competitive over time and may make the marina look weak.

Overall marinas must make a stand that no dockage rate deals will be given to anyone. The marinas must post these rates in the marina office and pass out rate cards as a means of validating that policy. Clear and concise communication with customers is vitally important to maintaining fair and equitable rates for every boater.

If you are still not convinced that making deals with individual customers is not good for your marina, ask yourself every time you are considering making such a deal: “Am I willing to give the same deal to every existing and potential customer?” If your answer is “no” then there should be no deal.

Dennis P. Kissman is president of Marina Management Services in Boca Raton, Fla. He can be reached by phone at 561/338-5800 or via e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Marina Dock Age, May / June 2010

MARINA OPERATIONS

Put your marina in the local spotlight with special events

By Dennis P. Kissman

As we approach the summer season, marinas should be planning special events to bring more traffic into the facility. Events and activities at your marina are a great way to engage both your customers and the local community in the boating lifestyle. After all, the marina needs to be a fun place, and events are a great way to promote that fun. Events will also allow potentially new customers to talk to your current customers and hear about all the benefits your marina has to offer.

When choosing what events to offer, a marina should take into account whether it is busy or slow season, what type of boats the marina caters to, and who will be attending the event? Not all events work for all marinas. The important things to remember when planning an event are communication, organization, and FUN. Here is how to plan an event.

Planning

The key to hosting a good event is to leave enough time to properly plan it. Participants will be able to tell if your event is whipped together at the last moment, and it will make the marina look bad. If you have a quiet off-season, take that time to carefully select dates.

Make sure your event does not conflict with other major events that will diminish your turnout or create ill will from the other event’s organizers. One of the best ways to organize an event is with a checklist. A facility checklist will allow a marina to keep track of what has been done and what still needs to be done before the event.

Organization

Take the time to sit down with your staff and event organizers to discuss ideas for the event. Some of the less glamorous things that need to be discussed are how the marina will handle garbage, security, parking, and keep its restrooms clean during the event. Overlooking these issues is a recipe for disaster.

Parking

Knowing the total number of people you are expecting will help you gauge the number of cars to expect. For example, I assume that there will be one car for every three people at the event. Based on that calculation, do you have enough parking at your marina to accommodate that many cars? If you do not have the space then you need to plan where you are going to park those cars on the day of the event. Now is the time to call in that favor from your neighbor or the local community to accommodate the overflow of cars.

Garbage

You will need to estimate how much garbage your event will generate and determine if you will need an additional dumpster on-site. Will you need more trash receptacles in the event area? Don’t be afraid to ask your garbage contractor to sponsor the event by providing additional dumpsters, trash pick-up, and sometimes even temporary trash receptacles for the event. Will you need additional staff to handle the increase in garbage?

Restrooms

Are your restrooms adequate to accommodate the total number of participants you are expecting? Will you need to bring in some portable restrooms? Will you need additional staff to maintain the restrooms during the event?

Security

When inviting people from the outside into the property, security will always be an issue. The general public may not be accustomed to being around boats and may not know how to behave. An innocent photo opportunity could turn into someone jumping on a stranger’s boat, which is not a good situation.

Having additional security on hand is a good idea especially if alcohol is served. Additional lighting in dark corners of the marina and temporary fencing to secure vulnerable areas of the marina may also be required.

Other needs

Some other things that should be considered before hosting an event at the marina are where the event will take place, what special utilities are needed, and what is the backup plan should the weather take a turn for the worse. For an event checklist and more ideas go to www.marinamanagement.com and visit my blog.

Promotion

You will need to tell existing boaters and other potential participants about this event with a “Save the Date” notification well in advance. Make sure notification materials include the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the event. Make sure to notify local newspapers, boating Web sites, boating and yacht clubs, and notify existing customers by posting flyers at the mailboxes, in the laundry room, and at the customer service desk.

Fun ideas

Some fun ideas to incorporate into your event are pet contests, a docking competition, dinghy races, model boat racing, a health expo, or a cookout. People love their dogs, cats, birds, and other pets and even take these pets with them when they go boating. Have a best dressed pet contest, a special tricks contest, or any other zany or wacky pet oriented contest. This is something that everyone can enjoy.

Although a docking competition can be dangerous, if it involves experienced boaters in the right location, this can be a hoot to watch.

Never underestimate the entertainment factor of a 100-foot dinghy race. It’s really fun and a great way to pair up boaters that have not met. Try a relay or a timed race course with an obstacle like a hose spraying fresh water at the competitors.

A model boat race can be fun, but it is better suited for the pool at the marina or at the local YMCA. Have competitions that include one blindfolded captain operating the controls with a mate telling the captain what to do as the boat maneuvers through an obstacle course.

With many people focusing on being healthier, a good idea would be to invite trainers to the marina to conduct yoga or aerobics classes. You could also invite nutritionists to talk to customers and potential customers about healthy eating.

Conclusion

These are just some ideas to get you thinking about potential events and how to plan them. Never lose sight of why you are holding these events-to promote your business and improve profitability. Remember, too, that the more engaged you are with the community and the community leaders, the easier it may be to get a project or renovation approved in the future.

Dennis P. Kissman is president of Marina Management Services in Boca Raton, Fla. He can be reached by phone at 561/338-5800 or via e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .