Happy New Year - marina raised my fees

Happy New Year TF members. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. My marina sent us a nice gift of a 10% increase in slip fees. While I expected an increase it would have been nice if they sent a letter stating what improvements they were making. The cost is still less than other local options and we have a great slip but just think it was crappy to send the renewal without reason.

Having been in the customer care business I am always surprised how little communication or basic customer service that our marina offers. For very little effort they could easily justify price increases. What have others experienced.

Here, marina fees have increased annually each year in recent years.

Usually the demand for slips is so high that they don’t have to do any customer communications. That is too bad but reality.

I expect an annual increase but 10% is a lot w/o explanation. Heck I could write their letter and justify a 15% increase.

Lollygag1 said:

Happy New Year TF members. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. My marina sent us a nice gift of a 10% increase in slip fees. While I expected an increase it would have been nice if they sent a letter stating what improvements they were making. The cost is still less than other local options and we have a great slip but just think it was crappy to send the renewal without reason.

Having been in the customer care business I am always surprised how little communication or basic customer service that our marina offers. For very little effort they could easily justify price increases. What have others experienced.

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Ours went up to $157 a foot. Safe Harbor is buying everything that they can in Narragansett Bay and elsewhere. They will monopolize a lot of prices. The mom and pops that are still around will
capitalize on that. From what I hear they all have waiting lists.

Mine jumped from $72 to $80 / foot last year (11% increase), but no change this year. At least they started some pretty visible improvements around the marina to go along with the last increase.

Cigatoo we are still at an independent but know safe harbor is lurking and would jack the rates. Hopefully they will not buy ours as it does need work. There is a cheap option around the corner but it is crap and there is no fuel dock in upper bay. Friend has a private dock in Salt Pond we are discussing using that but hate to drive 45 min to boat. Spoiled w a 10 min drive now

I bought a condo a few years ago on the ICW with a deeded slip. Needs new pilings, but when Weebles finally arrives, my slip fees will be exactly $0.

Similarly, a friend has a 60' LOA power car he purchased a few years ago. He planned to liveaboard but had trouble fining a slip, and those he did find were close over $1500/mo. He bought a house for $640k and had a dock built for around $40k. House is appreciating much faster than the boat is depreciating.

Many ways to skin a cat....

Peter

Things are different on Lake Michigan. A bad season last summer due to COVID travel restrictions and extremely high water hurt everyone, marina owners and boaters alike.

One State owned marina offered a substantial discount for the first two months due to electrical and other high water problems. Many marinas experienced increased cost factors related to the extremely high water levels. Some did a good job of fighting the "tide". Some, (like mine) not so much.

As things stand right now I don't expect to see cost increases. If the owner of my marina raises the rates, even a nickel, I'm gone. I am very tired of flooded parking areas, mud everywhere, half assed stop gap measures to stay above the flood (pallets to jump from and toward to get to the dock, etc.)

I sure would not want to own a marina on Lake Michigan these days but I'm not in the mood to bail mine out.

pete

Pete after your post I am will submit my deposit and secure my spot. No mud, pallets or electrical issues.

Lollygag1 said:

The cost is still less than other local options and we have a great slip but just think it was crappy to send the renewal without reason.

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I think you gave the reasons for the increase in the same sentence.

Lollygag1 said:

Happy New Year TF members. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. My marina sent us a nice gift of a 10% increase in slip fees. While I expected an increase it would have been nice if they sent a letter stating what improvements they were making. The cost is still less than other local options and we have a great slip but just think it was crappy to send the renewal without reason.

Having been in the customer care business I am always surprised how little communication or basic customer service that our marina offers. For very little effort they could easily justify price increases. What have others experienced.

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You sort of give good reasons for them to increase. They were too low. Plenty of other reasons, just increase in general costs, and loss of transient business due to pandemic. Ultimately they don't need to give you a reason.

Since we have our own dock on the river our costs are actually going down as we are refinancing our home. Our new rate will be 2.25% and our loan payment will drop almost $200 per month. Add in that our medical insurance is dropping about $800 per month it will be a better year, although how could it be worse than 2020?

SW Florida has become musical chairs for seasonal boat slips. Was told in August there wasn't going to be one for me at my favorite yacht club (which is less expensive than the municipal and commercial marinas). The commercial and municipal marina were already full. Ended up buying one at the bottom of the market. Prices are rising and year round slip rentals now have a 20 boat waiting list for my slip size. If the border opens next fall and the maple leaf navy comes down, it's going to be ugly at the anchorages and mooring fields.

While I'm sympathetic for your 10% rate increase, you still have a slip you can rent.

Ted

We are at the end of the cove so no transient. Last year there was 60% +- occupancy so the price increase is push but the other marinas charge more so they raised the rates. Again I understand and accept the results but would handle differently

Lollygag1 said:

We are at the end of the cove so no transient. Last year there was 60% +- occupancy so the price increase is push but the other marinas charge more so they raised the rates. Again I understand and accept the results but would handle differently

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How would you handle it? The standard say nothing letter?

Dear Slip Tenant. We are sorry but we must raise all slip rentals 10% for 2021, due to the rising costs of labor and supplies and reduced income from other things. We remain lower than our local competition and feel we provide better docks and service.

Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage.

Does that make it better? I'm sure curious as I've received and sent such letters and easy to sit here and write them, but when I receive them I only read one item on them and fume a bit and throw them away.

I had to buy a moorage this year or risk getting pushed out without any options. Slips are at a premium again, if you can find one at all, and after nearly having a heart attack on what the purchase price increase was going to be, I read the tea leaves and realized that rental rates were about to skyrocket. I don’t know what your local economy looks like, but at the minuscule increase you are looking at, I’d personally think you owe them a nice card and maybe a gift basket too.

Lollygag1 said:

Happy New Year TF members. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. My marina sent us a nice gift of a 10% increase in slip fees. While I expected an increase it would have been nice if they sent a letter stating what improvements they were making. The cost is still less than other local options and we have a great slip but just think it was crappy to send the renewal without reason.

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Because they can
As you say the cost is less than elsewhere
and improvements don't have to me made to increase rent.

With advances in tech , the big increase will come when electric is metered, and billed.

Both monthly or overnight billing will be common.

BandB said:

How would you handle it? The standard say nothing letter?

Dear Slip Tenant. We are sorry but we must raise all slip rentals 10% for 2021, due to the rising costs of labor and supplies and reduced income from other things. We remain lower than our local competition and feel we provide better docks and service.

Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage.

Does that make it better? I'm sure curious as I've received and sent such letters and easy to sit here and write them, but when I receive them I only read one item on them and fume a bit and throw them away.

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Maybe this would make the OP feel better:

Dear Slip Tenant. We are sorry but we must raise all slip rentals for 2021, due to the rising costs of labor and supplies and reduced income from other things. We are below our local competition and feel we provide better docks and service. To bring us closer to our competition, we will be raising our rates 20%. Since you are such a valued customer and have been with us so long, we are only raising your slip fee 10%........this year.

Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage.

Ted

"Ours went up to $157 a foot."

Just making sure. That is an annual rate,right?

Tator

Cigatoo said:

Ours went up to $157 a foot. Safe Harbor is buying everything that they can in Narragansett Bay and elsewhere. They will monopolize a lot of prices. The mom and pops that are still around will
capitalize on that. From what I hear they all have waiting lists.

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Safe Harbor bought the marina/dry storage next door. Two weeks later Sally rolled through and most all of the local marina docks were destroyed including theirs. Demand for dry storage instantly went up. We now keep our 42’ fishing boat in storage and are glad we have the spot. Pricing however went from $12.00 a foot to $15.50 overnight with a year’s lease and a hefty minimum. They are full.

Just the cost of ownership.

FF said:

With advances in tech , the big increase will come when electric is metered, and billed.

Both monthly or overnight billing will be common.

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Interestingly, my marina has replaced all of their power posts over the last couple of years. The new posts all have meters, and they had talked about charging based on usage. So far, they haven't, as they decided that at least for now, with the fairly low cost of power in this area, it's not worth the effort / overhead.

Tator said:

"Ours went up to $157 a foot."

Just making sure. That is an annual rate,right?

Tator

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That would be May1 to October 31. 6 months. However we do have a close knit community with many perks not found at most marinas / boat yards.

When I see quotes of $80 to $157 plf is that for a whole summer? I live in Florida and pay monthly.

Well, it's likely to get worse...

Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI) acquired Safe Harbor at the end of September for the eye popping sum of $2.1 billion. The Sun CEO is quoted in the press release

"Safe Harbor’s scale and unique positioning, coupled with the fragmented marina industry, should provide us with incremental channels to drive shareholder value in the coming years," said Gary A. Shiffman, Sun’s Chairman and CEO. "This transaction increases our geographic and customer diversity and introduces a new platform that can enhance our ability to generate industry leading returns."

Which sounds to me like: "We're going to buy a lot more marinas in the "fragmented" marina industry to "generate industry leading returns" - I don't know what Sun has in mind but this is usually done after an acquisition by raising prices and cutting payroll costs.

But we now have the somewhat perverse opportunity to buy SUI stock and perhaps make a return on our slip fees

I just closed on a GB36, 1973 vintage. Safe Harbor bought Silver Spring Marina in Wakefield and I was told they wouldn't allow my boat in their yard due to age. Condition or a survey didn't matter. Too old?, get lost.

Years ago I met a guy who was consolidating the porta potty industry from all the independent guys so this goes along all industries.

I would think the marina industry is ripe for this there are economies of scale from a business side and the product is customers disposable income so while they may complain the check clears.

BTW- after a recent trip to our marina they are putting in new seawall and replacing more docks so at least the price increase is going to improvements.

Marina boat age

The scary part for me is if they buy up everything, and their policy is no boat beyond a certain age, where do I dock my boat?

I don't get the age thing. I have seen a 1972 GB in better shape than a 12010 SeaRay.