Are G Marin just money grabbing gangsters?

[Max K]

talking to permanent berth owners in Levkas Marina and chandlers around the town, a 30% increase in berthing fees is proposed by the new owners of Levkas and Gouvia Marinas for next year. Certainly open to accusations of "Chinese Whispers", this one!

Max.

.

 

[stranded]

No, gangsters are illegal. Legal exploiters and tricksters are known as 'businesses'.

 

[sailaboutvic]

One problem in Lefkas now is sun sail have moved there boats there , so now what use to be an half empty Marina isn't any more

 

[BobnLesley]

They might try to up their rates by 30%, but whether they can actually achieve that increase will depend upon market forces; why gangsters? Time will show that it was either a shrewd business decision or a business error; they certainly have form for the latter in Levkas:

Several years ago we were the only boat anchored in Levkas on March 30th, it was pouring with rain and blowing 25-40 knots. The marina had a six-month mooring deal which expired for the over-winterers on the following day and whilst nobody much fancied leaving, the marina remained adamant that if you were still there on 1st April, then their daily/monthly 'high season' rates would come into effect - not even 'shoulder-season' Levkas was (perhaps still is?) High-Season from April through to September; as I recall, they wanted as much for the month of April as the folks had paid for the previous six! Not surprisingly, despite the continuing foul weather, there was a mass exodus on the 31st, and we were now one of perhaps 30 boats anchored off or moored onto the town quay, with perhaps another twenty crews having donned their oilies and sailed down to Vlikho Bay - quite sensibly, nothing ventured north and out of the island's shelter. The marina, which had looked perhaps half-full now looked virtually deserted and it wasn't a lot different when we returned there a month later; it struck me as one of the silliest business decisions I'd ever seen: The charter/flotilla fleets weren't launching for perhaps another month and the summer visitors wouldn't be arriving in force for another two, so why not earn a few euros from those yachts that were around by offering them another month or two at a mutually acceptable reduced rate, rather than have them leaving en-masse and taking there beer tokens elsewhere?

 

[BobnLesley]

One problem in Lefkas now is sun sail have moved there boats there , so now what use to be an half empty Marina isn't any more

How come; I thought they owned that place on the east side of the Inland Sea - can't remember it's name, but on the mainland, beyond Kastos.

 

[RobbieW]

How come; I thought they owned that place on the east side of the Inland Sea - can't remember it's name, but on the mainland, beyond Kastos.

Vounaki - Sunsail sold up, Nielsen have moved in

 

[duncan99210]

I'd say it's likely to be the annual rumour chain about next year's fees/ability to work on your own boat. Seems to happen most years. However, given that it's been some years since the company has changed its pricing structure, it might just be true this year, although 30% does seem suicidal in the current climate.

 

[sailaboutvic]

They might try to up their rates by 30%, but whether they can actually achieve that increase will depend upon market forces; why gangsters? Time will show that it was either a shrewd business decision or a business error; they certainly have form for the latter in Levkas:

Several years ago we were the only boat anchored in Levkas on March 30th, it was pouring with rain and blowing 25-40 knots. The marina had a six-month mooring deal which expired for the over-winterers on the following day and whilst nobody much fancied leaving, the marina remained adamant that if you were still there on 1st April, then their daily/monthly 'high season' rates would come into effect - not even 'shoulder-season' Levkas was (perhaps still is?) High-Season from April through to September; as I recall, they wanted as much for the month of April as the folks had paid for the previous six! Not surprisingly, despite the continuing foul weather, there was a mass exodus on the 31st, and we were now one of perhaps 30 boats anchored off or moored onto the town quay, with perhaps another twenty crews having donned their oilies and sailed down to Vlikho Bay - quite sensibly, nothing ventured north and out of the island's shelter. The marina, which had looked perhaps half-full now looked virtually deserted and it wasn't a lot different when we returned there a month later; it struck me as one of the silliest business decisions I'd ever seen: The charter/flotilla fleets weren't launching for perhaps another month and the summer visitors wouldn't be arriving in force for another two, so why not earn a few euros from those yachts that were around by offering them another month or two at a mutually acceptable reduced rate, rather than have them leaving en-masse and taking there beer tokens elsewhere?

Bob. I simplify with these Marina and I don't blame then for there silly rules and silly prices , and good for them if they can get it , the problem lies with us yachties , if we stop going into these places and paying these silly prices then they would have two options , start to be reasonable or go bust ,
What need to be done is when we ask for a price Quito and we not happy is to tell them why your not going to use them , only then and if enough people do that we might have a chance of reasonable rate
ExSimples .
Croatia , mooring buoy town wall and Marina , we had anchorages at times on our own maybe one or two other boat and just a few hundreds meters away the mooring Buoys field where full , no better shelter then we had at a rate of 30 to 50 euros a night , can you blame these people not to keep putting out more and more buoys , same apply to town quays and Marina .
I can remember the days when ramsgate put up there prices to some stupid amount because it was always full , two years on it was almost empty people stop going next thing you know the prices dropped like a rocket .
Almarimar was another place all ways full in the winter with live aboard, at time you had to book the year before to make sure you could get in , then the rule came , no antifouling on the boats , ended up the lift wasn't hardly being used and the Marina ended up being almost empty , when we was there in 2010 darcea 2 there was only us and five other boats when you could fit 60 easy the same could be said for nearly the other darcea , I see now it being used again now they are letting people work on there boat and anti foul .
It up to us in the end of the day , but I guess these days with so many cheap boat about and worst so many charter company the marinas having got to satisfy it customers any more and can charge what they like .

 

[jimbaerselman]

. . . . a 30% increase in berthing fees is proposed by the new owners of Levkas and Gouvia Marinas for next year . . . .
.

They are learning the lessons long learnt by passenger air transport

(1) Ensure your core business costs are covered by selling early on long term contracts at cheaper prices (Sunsail contract)
(2) Set an initial price for other long term contracts which will fill you to 75%
(3) As the bookings come/don't come, modify your long term price with "special offers"
(4) Keep 10% berths free for high priced daily/last minute bookers

And those punters who think the practice of making a profit is anti-social can vote with their keels . . . since if [we] don't make a profit, further marinas and port facilities won't be developed.

 

[BobnLesley]

They are learning the lessons long learnt by passenger air transport...those punters who think the practice of making a profit is anti-social can vote with their keels . . . since if [we] don't make a profit, further marinas and port facilities won't be developed.

I'd agree with you on both counts Jim.
Whilst we rarely tie-up or even pick-up a mooring as our business (that of being non-working/full-time liveaboards) has a budget/business-plan that doesn't allow extended stays in marinas beyond winters where/when necessary, nor for paying outside labour to do maintenance tasks. It surprises me how often one hears complaints about this, that, or the other marina/boatyard/repair-shop charging too much money, there seems to be an underlying belief amongst liveaboard, indeed all yachties that these businesses should operate solely for their benefit, on some sort of semi-charitable basis, simply because "we're liveaboards and don't have the same budget/spending-power of the charter/flotilla fleets". There are and always will be isolated occasions (we've suffered ourselves a couple of times) where some business employs a bit of sharp-practice to scalp someone in a bind, though I think the power of the internet is lessening the number of such incidents; businesses realise that 'the word' (good or bad) can and will be passed far, wide and quickly nowadays. But in general, businesses are doing no more than charging 'what the market will stand' for that service in that location and it's unreasonable for us to expect them to do otherwise; I think many liveaboard yotties have short memories, as running their own businesses in precisely that manner is how/why they can afford to be out here sailing now.