Are we all too keen to give our money to marinas during the pandemic?

I think the OP has a point. There are going to be a lot of businesses taking a huge hit and others barely affected little of it being relevant to how well or badly they have been run. Maybe we are going to have to accept a certain smoothing out of the pain with those who are able taking a bit of a haircut to help out others.
 
FlyingGoose said:
Interesting on how Premier Marinas are offering discounts, because shrewd bushiness looks after customer loyalty and retention , I have posted before but I have been a General manager of London Hotels , I can assure you customer service , loyalty , and retention is a major player in a service industry , marinas have been getting away with it for years , Hence why Premier marina has moved with the times., , get on the program or lose your customers simplies
A small discount to a customer retains loyalty , and commitment to that person paying up to 4000+ a year , so by discounting for April or reducing costs the marina does not lose the full amount , it is simply economics in a service driven world
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Yes Good PR. Well done premier marinas. I don't want to have my boat at premier marina, nor do I want it at Haslar. Outside the top marinas are a host of smaller marinas and boatyards. Bit more character, independants. Dont have the Tee shirts, but and I emphasise might offer a bit more charm. Of course location is very important too. They may not need to offer discounts not having to fill 300 berths. they might not have a lot of cash to hand out. they might be bloody tight. but regardless its going to be a gesture of goodwill.
Steveeasy
 
steveeasy said:
Did anyone say they were going to drown. its only been a few weeks. if it goes on and on then im sure their be more reduced fees. Seriously marinas will open quicker than some with strict social distancing. Restaurants with restrictions. my business well I don't think people will want to mix and quite frankly I don't want to mix with them until a vaccine, so no events or shows. Happy |Days.
Steveeasy
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A Vaccine in widespread use is unlikely before 2021.
 
James W said:
. You might be struggling to pay your mortgage, so the lenders are offering payment holidays. . So why are marina companies not offering payment holidays or serious discounts to their clients for the period that they are not allowed to even visit their boats to check on their safety and security?
Just a thought.......
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You might be getting a "payment holiday" but you still have to pay the mortgage & the longer one takes to pay it off the more interest you are going to have to pay!
That is not saving one money :unsure:
Marinas may be able to get loan facilities to fund customer non payment. But these so called "loan facilities" are coming with penalties attached. They are not free. Companies are getting charged silly interest rates of 15% & higher. The BBC quoted 30% on some loans which I find obnoxious if true. On top of that the money still has to be re paid so it is NOT free money. Staff wages may be furloed but the cash is not in the bank accounts yet. Where is the money in the meantime. Then there is all the hassle of actually getting it in the first place. I suspect this so called "support for business" is not quite what it seems. Read below the headlines. I am really glad I am retired & was able to sell up in more stable times.
I always remember the 3 day working week
My father said to me something like Monday & Tuesday paid the wages --Wednesday paid the materials--Thursday paid the overheads Friday morning paid the bank
& Friday afternoon - if we were lucky & made 10% profit, was ours ----At the time we lost Thursday & Friday

Well right now most companies have not only lost friday afternoon, but the rest of the week as well & the bank wants Saturday & Sunday on top
 
FlyingGoose said:
Interesting on how Premier Marinas are offering discounts, because shrewd bushiness looks after customer loyalty and retention , I have posted before but I have been a General manager of London Hotels , I can assure you customer service , loyalty , and retention is a major player in a service industry , marinas have been getting away with it for years , Hence why Premier marina has moved with the times., , get on the program or lose your customers simplies
A small discount to a customer retains loyalty , and commitment to that person paying up to 4000+ a year , so by discounting for April or reducing costs the marina does not lose the full amount , it is simply economics in a service driven world
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Can you confirm please
Is it a discount for THIS April, or a discount against NEXT April
 
It makes me chuckle all those supporting marinas as if they are the best customer service industry, charge reasonable rates and look after your boat 24 hours a day
I f you booked a holiday cottage and this hit you and I guarantee you would ask for your money back or some form of credit, or another date , and if they told you your money is gone for that month , I Truly think no one on here would accept this , or they would the go to social media and scream about it , in a service industry as I know well , one persons bad experience will tell 5 others and there it goes on,
So i like this little marina and the old guy owning it and he will lose his house if you dont keep your boat there but a vast majority of us pay premium prices for mediocre service .
And I will walk if my marina do not come up with some form of compensation , redress to me not using their facilities, my boat not getting the same attention a they have a skeleton staff, and not being able to remove my boat From their premises ,
So for my loyalty and my business for the next so many years that could be in the £20000 range for a goodwill gesture , of say Aprils berthing , Its a no brainer in a Service industry and it is the standard procedure for any good company
And I guarantee you there will be plenty empty marinas looking for my money
 
FlyingGoose said:
I have no idea sorry I am not a client it is on a recent post with the details
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It does make a big difference. if it is this April then excellent & to be applauded.
I wonder how many are offering "loyalty " discounts
If it is next year then some owners suffering hardship now will not actually get this great deal when they need it. Some may be "trapped " & be paying a fee that they do not want to pay right now - what is the deal on that one?-. Plus some may no longer be able to afford next year's fees & move on, thus loosing the discount. As well as that a slight increase in other fees or the annual fee next year & the "discount" becomes a massive con trick. ie. only applies for full annual contracts . Depends on the management- But if they are commercially driven who knows?
Best to read the small print first I suspect.
 
My newer boat is in very small yard. I am serious worried they will go bust as they are an effective startup having bought from previous penurious owner.

If they go bust how will I get the work they started complete? How will I get the boat back in the water? It could all cost a lot more than paying my monthly yard charges
 
Maybe I am being Naive, I am not on the South Coast so doesn't really apply and have made some assumptions.
Many South Coast Marinas offer 'cheap' winter berths, yet are full over the summer. I have always assumed (Rightly or wrongly) that they are 're letting' summer berths or possibly annual berths who spend winter on the hard. Either way they appear to me to be playing the system for their benefit. Toilet blocks are closed, reduced staff are deployed so costs reduced but the top brass still want their big salaries? Yes, some may be suffering a little but others appear to be taking advantage.
 
SaltyC said:
Maybe I am being Naive, I am not on the South Coast so doesn't really apply and have made some assumptions.
Many South Coast Marinas offer 'cheap' winter berths, yet are full over the summer. I have always assumed (Rightly or wrongly) that they are 're letting' summer berths or possibly annual berths who spend winter on the hard. Either way they appear to me to be playing the system for their benefit. Toilet blocks are closed, reduced staff are deployed so costs reduced but the top brass still want their big salaries? Yes, some may be suffering a little but others appear to be taking advantage.
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Of course they are 'playing the system for their benefit'. They are in business, for their benefit. They are not charities.
When you take an annual berth, they seem to generally charge the same for 12 months in the water or 9 in and 3 and the hard or whatever. They re-let the berth if they can, at something similar to what they'd charge an outsider for the yard space.

There is a lot of capital tied up in a marina. That is where a lot of the money goes. It's an expensive game, always has been.
 
FlyingGoose said:
Caravan storage for £40 a month in Yacht Haven wonder what the price is for your boat taking up the same space
This link is shows the advertised price on the banner link , but no price on the actual website
Motorhome site and winter storage | Caravans & campervans | Largs, Ayrshire
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Thanks for that, grumpy now. They were taking £100 a month off me for my RIB, which then had it's engine stolen. £40 seems to get caravans a more secure area too.

Well done yacht havens. Crime rate seems to have gone up too since they let the caravans in.....
 
ProMariner said:
Thanks for that, grumpy now. They were taking £100 a month off me for my RIB, which then had it's engine stolen. £40 seems to get caravans a more secure area too.

Well done yacht havens. Crime rate seems to have gone up too since they let the caravans in.....
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Lost my 15 hp on a rib beside the boat , not that is was not heavy and crow barred off , and beside a wall in which the thiefs must have jumped down during a high tide, camera on the flats pointing right to my boat, no one wanted to look at the images ,
We learn our lessons the hard away :cry:
 
FlyingGoose said:
It makes me chuckle all those supporting marinas as if they are the best customer service industry, charge reasonable rates and look after your boat 24 hours a day
I f you booked a holiday cottage and this hit you and I guarantee you would ask for your money back or some form of credit, or another date , and if they told you your money is gone for that month , I Truly think no one on here would accept this , or they would the go to social media and scream about it , in a service industry as I know well , one persons bad experience will tell 5 others and there it goes on,
So i like this little marina and the old guy owning it and he will lose his house if you dont keep your boat there but a vast majority of us pay premium prices for mediocre service .
And I will walk if my marina do not come up with some form of compensation , redress to me not using their facilities, my boat not getting the same attention a they have a skeleton staff, and not being able to remove my boat From their premises ,
So for my loyalty and my business for the next so many years that could be in the £20000 range for a goodwill gesture , of say Aprils berthing , Its a no brainer in a Service industry and it is the standard procedure for any good company
And I guarantee you there will be plenty empty marinas looking for my money
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Might make you chuckle but not as much as me. I have no affiliation with any marina, I don't tend to think the chap were I keep my boat is that nice. but im not stupid enough to think I can demand a discount when the country is in the middle of a pandemic and nearly 10,000 people have died. if the yard was open id not have been stupid enough to go there.
If your that sure you must get a discount for the 3 weeks or your walk, tell them and let us know how you get on. If you said it to my business id tell you to trot on. you might get somewhere if you put a rational reason for asking for a discount.
Steveeasy
 
steveeasy said:
Might make you chuckle but not as much as me. I have no affiliation with any marina, I don't tend to think the chap were I keep my boat is that nice. but im not stupid enough to think I can demand a discount when the country is in the middle of a pandemic and nearly 10,000 people have died. if the yard was open id not have been stupid enough to go there.
If your that sure you must get a discount for the 3 weeks or your walk, tell them and let us know how you get on. If you said it to my business id tell you to trot on. you might get somewhere if you put a rational reason for asking for a discount.
Steveeasy
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If it was your business and as much as 25% of your customers will leave you and your long term income stream and reputation , for not offering some form of compensation then I would not want to be in your marina :LOL:
Joe Bloggs and his wife book a nice hotel in the countryside , spa facilities country walks , etc , they arrive after spending a small fortune to them as this was a luxury trip, they get there and the manager apologises profoundly , but the spa is closed and all the country walk's have been closed, oh and hot water is dodgy at the moment
Joe and his wife are offered no recompense for this or offered a discount because services have been withdrawn , What would you do ;)

Like I said as a General Manger for some nice hotels , this would not be accepted nor would I want it to be I would do everything-to make sure the client left my Hotel happy , Because shit happens we all know that but not to the customers the Service takes the hit ,, Are marinas not a service Industry , do they not serve the Customer
But if you do not complain you get nothing , Brits are so bad at complaining about service, Me I am a dog with a bone , I have no issues constantly changing suppliers for everything , for the best price and service , its my money !! I expect good service and loyalty ,
 
In the limit, you need to bear in mind that you are essentially dealing with property companies, who would quite cheerfully convert as much as possible to residential. If they don't make money out of boats, the case for that is strengthened
 
How sure are you that marinas have plenty of money? This lockdown may last months, that means months of not selling any visitor berths, people who keep their boats at home or in independent yards over winter mat decide not to launch this year. It may be that some marinas have to increase prices to remain solvent.
If you get refused a discount and decide to move, where are you going to go? There aren't many locations that have an abundance of marinas. For myself my current marina is a 20 minute walk away anything else I would have to drive to and the nearest I'd consider is 40 miles away.
 
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