Should marina charges be "all in" or cheaper but charge for all services

ChrisE said:
So even if you are independent of the shore power, as we are, you are paying for it. Now, if we have to pay we don't use it, if it is included in the price, we take advantage to top up the batteries.
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Same here

ChrisE said:
Any roads up, this is largely an academic debate, for me as the boat sits on a swinger and for us the annual cost of marina charges is minimal (if anything to do with sailing can be called minimal....)
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Again: same here.
But the argument's about charges when you are a visitor.

But to me the argument 'I don't use it, so I won't pay for it' and 'I don't want to subsides others' is extremely short-sighted and selfish.
Where does it end?
I'm not sick - why should I pay for the NHS?
Etc...
 
Guapa said:
Same here



Again: same here.
But the argument's about charges when you are a visitor.

But to me the argument 'I don't use it, so I won't pay for it' and 'I don't want to subsides others' is extremely short-sighted and selfish.
Where does it end?
I'm not sick - why should I pay for the NHS?
Etc...
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Um, at the risk of upsetting you further, this is a voluntary hobby not as with NHS something that the population as a whole needs. So we are all selfish in that we choose to sail, we do not choose to be ill.

And no, I don't want to pay for someone else's leccy no more than I'd expect you to contribute to my domestic fuel bill.

Clearly, we will have to agree to disagree on this one.
 
maxi77 said:
In the caravan world it is now normal to have power at even the smallest of sites and I suspect that the majority now the leccy is rolled up in the site fee.
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From my caravanning days, this was a legal requirement as the sites were not allowed to charge more for the leccy than it cost them and it was not worth installing meters.

Interesting to see if it still the case.
 
I don't mind being charged an all-in rate, even if it includes some facilities that I don't use. But what really does get my goat is being charged for facilities that I want but am not allowed to use. Come in late, no service, and find that the loos are on a coded lock. Can't use them until staff arrive in the morning, when I'm about to sail again. But I still have to pay for them. Complain, and get "Sorry sir, it's a standard charge, nothing I can do about it".
 
But to me the argument 'I don't use it, so I won't pay for it' and 'I don't want to subsides others' is extremely short-sighted and selfish.
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I have to agree with ChrisE on this one - we can live without Elec if we choose to - especially on "holiday" ...
going "All Inclusive" is always going to benefit some, but not others. I suppose I could argue that shower facilities, waste disposal and water supply should be charged dependant on the number of ppl aboard rather than the size of vessel...
If the charge for elec didn't amount to 10% of the visitor rate then it wouldn't be so bad ...
 
DavenHelen said:
From my caravanning days, this was a legal requirement as the sites were not allowed to charge more for the leccy than it cost them and it was not worth installing meters.

Interesting to see if it still the case.
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The controls on re-selling the leccy apply to all, marinas too. Certainly there are stillcaravan sites that charge a different rate for pitches with power and without. I also know a site where they restrict the number of pitches available over the Christmas break on the assumption that every van will be drawing it's full 16 amps
 
On the whole I would rather pay separately for services which are additional to the hire of a hole in the water but some local experiences might be of interest.
Rothesay, Portavadie and Tarbert are all have pontoon visitor berths I use. Portavdie only opened this year. Electricity and showers (5*) are included in the berth fee which is pitched between the other two.
Rothesay, the cheapest berthing of the three by a couple of quid, offers electricity included but not showers.
Tarbert is the most expensive of the three and up until this year electricity and showers were not included. Since Portavadie opened the shower charge has been dropped and visitors are asked if they want a (free) £1 power card, so power is still charged if you need more than a single dose.
I guess the moral is that market forces apply and customers will go to where they get the package best for them.
Marinas take note.
 
I like the option of leccy when I pay for the berthing fees. Its a simple decision then as to whether I need it or want to save a few quid.

I see no problem with a crew of eight paying for eights showers while a double hander only pays for 2. There is a direct per person cost for things like showers and I would hope that if everyone paid into this the berthing fee would be correspondigly lower.

I would not expect washing machines/dryers included, again I would rather see the basic berthing fee kept down and those who want the machines pay for them.
 
I want all-in. Otherwise, what am I paying for? Am I just paying for a wooden plank attached to a pole (the pontoon) and all the rest is optional? Keep that up and you'll pay per clamp you use and every time you enter and leave the marina gate?!?

Basic hygiene (toilets, showers, sinks with hot running water) as well as facilities (leccy, water) should be included in the price.

In a hotel I pay extra for the booze and the totty, not for water, electricity, showers and toilets.

And if you have to charge for showers: don't charge me 2€ for 10 mins of showers (St-Vaast), I only need 5 minutes as most, and 2€ is a whole lot of water.

I find coins/tokens a waste of precious water: I'm clean after 5 mins max, and then the water keeps on running for another 5. Want to bet that the marina with the all-in showers uses less water?

And I hate tokens/key cards. I will now rip out every token machine I see, every time I arrive soken wet, cold, after a long day at 2200h, with no-one in the office, and so no way to take a shower.

Separating berthing costs and utilities is a great way to hike up prices. Berthing fees were 20£ all-in, are now 20£ all-in and 2£ for a shower token. Next year its 22£, but then it's all-in. Repeat at nauseam.
 
I visit marinas because they offer me some of the comforts I don't get at anchor - a walk-ashore berth, showers, and the ability to recharge the batteries. Once there I prefer to be able to use what is on offer without any additional fuss, and so prefer to pay a one-off charge with everything included.

Electricity is usually the only extra, and I will, if needed, pay a couple of quid for the comfort of knowing the batteries will all be fully charged and the fridge cold in the morning. However, I would be hard pressed to use more than 2 units overnight, so I do find some electricity charges a bit excessive. I can always run the wind-generator overnight.

John
 
Guapa said:
You don't pay for what you use or don't use. It's just not practical.

Continuing with the hotel thing.
- You're on your own and you book into a hotel
- You have dinner and afterwards you have a couple of drinks in the bar
- In the bar you get chatting to an obviously single, attractive and available female.
- It's your lucky night: she invites you to her room and a ships in the night encounter ensues.
- You check out in the morning: do you expect to have to pay for your room? After all, you haven't used it?
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Are you speaking from experience, or did this happen to a friend??!!!!
 
- In the bar you get chatting to an obviously single, attractive and available female.
- It's your lucky night: she invites you to her room...
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This sort of thing used to happen to me all the time, but usually stopped at the point where I discovered that it was going to cost me a lot more than the room and would be very tricky to explain on the company credit card.
 
shmoo said:
This sort of thing used to happen to me all the time, but usually stopped at the point where I discovered that it was going to cost me a lot more than the room and would be very tricky to explain on the company credit card.
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Hmmm, that reminds me of a certain 5* hotel in paris where there was always an attractive lady in any lift going up in the evening who always left the lift with the first unnacompanied man.
 
I am happy to pay for water when visiting - it helps reduce waste and stops others running the hose pipe continuously rinsing the deck or whatever. Especially so in areas where water is in short supply (e.g. much of Spain).

In the last Spanish marina I visited, water was €3.58 per tonne and leccy €0.29/kWh which I find reasonable. Showers etc were included in the berth fee.

I paid €1.65 to top up my tanks.
 
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