Happy New Year - marina raised my fees

[ronobrien]

I have applications in a couple other places in Salt Pond and 1 farther up the bay. The policy seems to be that they don't consider applications until all their existing clients re-enlist, so to speak. I may have to broaden my horizons, but obviously would rather stay closer to South County. Thanks for getting back to me, and for your advice. It is appreciated.

 

[Lollygag1]

Our marina likely has openings but would be a bit of a haul for you. Good luck.

 

[ksanders]

Why do you call charging market prices screwing someone? Expenses have risen and, as he pointed out, they lost a lot of other business this year. Clearly, I'm a business person, but I don't understand the anger and ugliness toward businesses raising prices when they are full and have long waiting lists. We tried to moderate those increases this year but we had to raise prices throughout our businesses. All our costs increased significantly. We gave increases to our employees averaging about 10%, all materials and supplies increased in price, and we incurred tremendous costs protecting employees and customers (which we did not pass on) and reduced sales in many cases. To hear price increases called screwing clients just is distasteful.

People seem to not understand that businesses only exist to generate profits for their owners.

Great customer service, great facilities, easy to do business with... These things along with pricing are what drives business.

 

[jgwinks]

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

Right, Pete. I'm on the other side of the Lake. City marina here didn't open at all in 2020 due to the high water and Covid. About half the docks were floaters and must have been badly damaged because they ended up tearing them all out. We had to beg and plead to get them to open the mooring field, which they did. We just signed up for 2021 with no increase. Sounds like the marina itself might be opening but they haven't replaced the docks yet, that will have to wait til spring.

Jim

 

[BandB]

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I am also not sure if I am responding correctly (new to the forum). I wasn't a customer, I just bought the boat in November 2020. My point was if they exclude based on age, and they continue to buy up marinas i may be left with nowhere to dock a boat my age. I honestly don't know how they are treating existing customers. Please let me know if you got this reply, so I might know if I am responding correctly. Thanks.

No worry about Safe Harbor buying up all the marinas. They still have a very very small percentage of them.

 

[ronobrien]

Again, I am new to the forum and have had difficulties figuring out how the whole post/reply things works. I received an email that you sent a recent reply to my post, but I can't get past page (3), message #60. Any thoughts? Regarding your reply if I have to go to Warwick, that is what I have to do. I'm Originally from Warwick & transplanted to S.K. Thanks for your help.

 

[BandB]

Again, I am new to the forum and have had difficulties figuring out how the whole post/reply things works. I received an email that you sent a recent reply to my post, but I can't get past page (3), message #60. Any thoughts? Regarding your reply if I have to go to Warwick, that is what I have to do. I'm Originally from Warwick & transplanted to S.K. Thanks for your help.

I'd suggest you try reading and posting online rather than by email.

 

[Lollygag1]

Ron the email was a notification of a private message I sent you offering assistance up the bay.

 

[Prospective]

No worry about Safe Harbor buying up all the marinas. They still have a very very small percentage of them.

That may be true for the U.S. as a whole or even the Eastern Seaboard. But in RI they own the vast majority of the marina's on Narragansett Bay. They are not the only game in town but I dare say they control 70+ % of the slip space.

 

[Prospective]

No worry about Safe Harbor buying up all the marinas. They still have a very very small percentage of them.

That may be true for the U.S. as a whole, the eastern seaboard or even New England. But in RI they own the vast majority of the marina's on Narragansett Bay. They are not the only game in town but I dare say they control 70+ % of the slip space.

 

[BandB]

That may be true for the U.S. as a whole, the eastern seaboard or even New England. But in RI they own the vast majority of the marina's on Narragansett Bay. They are not the only game in town but I dare say they control 70+ % of the slip space.

I'd buy that in your area they control perhaps 30-50%. They own 10 out of the 108 marinas I count there. I would agree that whatever percent they own they can definitely influence rates significantly if they choose to do so. The other problem is they own the nicest ones. The marina we've used when there and where our good friend keeps their boat is now Safe Harbor.

 

[Lollygag1]

As I understand they also raised the winter storage fees which is why our marina is so packed. It’s going to be a mad house when folks are down in the spring getting ready. I will be doing my work early and during the week.

That said Safe Harbor marinas do tend to have more amenities. There is a trade off.

 

[Prospective]

I'd buy that in your area they control perhaps 30-50%. They own 10 out of the 108 marinas I count there. I would agree that whatever percent they own they can definitely influence rates significantly if they choose to do so. The other problem is they own the nicest ones. The marina we've used when there and where our good friend keeps their boat is now Safe Harbor.

True, it's only 10 marinas. Feels like a LOT more. And I wonder what the number would be if you looked a linear feet of dock/slip space. They control some of the biggest marinas in RI. And when I say Marina, I am thinking about full service marinas with lifts, winter storage, and mechanical services. For example, they only have one "Marina" in Newport. But that yard is Newport Shipyard. The rest are seasonal/transient places with no facilities or services. You still need to find a place to have work done and winter store.

I'm just suggesting that their influence in this area may be a bit more than your math would indicate.

 

[rgano]

I spent a lot of years in CA and FL paying marinas for little to no support beyond a few cleats to tie to. I was immensely happy to finally break that hold. Including only partial insurance coverage to rebuild post-Hurricane Michael, my covered slip and adjacent two uncovered slips behind the house cost me about 2200 a year to "operate" over the last 21 years (not accounting for the increased equity in my property). When I left a local covered slip in 2000 as a liveaboard, I was paying 400 bucks a month or 4800 a year. Not everybody wants or can afford or can even find appropriate waterfront property, but it seems to have "saved" me money on the luxury or owning a boat. I have extended the free use of the two extra slips as often as practicable to friends (as long as several years at a time) and transients in an effort to share in our good fortune and lessen the "marina monopoly" just a tiny bit.

 

[BandB]

I'm just suggesting that their influence in this area may be a bit more than your math would indicate.

As I said in my post.