It’s mid-season already, and unlike Major League Baseball, there is no All-Star break in the marina industry. But this is also not the time to let your attention drift and fall into the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the boats. We all know that sound, and then we begin to wonder when the “thud” is coming. This time, it won’t be a dinghy that came loose and bumps up against your hull. This time, it’s the phone ringing with a notice about fuel systems being down, or the not-so-gentle reminder of reviews posted about the easy fix that could have occurred during the off-season. Years ago, a colleague of mine taught me (a bit more descriptive version) about the six (then seven) Ps. For our discussions today, we will acknowledge: Proper, Pre-Planning, Prevents, Poor, Performance. The mid-season is a perfect time to review, plan, and begin implementing a process to ensure the future is as smooth sailing as Captain. Murphy will permit.
I walk a lot of docks, and I have yet to meet a marina operator who does not keep a “someday” list. It hides in a drawer or lives on a yellow pad, and it grows one scribble at a time. They have spent time developing a list of items that need to be done, but haven’t prioritized taking the plan to the next level. Replace the transformer at the head of A Pier. Resurface the parking lot before the potholes turn into craters. Upgrade the restrooms because guests have memorized the graffiti on the stalls. None of these ideas are bad. They are just stuck in the land of someday. Trouble shows up when someday becomes today without warning. Picture that transformer finally shorting out. The replacement is three weeks away. Twenty slips lose power, perishables spoil, discount credits fly out the door, reviews pile up, staff morale tanks, and all you can do is scramble.
Lists that individuals create can be helpful, but they are more effective when made in an environment where multiple team members are involved. This helps identify challenges and opportunities, prioritize them, and assign responsibility for implementation. First, I suggest bringing together a few trusted team members who represent different roles at the marina. Those “yes” people who help build ego should be invited to continue working on tasks at hand. You want a team of doers who know the property, clients, and finances inside and out. Start brainstorming all items that need to be addressed, those you would like to address or implement, and finally, those that could become problems in the foreseeable future (within three years).
Many of the books I have read over the years about planning talk about five-year planning and even longer. Yes, that is important when developing your company, etc., but the reality is that the concepts we are talking about should be viewed within one, two, and three-year timeframes. Too much longer than that, and while they may be important, the variability in today’s world in everything (yes, including the environment) makes them harder to plan for.
Many business books focus on five- or ten-year horizons for capital plans. That works if you build factories, but marinas live in shorter cycles. Storm intensity fluctuates, environmental regulations change, supply chains get disrupted, and guests expect new technology every few seasons. I break the timeline into one-, two-, and three-year buckets. Year-one work is the quick win. Not potholes and bulbs—that is daily maintenance. Think fresh dock carts, LED pathway lighting, digital restroom locks, and a touchless payment station at the fuel dock. They are visible, they feel modern, and they buy goodwill.
Year-two targets medium concepts. Consider swapping out tired pedestals to handle bigger shore-power loads, renovating bathrooms to eliminate the need for guests to carry disinfectant wipes, or re-rigging the fuel hose for more efficient operation. The marina still runs if these wait, but every month you postpone them, it costs staff time in workarounds.
Year three lands on investment pieces. Dry-stack racks that add revenue, a bulkhead rebuild that protects parking and upland storage, a forklift overhaul that lowers downtime, a new pump-out location that enables visitors to pay at the pump and prints receipts. These projects may require permits, bids, and possibly financing. Once completed, they will be things that are noted in a newsletter or website update.
Now that you have created the list of items in your “we are going to do list” (notice it is no longer a “someday wish list” it is time to add three more columns. First, there’s a cost column that shows the cost of getting this done. This can take some time, especially with larger ticket items and longer lead projects; it is important to get a few bids. As a rule of thumb, we ask that any project that will get into the five-figure realm have three competitive bids to review. This helps keep things fresh and ensures your “go-to team “remains honest and competitive. Don’t get me wrong, there is a cost-benefit to paying a bit more for something from a trusted, reliable source, but knowing what you are paying for is just as important.
Now that we have some idea of the cost for potential projects, we need to do a reality check. By this, I mean ask what could really hurt. Risk is the filter that sharpens every capital conversation. Rate each asset for two factors: the chance it will fail and the damage that failure would cause. A forty-year-old breaker who feeds the fuel dock scores high on both counts. A six-month-old water heater in the laundry shack ranks low. Add a third score for guest impact. Some failures cost hard dollars, others cost stars on Active Captain or renewals at the end of the season. Imagine a transient calling because shore power failed overnight and everything in their fridge spoiled. That moment carries weight. By adding these figures together, you start to get a sense of the actual impact a project will have and should help in determining when / where in your list it should fall.
Let’s not only focus on the negative aspects of the changes that we are considering. Some of the items that will inevitably have a positive impact will be able to help pay for themselves quickly and should be noted as such. The example of LED lighting is one of them. Through rebates and lower electrical bills, the cost will be paid back quickly, which should be noted in your review. Also, consider that new upgrades to lighting and other wayfinding can help reduce injuries to your customers as they move about your facility, not to mention getting positive mentions in customer reviews.
You should use these wins to help offset the consideration of some of the more major repairs that we all inevitably want to consider as “only when it fails” items. That bulkhead could be replaced, but maybe we can hold off until the year after next. It’s excellent on paper, but when it fails, you will be left to scramble for a much more costly fix. This is where planning and creating a replacement reserve becomes not only important, but necessary.
Hotels treat capital spending as a fixed cost of doing business, not a scramble for funds. Most hotel brand agreements require an annual “replacement reserve” of three to five percent of gross room revenue, which goes into a separate account every month. That money is earmarked for furniture, fixtures, roofs, chillers, and any other elements that contribute to a consistent and “on brand” guest experience. Because the cash sits off to the side, managers can schedule projects years out, lock in pricing, and avoid debt when a boiler decides to quit. Marinas can borrow the same discipline. Carve out a set percentage of slip and fuel revenue, park it in a reserve account, and let the balance dictate when to resurface docks or swap pedestals. The approach turns capital planning from a reactive headache into a routine line item, giving owners and boaters confidence that the waterfront will look as good next season as it does today.
You have met with the team, created a well-defined list, spent time costing, vetting, and even planning, but now what’s next?? Developing the execution plan, and not just assigning it to “Tommy” (figuratively, but the guy who will get it done). Creating the execution plan involves taking the list, paired with the cost and funding sources, and then adding in the actual timeline and deliverable date to have the project implemented. (I always like to have a line showing how and when it will be paid back.) Sometimes everything works out as planned. Please share examples of this. However, Captain Murphy often intervenes, requiring flexibility and fluidity in execution. Having projects planned and in writing is crucial to ensure both a plan and action.
Tracking success is crucial not only for achieving goals but also for the team. As an owner, operator, or team leader, you get a firsthand look at the successes and are responsible for the failures, but are you sharing that feedback with the team? Are you seeking input from your customers? Have you taken the time to not only implement a new idea, but to share that it is now active through your newsletter? Lots of questions to think about, but the answer should be simple. If things go as planned, share the positive outcome with your customers and make sure the team feels your appreciation for the success. New seawall?? “Our team successfully changed the seawall along the outside of A Dock during the offseason. You should notice a considerable improvement in your entrance into the facility this season.” “Have you noticed the new LED lighting along the paths? It makes seeing the flower beds Ben and the team planted possible even when the sun goes down.”
Here is an idea to consider doing before Labor Day. Open a blank spreadsheet and label three columns: Risk, Guest Impact, Payback. Add every nagging issue, from lights out on the pedestals to the cracked asphalt in the parking area. Score each column from one to five, multiply the scores across, and then sort. The top entries become your marching orders for the next off-season. Highlight them, add rough budgets, and get quotes before Labor Day. When the first purchase order is signed, the plan becomes action. Most of us have dozens of stories about preventable failures that happened at the worst time. Make next season’s focus about how you avoided that fate by following the six (or seven) Ps.
As always, I would enjoy hearing some of your ideas and the successes you have had with similar or different processes. The more we share as a community, the easier it is to see that rising tide raising all ships.