Berth Rate Increase Discussion

With the rate increase some have left, will the marina actually earn the rate increase? Will they take in more money than they did before the rate increase? The real test will be at the end of the season. Who will stay and who will just dry store and leave their berths?

At the risk of reiterating what has already been said.... no one likes the price of a good or service they pay for to go up, however prices rising over time is a reality of the world we live in.  To have the expectation that the price for any good or service will remain constant over time is not reasonable.

Costs are rising all around us.  A couple of recent examples:

• SMUD will be raising it's rates 13% over the next 18 months
• The vehicle license fee is nearly doubling
• Sales tax has gone up 1%
  
• Data from the US Department of Labor shows that the Consumer Price Index for rent of primary residence has risen over 4 points in the last year in this area.

Prices are rising for everyone and this includes the marina.  It is easy to forget that the marina, like us, is also a consumer of goods and services (many of which are being subject to price increases).

When the price of my favorite candy bar recently increased from 50 to 60 cents I, as the consumer, had to decide if the peanuts of chocolate were worth an additional dime.  We as patrons of the marina are faced with a similar choice as berthing fees increase.

I personally find the berth rates at our marina to be a good value.  The convenience of having my boat in the water ready to go in a facility that can safely handle the large potential swing in water elevation without my intervention is well worth the fees I pay.  Start adding in the additional features and it becomes a very good value to me:

• My boat is in the shade versus in the sun on the side of my house.
  
• The marina has invested in the best dock facilities in the area that I get to hang out on.
  
• The Captain's Lounge - Great place to have lunch..... and donuts on the marina every Sunday
  
• A staff of friendly folks that often go above and beyond to cater to my needs
• Unique off stream location that keeps the crazy stuff that I see floating down the river away from my boat.

I shop local area marinas in the area every couple of months so I can intelligently speak to price in discussions I have with fellow patrons.  I have found that marinas that offer features and facilities similar to our marina can be up to 50% more costly than the rates at our marina while marinas that are priced similarly to our marina offer less in the quality of the facilities and number of features.  My findings here tell me that are pricing structure is not out of whack when compared to the rest of the "berth/slip market" in this area.

You also may have noticed a fairly significant uptick in occupancy in the marina over the last 1-2 months.  If my math is right the uptick in in the neighborhood of 10-15% increase in occupancy.  While some of the uptick is due to normal seasonal increases I have talked with a number of boaters who have recognized the value of our marina and have moved in from other local area marinas.

Mark the feedback you received sounds like there is some uncertainty as to the future of the increases.  This information was shared at the last MAC meeting when the rate increase was reviewed.  Bud provided a report (available here for download) that detailed the increases by slip for the next couple of years.  I would also encourage patrons to attend the MAC meetings and provide their feedback, or if they cannot attend download and listen to the audio of the meeting which is available within 2 hours of the end of the meeting.  The meeting minutes are available within 10 days of the MAC Meeting and will include all information handouts.  I sincerely appreciate you bring fellow patrons feedback to the forum to discuss please continue to do so.

I know that Bud will be taking some time to address the price increase concerns at the June 24 MAC Meeting so I would consider this topic added to the agenda.


Edited by Jeremy - 19 Jun 2009 at 2:01am