Ferry Marina Discount

[Coryton]

1 hour ago, rightsaidfred said:

While it is impossible to prove any of the comments as fact if you talk to enough people you can get a pretty good feel of what is of most concern, the two overriding comments are to do with cost and problems with the boats and how well or badly the problem is dealt with probably the biggest spoiler for those affected, hardly anyone mentions the BA or associated politics they are only interested in the experience good or bad.

Fred

As I got home from the Broads this week I passed a neighbour, who said he'd been thinking of a boating holiday for years.

What's put him off?

He's quite tall and he's worried he'd keep banging his head on things in a boat...

[DAVIDH]

7 minutes ago, SwanR said:

I did wonder whether that was the case David, or whether this had been in their fleet previously. It isn't entirely clear on FB but I read it that way as well.

I have just had a look at the video on which Andrew was talking about it's refurbishment and he mentions it used to be Beam of  Light, before being put into service by Sandersons as Sand Beam. I think he acquired it to refit it again for his fleet. 

[Coryton]

2 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

I have just had a look at the video on which Andrew was talking about it's refurbishment and he mentions it used to be Beam of  Light, before being put into service by Sandersons as Sand Beam. I think he acquired it to refit it again for his fleet. 

Interesting...the current Herbert Woods Beam of Lights (or is that Beams of Light?) are Aquafibre Diamond 43s.

[SwanR]

6 minutes ago, Coryton said:

What's put him off?

He's quite tall and he's worried he'd keep banging his head on things in a boat...

This is one of the reasons that we are very careful about the boats we choose. The bed has to be an island walk round bed without the headboard in the middle of the room or the bottom up against a wall. My husband is 6'4 and tends to wear a baseball cap all the time on the boat, especially when going in and out for mooring up. He has banged his head a few times but gets used to the height. The position of the bed is the main non-negotiable when we book.

[DAVIDH]

20 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Short breaks tend to be 70% of the week price now Vaughan, effectively more than that when you consider you pay the same damage waiver on top. I have been on a 3 night break a couple of times a few years back but never again as they're just too short in mind and particularly poor value for money. 

You are right, they have raised the short-break price to 70% of the full week cost. It always used to be 60% and the best deal was midweek because you got 4 nights as opposed to 3 nights at the weekend. Why would anyone want to pay 70% of the cost to get less than half the duration?

[DAVIDH]

7 minutes ago, Coryton said:

Interesting...the current Herbert Woods Beam of Lights (or is that Beams of Light?) are Aquafibre Diamond 43s.

He definitely says Beam of Light 1 - just watched again. I suppose that must have been some time ago as it then became Sand Beam. The Facebook link is:

 

[SwanR]

2 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Why would anyone want to pay 70% of the cost to get less than half the duration?

Sometimes it works out better for being able to take leave from work, especially with so many boats having Monday or Friday starts. But again, whilst you might be paying around 70% for 4 nights, that can mean that you can take the boat you really want which you wouldn't afford for 7 nights. We have done that.

[DAVIDH]

I agree with that Jean, but I still think the boatyards are being greedy!

[Coryton]

2 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

He definitely says Beam of Light 1 - just watched again. I suppose that must have been some time ago as it then became 

I was wondering if they recycle their names...looks as if they do...

[oldgregg]

Yeah, it's not uncommon in the bigger fleets.

[Coryton]

1 minute ago, oldgregg said:

Yeah, it's not uncommon in the bigger fleets.

Once you pick a scheme, there's only so many names to go round, after all...

[SwanR]

9 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

I agree with that Jean, but I still think the boatyards are being greedy!

Hmmm ... I don't know. The way we look at it, the yard still has certain costs which are the same whether you are out for 4 days or 7 days i.e. admin staff, cleaning, laundering the bedding and towels if supplied, refreshing the little starter supplies, handovers etc. If you add this as a static charge to the hire cost for the number of days then that must be part of why it's never going to be a like for like per day. Just my take on it but there are many people better qualified than me to answer that.

[DAVIDH]

6 minutes ago, SwanR said:

Hmmm ... I don't know. The way we look at it, the yard still has certain costs which are the same whether you are out for 4 days or 7 days

Jean, it's just that if the boat goes out say, Friday to Monday, then immediately Monday to Friday, the yard gets 140% of the weekly hire charge. For a long time it was 60% which I think is fair. 

Just noticed that September has less availability generally than the remaining weeks of August. Mostly less than 50 on each week for 7 nights. 24/8 (bank holiday) has 71 available, 31/8 has 142. Appears that pricing is playing a part, whether that is families holding onto their money this year not sure. September always sells well though. 

[webntweb]

Woods had two AF33 Ruby's called Beam of Light 1 & 2 (this boat was one of them), which they sold in the mid 90s. When Brooms finished hiring about 2005 Woods bought two of their AF43 Diamonds and named them Beam of Light 1 & 2.

Brooms other two AF43s are now Lightning and Thunder.

[Broads01]

Having been Sand Beam, the boat at Freedom was neglected as a liveaboard for a number of years before Freedom acquired it and renovated it. I'm disappointed it won't go on hire but its understandable given bookings are down and Andy wants to get best price before hirers potentially mistreat it. 

[NorfolkNog]

8 hours ago, DAVIDH said:

September always sells well though. 

As does May. The price hikes up around 40 - 50 per cent in June and drops substantially after August. I think it's simple economics - those who are not tied to school holidays will go for the cheaper option. The weather is usually very good in September too. 

Mind you, roll on December 

[TostockTimonier]

1 hour ago, NorfolkNog said:

As does May. The price hikes up around 40 - 50 per cent in June and drops substantially after August. I think it's simple economics - those who are not tied to school holidays will go for the cheaper option. The weather is usually very good in September too. 

Mind you, roll on December 

Hope you're right NorfolkNog, will be on the water on the 10th 

[Coryton]

1 hour ago, NorfolkNog said:

As does May. The price hikes up around 40 - 50 per cent in June and drops substantially after August. I think it's simple economics - those who are not tied to school holidays will go for the cheaper option. The weather is usually very good in September too. 

Mind you, roll on December 

I suspect it's not just school holidays - even without that the summer is likely to be more popular, though perhaps the pricing structure would be a bit smoother.

From playing about with the Herbert Woods web site, there doesn't seem to be a premium on school holidays outside the summer.

[RS2021]

The hire boat industry is now unusual in the holiday sector in that it still publishes prices. Most hotels/flights etc use some form of dynamic pricing which can change daily or even more frequently online. When you check into a hotel you have no idea whether the person checking in next to you is paying the same as you. But as you don't know it doesn't worry you. In Hoseasons brochure there is now a price guide rather than fixed A, B, C etc period prices. The Broads Boating Company at Acle don't publish prices, but use Air BnB  - is this to allow dynamic pricing. How long before other companies follow and cease to publish prices. You only get to see the price for the holiday when you enquire.

It is always annoying to find out you could have got a holiday cheaper  if you had waited, but I suspect the way we are going pricing will be such that you won't know unless you happen to log on a website at just the right time.

[Seagypsy]

11 hours ago, SwanR said:

Sometimes it works out better for being able to take leave from work, especially with so many boats having Monday or Friday starts. But again, whilst you might be paying around 70% for 4 nights, that can mean that you can take the boat you really want which you wouldn't afford for 7 nights. We have done that.

Hi Jean If you extend to a 10 or 11 day holiday by adding a 3 or 4 night break to a 7 night Richos charge half the weekly rate. 3wks on Sat 10 days on Ibiza1

Tony

[DAVIDH]

31 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

Most hotels/flights etc use some form of dynamic pricing which can change daily or even more frequently online.

Fluid pricing is indeed widespead in the greater travel industry. I think the problem with that position for the Broads is that unlike the airlines and tour operators who own or contract the stock, you are dealing with many independent owners and would need agreement from them for a dynamic system to price according to market demand. That might mean occasions where their price drops very low, at times of low demand. I can see many owners not liking the lack of control. Even the hotel bed banks such as Bookings.com don't have this freedom. They negotiate differential rates with the hotels so they might have 5 rooms at one rate and 5 rooms at a higher rate. That's why you sometimes see both rates listed at the same time.

[Coryton]

5 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Fluid pricing is indeed widespead in the greater travel industry. I think the problem with that position for the Broads is that unlike the airlines and tour operators who own or contract the stock, you are dealing with many independent owners and would need agreement from them for a dynamic system to price according to market demand. That might mean occasions where their price drops very low, at times of low demand. I can see many owners not liking the lack of control. Even the hotel bed banks such as Bookings.com don't have this freedom. They negotiate differential rates with the hotels so they might have 5 rooms at one rate and 5 rooms at a higher rate. That's why you sometimes see both rates listed at the same time.

The way the hire boats work seems quite old-fashioned (and I don't mean that as a bad thing), in that there is such a thing as a list price and any discounts for early or late booking are clearly identified as such.

It does seem a little odd that Herbert Woods have a scheme where the price (of course) varies through the year, but if you make a booking for one of their few boats available in February you pay the lowest rate, with a "Winter discount" applied, rather than just having an even lower rate.

Hotels are somewhat different from both hire boats and airline/train/coach tickets in that they very often let you cancel at short notice and get a full refund, even where they operate dynamic pricing, and if there is an option to save money with a non-refundable price the discount is usually quite small.

Having said that, the last time I looked at ferry prices it was similar - the added cost for a flexible ticket wasn't much.

[DAVIDH]

3 minutes ago, Coryton said:

but if you make a booking for one of their few boats available in February you pay the lowest rate, with a "Winter discount" applied, rather than just having an even lower rate.

Yes, that irritates me as well. I guess it's just marketing. They can then use the word "discount" and hope it's picked up by the search engines and social media. And of course, everyone loves a discount - however sneakily applied.

[Coryton]

3 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Yes, that irritates me as well. I guess it's just marketing. They can then use the word "discount" and hope it's picked up by the search engines and social media. And of course, everyone loves a discount - however sneakily applied.

Well if they were going to play that game they could quote the summer holiday price for everything and call all their other prices a discount.

And it means they can't quote the February price as their "from" price.

[NorfolkNog]

1 hour ago, RS2021 said:

It is always annoying to find out you could have got a holiday cheaper  if you had waited, but I suspect the way we are going pricing will be such that you won't know unless you happen to log on a website at just the right time.

True indeed and have been there. The thing with Broads boating is that some folk {me included} want a specific boat and possibly a time too. For example I've booked Humber Bridge already for next year as it's a popular boat and I wanted a specific time as well. I think if you are flexible about your boat and can take a holiday at short notice there are undoubtedly good deals to be had.