Difficult Times

Vaughan · September 4, 2023

23 hours ago, C.Ricko said:

desperate times call for desperate measures but I don’t think these are desperate times.

They might be, if your customers next year find they can't moor anywhere without having to pay through the nose for it.

I am not trying to be flippant, especially when quoting someone of Clive's sound business experience. His business model is definitely the right one, in my view.

But other have talked of the Broads "holiday", which doesn't just mean hiring a boat. It is a holiday destination ; a "package" in itself, if you like. I have said before that I am very concerned for the future as I believe the Broads, as a destination, are losing their appeal.

The BA need to seriously address this problem, and indeed recognise it, rather than seeming to think that paddle boards and cycle paths will be the best way to open up their National Park to a "wider public". Whilst trying to stop the RSPB and others from "re-wilding" the whole place and thus closing it off to a "wider public".

I am sorry, but I fear for the future.

CambridgeCabby · September 4, 2023

Sitting currently on the bench at Gays Staithe , there are only two hire boats moored up .

Yes this year for many yards has been a poor year for hiring , but we should not forget that we are still in the recent “post covid” era where the whole world has changed and it will not be a rapid return to business as normal , many yards are still in the mentality of late booking discounts hoping that they will rent the fleet out at a much higher rate before having to offer these discounts , something which air firms tried before deciding to discount instead if you booked in advance a move which has increased their profitability .

Loyalty bonuses and early booking discounts in the modern internet world (IMHO) seems to be the obvious business model , but that said I do not have the knowledge or experience of running a Broads hire fleet and only time will tell which way is the best solution to the falling trade levels .

hazzer111 · September 4, 2023

On 03/09/2023 at 08:01, C.Ricko said:

Discounting encourages late booking, it is very difficult to budget not knowing what your income may be, we as a industry got into discounting in the 90s and it was difficult to get out of but we did, the problem started up again a few years ago but was widely avoided, the booking agents who are involved with caravan hires accept it and encourage it as a last minute boost to the commissions which I feel is derogatory to the loyal customer, there are about 700 hireboats on the broads which is probably about the same amount of caravans in Mundesley or Bacton.

I saw a 2 berth boat on sale for a short break last week for less than £300, bearing in mind there is £60 VAT on that I don’t feel the model is sustainable but obviously I don’t know their business. perhaps in the same way the ‘Sun Promotions’ covered the wages this could be doing the same.

we have space in October which is still booking but so far we are only about 5% down on last years total which was a bumper year..

we have not discounted and don’t plan to for next year unless it’s an early booking.

I was taught by my father a fair bit to do with hirefleets so learned by his mistakes ..
desperate times call for desperate measures but I don’t think these are desperate times.

Early booking discounts absolutely seem to be the way to go, as opposed to pricing people out of hiring and then dropping prices at the last minute. As you say you then cannot have a reliable income as everything is impossible to predict.