Save time and money in your marina

Are you looking for ways to save time and money in your marina after a challenging year? Read about how 2 very different marinas and a yacht club have improved operations while saving both time and money.

Can you save time and money in your marina?

Ask yourself these 4 easy questions:

1. Do I repeat the same time-consuming or repetitive tasks daily, weekly and/or monthly?
2. Do I use multiple software programs creating an unnecessary complex workflow?
3. Am I communicating manually to keep multiple parties up-to-date?
4. Could a system automate some of the work so I can focus on improving my marina giving a better customer experience or whatever I would like to spend my time on?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, you are in luck because there is room for improvement. In the following, you will find information on how you can solve the challenges listed above.

1. Oban Marina dramatically decreased the time spent on checking in visitors

When a visitor arrives at your marina it can take quite some time to enter all their information into either a system or filling out a paper form. But with a proper system in place you can let the boater handle all this. As Samantha, Director at Oban Marina, explains:

“It took me 20 minutes to book a guest into our system with the guest in the reception, but now, the guest can do it by themselves in only 1 minute (without coming to the reception) and I can see it immediately in the HarbaMaster marina software!”

If you have, let’s say 1,000 visitors per season, that amounts to 32 hours or almost a full work week that you can save with this one feature. The best thing about it is that it’s actually also easier for the boater. Using HarbaApp, all their information is already stored in there. No need for filling out new forms or relaying that information to a marina employee.

“Harba helped us to increase productivity as well as to improve our customer experience through quick and safe payments and check-in. Our boaters love it!” – adds Samantha.

Read more about Oban marina’s challenges and discoveries leading to increased productivity and the improved customer experience in the Oban marina: now is the best time to go digital article.

2. Sejlforeningen Vikingen (yacht club) handles everything in one system

We, humans, were never meant to sit in front of a computer all day and just do data entry. Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of employees in marinas are doing since information is scattered between multiple systems. You can’t completely eliminate data entry, but you can avoid copy-pasting information from one system to another. Having one system that handles invoices, insurances, messages, crane lifts and more can vastly improve the efficiency of your marina or club, as it did for Sejlforeningen Vikingen.

“Now we have a good up-to-date overview of our club members and we only need to maintain data in one place. Bookkeeping works like registration of payments, and invoicing happens automatically. It saves us a lot of time. In our experience, the system has been of great assistance to our daily work. We are happy to cooperate with Harba who always provide us with good support.” – says Carl Erik Juel Hansen, Chairman at Sejlforeningen Vikingen

With a unified system, you can also avoid having to relay information multiple times to different parties. Using HarbaMaster, all employees can get access to the amount of data you decide is relevant for them via a computer, tablet or smartphone. What to learn more about yacht club management software? Check out our article about the 4 ways your yacht club can benefit from yacht club management software.

3. Sønderborgs multifaceted marina management challenges

Running a marina can be a complex affair as there are many varying tasks that need to be handled. Harbormaster Torben Østerby who runs 5 marinas for a Danish municipality knows all about this. Having a minimum of staff on hand handling visitors and long term slip holders across 5 marinas can be quite a challenge. In cases like these, it’s all about reducing complexity as best as possible.

“Harba meets all my current needs as it offers the whole package regarding handling marinas and they share more of my future visions for marinas than any other provider I’ve talked to. By using smart technology solutions that save time, I can spend more time with the visitors in the marinas; that is my vision.” – says Torben Østerby.

With boaters checking in via the HarbaApp, online or using the HarbaKiosk on the docks, all information is gathered in the same system. This reduces the need for wandering between the marinas checking whether boaters have paid their fees. Likewise, boater information, insurance papers and boat data are all stored in one place but separated by marinas making it possible to handle all the marinas from one central location.

Read more about how Sønderborg marinas have changed their administration with Harba to work smarter – not harder.

Improve efficiency and reduce screen time for the 2021 season

If you want to be ready for the 2021 boating season, now is the best time to go digital. Automated payments, online management and virtual communication platforms are the tools for your marina to consider. They can save you a considerable amount of time and money as well as improve your customer experience. With Covid-19 still looming, customers will likely want to limit contact during the purchasing and check-in processes. Switching to digitalized systems will let you do that.

Whether choosing your first marina management system or simply shifting from one marina software to another, the whole experience can be daunting. Check out 6 factors to consider before choosing your marina management system.