How Carlos Looks Ahead as Boating’s Busy Season Gets Underway
Carlos, a Buenos Aires, Argentina native and full-time retired boat owner, moved to Miami, Florida 25 years ago with a passion for life and boating. After hearing about Boatsetter from a close friend he decided to take advantage of “the ease of getting good renters given all the necessary tools from Boatsetter” and listed his Premier Marine 221 Gemini for rent in 2015.
Five years later, Carlos’s fleet has grown to a total of 3 boats and his “love for sharing his boat with renters and ensuring their experience on the water is a great one” has successfully led to 318 completed bookings.
Meeting the growing demand for boat rentals in Miami
As recreational options remain limited, boating continues to provide the perfect escape for many South Florida locals. Carlos has been able to meet the demand in Miami with the help of the tools Boatsetter provides for its owners.
Just this month, Carlos has received 40+ messages, 20+ booking requests, and has completed 7 trips. His commitment to providing the best experience for renters begins before they actually get on the water and takes place in his messages. “I always receive messages before-hand: ‘how many people can we have onboard?’, ‘do you have a cooler?’, ‘do you have music?’ there are always questions.” With booking messages and requests on the rise, it’s key to recognize the renter’s needs and what exactly they are looking for before they hit the water.
As a full-time boat owner, Carlos uses the calendar tool to keep his boats’ availability open during the week and weekends or mark specific days unavailable. “The calendar tool is very important to me, it works very well.” The importance of keeping calendars current correlates with generating valuable opportunities. Without an updated calendar, booking requests and earnings are negatively impacted. The calendar also gives owners the ability to set pricing for select date ranges. Carlos “keeps pricing the same and never increases pricing unless it is a busy weekend”. With summer holidays on the horizon and Memorial Day Weekend approaching, he uses his calendar to “increase pricing and only set captained rentals available to keep everyone safe on board.
Carlos also utilizes the Instant Book feature on all three of his boats. When Instant Book is enabled, it allows renters to book automatically approved trips, without the need to accept booking requests. “Instant Book works best with my smaller, 17-ft Caravelle. Last week, I received 4 instant bookings on that boat.” With the ability to set boat rules, welcome message, default trip start time, and advance notice, Carlos is able to ensure that renters agree to his rules before booking and requires 6 hours advance notice on all of his Instant Bookings.
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To make use of Boatsetter’s tools: Calendar and Instant Book, navigate to your Owner Dashboard, click My Boats, and select Manage Boat. Calendar and Instant Book are available selections on the left sidebar.
For more information on Instant Book, visit our Support Articles:
What About Instant Book Cancellations?
