Email: 100% unachievable

Geoff Smith seems not to have much insight into managing occupancy—marina berths are, I suspect, much like renting properties where there are more data sources.

In any event, 100% is unachievable and, at least mathematically, can only be associated with an infinite waiting time for new spaces.

In fact, once a space becomes vacant there will always be a period of vacancy as the space is advertised, let and the new tenant takes it up.

In the case of marinas, many more of us are opting for a part year slot, staying for the winter months and out on the network for the other half of the year. As a result, marinas can be pretty much full at this time of the year but with under occupancy at other times.

Since, in most cases, customers are allocated a specific berth, this does not even allow the marina to manage spaces by renting them out when the normal tenant is away from the berth.

In some areas it is hard enough to find a berth when you want one—especially if a new owner—so reducing the availability in general would not necessarily be helpful.

All of these factors should be incorporated by the marina operator into the berth fees so that, at the planned occupancy level, they are able to be in profit. Hence shorter periods of mooring are more expensive than long term rates.

Mike Todd