There is no better way to relax than to be on a boat. Boating is always a fun way to spend time, whether you go fishing, skiing, tubing, floating, or just wandering around. Because of this, boat rentals are a $5 billion business in the US. If you live near a large body of water, you might be able to start a boat hire business, give locals and visitors a good time, and make a good living at the same time. A boat rental business is also fun to run, which is the best part. You can work by the water and go out on your boats whenever you want.
But before you start riding, you should know what you’re getting into. This guide will give you all the information you need to start and run a successful boat rental
Step 1: Find Out if this is the Right Business for You?
Positives Vs Negatives
| Share your passion by giving your customers great sailing experiences. Good pay – Even tiny boats can make $100 per hour. Work and play when you want. | Boats need maintenance and fixes, which can be costly. Boats are not inexpensive. |
Industry Trends
- Size and growth in the past: The US boat hire business was worth $5 billion in 2021, and it had grown by an average of nearly 6% over the previous five years.
- The boat hiring business is projected to grow at a rate of 5% per year until 2025.
- Number of businesses: In 2021, there were 17,566 boat hiring companies in the United States.
- In 2021, 44,329 people were working in the boat rental business in the United States.
Cost of Starting Boat Rental Business
Starting costs for a boat rental business range from $6,000 to $17,000. The costs include a down payment on one or more boats, life jackets and tools, renting a boat slip, and boat insurance.
Investment Items:
- Life jackets
- Flotation devices that can be thrown
- Fire extinguishers
- Signaling devices.
Is Boat Rental Business Profitable?
Renting a small boat for the day costs between $600 and $700, or about $100 per hour. After paying for gas, repairs, and other expenses, your profit rate should be around 60%.
If you have one boat and rent it out for four hours a day, 200 days a year, you’ll make $80,000 a year in your most memorable few years. Taking that 60% edge into account, this would mean a profit of $48,000. As your business grows and you get more leads, you could add two more boats and rent them out for six hours for 200 days. With $360,000 in yearly sales, you would make a nice profit of $216,000.
Entry Barriers
- Some states, like New York, require doctors to have their own rooms for giving IVs.
- In other places, like Florida, there are a lot of rules about IV treatments.
- If your brand isn’t well-known, you’ll have to spend a lot of time and money pushing and selling.
- Starting up an IV room is very expensive.
- There could be potential trouble if health rules aren’t followed.
Step 2: Create a Strategy
Identify a Gap
Check out local and online boat rental companies to learn about their services, costs, customer reviews, and the best boats and services to rent. You’re trying to fill a hole in the market. For example, the local market might not have a boat rental business that caters to families and gives activities like skiing, tubing, and swimming.
This could get word-of-mouth marketing going again and start bringing in people right away.
Solutions
- Kayak
- Personal boats include things like jet skis.
- This boat is called a pontoon.
- A bow rider is a person who sits in the front of a boat.
- Sailboat
- Cruises with cabins
- A ship for fishing
- Houseboat
- Skiing boat
- You might even buy a boat if you want to go all out.
- Charter trips or fishing boats
- Renting fishing supplies
- Renting swimming gear
- Selling food and drinks
- Cruises for dinner
Pricing
Prices will change depending on what kind of boats you have. The price for a small boat per hour is $100. Renting cabin luxury boats is much more expensive. Your ongoing costs will include gas, maintenance, slip hire, and insurance. You should not hold back anything on an edge of around 60%.
Once you know your costs, you can use this step-by-step profit margin tool to figure out your markup and end prices. Don’t forget that the prices you use at send-off should be flexible enough to change when the market requires it.
Target Market
Locals and visitors will make up most of your viewers. You should sell on multiple channels, like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Brochures can also be given out at nearby hotels, restaurants, and tourist sites.
Location
You don’t really need anything else besides your boat slip, unless you want a small shop for renting out boats. You can find local business space for rent on websites like Craigslist, Crexi, and Instant Offices.
If you’re looking for a commercial place, you might want to consider these basic rules:
- It is in a central position and can be reached by public transportation.
- The room is well-ventilated and has a lot of natural light.
- The lease can be extended if your business keeps growing.
- It’s ready to use and doesn’t need any big fixes.
Step 3: Write a Business Plan
Every company need a strategy. This will serve as a manual to help your business through the launch process while keeping you focused on your primary objectives. A business plan also helps potential partners and investors understand your company’s mission and vision:
- Executive Summary: A brief outline of the whole business plan that should be written after the plan is done.
- Business Overview: A summary of the company’s goals, vision, purpose, assets, and control structure.
- What we make and what we do: Explain in detail what you’re selling.
- Do a SWOT analysis and look at market trends like changes in demand and growth opportunities.
- Competitive Analysis: Look at your key rivals’ strengths and flaws and make a list of what makes your services better.
- Sales and Marketing: Look at the unique selling points (USPs) of your business and come up with sales, marketing, and promotion plans.
- Management Team: An overview of the team’s tasks and professional backgrounds, as well as a business structure.
- Operations Plan: Your company’s operational plan includes how it will get supplies, where it will put its office, what its most important assets and tools are, and other practical details.
- Financial Plan: A three-year plan for money, including start-up costs, a break-even analysis, predictions of profits and losses, cash flow, and a balance sheet.
- Appendix: Add any other papers related to money or business.
Step 4: Create a Marketing Plan
Some of your business will come from people who see you or find you online, but you should still spend money on marketing! Getting the word out is especially important for new businesses because it will bring in more customers and raise awareness of the brand.
When your website is up and running, connect it to your social media accounts. Social media is a great way to promote your business because you can make interesting posts and sell your products.
- Facebook is a great place for paid ads because you can target specific groups, like guys under 50 in the Cleveland area.
- Instagram has the same benefits as Facebook, but it’s for a different kind of user.
- Website: Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your site rank higher in relevant search results, which is a key part of getting more sales. Make sure your website gives clear calls to action. Change the size, color, and location of calls to action like “Book Now.” This could bring in a lot more people.
- Google and Yelp: Getting your business listed on Yelp and Google My Business can be a very important way to get people to know about it and buy from you.
- Put up signs that get people’s attention at your place and on your website.
- Make a movie about renting boats. Use humor, and it might go viral!
- Start a blog and update it regularly. Change up your information and share it on multiple channels.
- Paid social media ads: Choose sites that reach your goal group and run targeted ads.
- Pay-per-click marketing involves using Google AdWords to improve the success of search engines. First, study keywords.
- Influencer marketing is when you pay people with large social media followings to promote your boat rentals. There are micro-influencers with fewer followers and lower prices.