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virginia boy · 02-08-2011, 13:37

Are marinas open to negotiating price? I understand that a full marina maybe not so much, but do people sometimes manage to strike a bargain for lower rents? I'm guessing that many marina's here in the Wash DC area are owned by some giant corporation and the prices are not subject to negotiating. I'm anchored out and am going broke just keeping the boat afloat. I hate to think what another 600 usd per month would do to my refit budget.

MikeinLA · 02-08-2011, 13:43

A few years ago I noticed the growing number of vacancies around Marina del Rey what with people selling their boats due to the economy. I started to shop around and found a deal that reduced my monthly slip rent by $ 154 per month. Now my slip, diver, washer and insurance cost me what just my slip did before.

Try looking around, it can't hurt.

Mike

dennisjay · 02-08-2011, 14:11

The market in D.C. likely is different than most places because of there are so few slips. However, the recession hurt a lot of marinas in the area and I've found a few places willing to cut deals in the Annapolis area. I've even heard of one that is providing slips in exchange for work around the yard.

S/V Illusion · 02-08-2011, 14:39

Generally, marina owners are not willing to make unique deals as the "word" quickly gets around and everyone wants the same deal.

Kettlewell · 02-08-2011, 16:31

Everything is negotiable. I have negotiated marina prices before by walking in to a place during the middle of the season with checkbook in hand and obvious and asking what they could do for the rest of the season. As they had openings they were very interested in filling them. However, if you are trying to reserve in advance in say the fall for next summer it will be hard to get them to budge from the published prices. You need some leverage like empty slips to help you out. Sometimes they are willing to deal if they have an odd slip that is hard to fill--very small, or shallow, or located in a difficult place to get in and out of. I used to have a cat and I have negotiated the price on a slip that dried out at low tide--nobody else wanted it! You need some leverage.

Sailagain · 02-08-2011, 16:35

It never hurts to try. Especially if they are not full to capacity. You might mention you will not spread around the word if they do cut you any discounts.

You are right - if it's a big corporation - there would probably be no deal coming. It would be like walking into Walmart and asking for 10% off whatever the item is already marked.

Kettlewell · 02-08-2011, 16:42

I'm not certain the big marina chains aren't negotiable. I think there is a lot of pressure on the managers to have the place full during the season and the corporate places have somebody looking over the manager's shoulder. They might not be able to cut you a deal on the slip price, but you might get some perks like free parking or free electricity. I've paid really low rates at some big fancy marinas when they were looking to fill slips.