Bill's Beneficial Blog

Marine Link Tours - Lodging Newsletter September 30, 2023

By Wm, May
Published: 09/30/23 Topics: Boats Comments: 0

Travel comes in many forms. Tourism is a subgroup, including enjoyment, learning, observing. And specialty lodging has its own niche, starting with vacation rentals but including inns, resorts and now even freight boats offering one of a kind experiences.

Marine Link Tours delivers all kinds of freight up and down the Salish Sea in British Columbia from Campbell River to Port Hardy and Seymour Inlet. There may be stops in Loughborough Inlet, Kelsey Bay, Broughton Archipelago, Port McNeil, Powell Lake and whatever other stop needs delivery.

They even take along travelers searching for the unusual. These are not passengers going from stop to stop, but inquisitive folks on a 5-day trip longing for an out-of-the-ordinary thrill.

Years ago, the ship owners acquired a barge-like boat, flat bottomed, extended it and added six state rooms for those travelers willing to pay a pretty penny to get the unusual.

Traveling at a whopping 7 knots (8 miles per hour) the captain nestles the boat up long and winding inlets, which in Norway would be called fjords, going miles without sight of houses, cabins or boats. Delivering to logging camps, fish farms, small communities and First Nations' villages.

The Marine Link trip is nothing like what passengers experience on the huge cruise ships that may pass silently speeding to Alaska. There are no cabarets, no night clubs, no water slides, no gambling. But the freighter does provide gourmet meals from the live-onboard chef, an attentive steward, and a visit in the wheel house with a captain who has spent 37 years visiting every corner of the sea.

It all comes with peace and quiet as humpback whales, orcas and porpoises swim around and alongside. Grizzly bears lounge in meadows and mountains thousands of feet directly above the boat. Deep in Knight Inlet, a waterfall plunges over 800 feet directly into the sea on this longest and most spectacular coastal fjord. The captain grins as he noses the boat directly under the waterfall.

In our small world of vacation rentals, we are reminded that every guest who visits us hopes for a unique, intriguing and memorable experience. It is also our job to deliver.

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As summer wanes, we take time to be thankful. In case you don't spend day and night following the lodging industry - like we do - here is a summary of some recent travel industry and market developments.

SEASONALITY - Around the country and in drive-to destinations like the Northwest, occupancy now mimics seasonality as it was before Covid.

FIRES - Luckily, our markets have not had rampant fires, even though smoke has and may continue to lessen travel enthusiasm. Sorry to say, but a half-dozen times over the years we have learned how to deal with these interruptions when they arise. The goal is to build guest satisfaction and retain rents for owners.

ADVANCE - Over several decades the amount of time in advance that guests book dates has ranged from a year down to days or weeks, when bookings resumed after Covid. Early summer was slower and now bookings are occurring in a more normal timeframe.

RATES - Rates have been depressed because so many competitors panicked and plummeted rates in a "race for the bottom" on prices. It is necessary to compromise to get bookings. But last minute bookings are filling dates and we can hope that continues as usual into September.

PRICING - Our rates experts evaluate rates up to 13 months in advance and make changes most days based on current market volatility. The AI telemetry we buy for our S2D2 algorithm may lower rates on a last minute basis, then real humans intervene to raise rates at every opportunity. Their success has beat industry trends.

CHANNELS - AirBnB, VRBO and other advertising websites are saying business is good, but they achieve that by expanding the number of rentals between 10 and 20%. Contrary to their crowing, that doesn't mean more income for each individual owner.

ONSITE - A giant shout out to all of our wonderful market managers, housekeepers and maintenance staff who have toiled 7 days a week, weekends, holidays and sometimes well into the evening. Most have been part of the team for years and every property owner should give them kudos. We certainly do.

TECHNOLOGY - Working behind the scenes are a whole group of software, advertising, marketing, photography, graphics and other tech experts. They too work overtime in summer to adjust to market conditions that are changing faster than ever before.

HISTORY - As the vacation rental industry has grown for decades, we have always advised owners to only buy a second home for the best of reasons. Our competitors lure in owners with a pitch that owning a vacation rental is a "Get Rich Quick" success.

History says that over years homes usually appreciate, producing profits when they are sold. But today, operating a rental has become a time consuming and intricate undertaking which can be expensive and exasperating if done innocently.

Most homes don't make a cash-on-cash return annually, but with our skilled vacation rental management owners can get maximum income with minimum fuss.

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Author: Wm, May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0966 – 09/30/23

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com