Membership ideas for your boat rental

A member pays you before the season starts, and books again without comparing you to the rental down the river. So you know in March what your members bring in this season. You can start small and try one model first.

A member rate

A customer pays a yearly fee to become a member. After that, every trip costs less than it does for a first-time customer. Say an hour costs 100, and a member pays 60.

This suits people who sail a few times a year and don’t want to commit to more. Give members an account, and they see their trips and update their own details. When you allow it, they also cancel a booking themselves, without calling you.

Ride packages

A ride package gives a customer a number of trips to use within a set time. For example five or ten trips this season, each up to four hours.

This suits people who know roughly how often they’ll go out and like to pay once. A package also makes a good gift, and a gift can bring you a new customer.

A monthly or season membership

A member pays per month or per season and sails as often as the rules allow. It works for avid sailors, and for people who live near good water with a long season. For them it’s a way to have a boat without the winter storage and the repairs.

Set a few rules, or your most eager members fill every Saturday in July. For example, one weekend booking at a time, and one weekday booking next to it.

A loyalty program

A loyalty program rewards customers for coming back. The more often or the longer they rent, the more they get:

• a lower rate
• booking a week earlier than everyone else
• a bigger boat for the price of a smaller one
• an invitation to an evening at the dock

A customer who feels appreciated books again, and brings friends.

A boat club

A boat club goes furthest. Members pay a joining fee and dues every month, and share a fleet that the club owns. Many clubs add lessons and a social program. Members get the boat without the upkeep, and a group to sail with.

The biggest boat club keeps growing, as you can read in our trends for the 2027 season. Starting one takes a plan of its own. Read how to start a boat club.

Memberships in Let’s Book

In Let’s Book, each kind of member is a customer type. Let’s Book doesn’t collect the membership fee. Dues run through your own bank or subscription service. Once someone has paid you, you give them their customer type. A customer type has its own prices, its own booking rules and its own cancellation policy. A rule can count the bookings a member already has, so nobody books all the Saturdays. Members can book through a link where they log in first, so their own prices and rules apply. You can also skip the deposit for members, because a deposit can depend on the customer type. See the pros and cons of a deposit. Read more about memberships in Let’s Book.