Marina app developments bringing interesting times in the nautical tourism sector. Season 2018 is about to begin and there are more apps around than ever before for better communication between harbours and their guests. When we started at the end of 2015 we aimed to understand what is really needed. What were the software solutions back then to ease the harbour management and what kind of business models the marina app providers used to sell their services. It was soon clear, that the nautical tourism sector isn´t the same around the globe. Similar but not the same. In fact it was different enough that even the same business logic wouldn’t work. The more it is odd to see new attempts to create a better booking apps for the whole world without actually differ from the failed ones.
The times when harbour visitors had to pay a booking fee of 10% are long gone.
We saw it back then when some of the more innovative hotel reservation service providers started to cut off the booking fees by offering more valuable services to the hotel itself. Your client is the king. Do they have to pay a share for asking a better customer service?
A multilingual marina app doesn´t mean you get great service in your home country.
Bang! The app was launched in New Zealand! Really? The possibilities of world wide web doesn’t mean there is usable support or understanding for all of the parts of the world without having someone familiar with the local specificities.
Booking is not the only magic thingy.
A booking app, and another one. What about a descent solution for first-come first served principles? What are you really missing?
Who´ll be there the next summer?
Building services for a sector so seasonal means each year there will be a new beginning. Are the university projects and grant money initiatives here also the next year?
Nobody is perfect. Dealing with software there is always room for improvement. But in which direction? Building a service and offering service are not the same. When thinking about going online, take your moment, write me, I want to understand your story to advise you what could do the job.