Day 1 Breakout Sessions
10:30 am - 11:30 am
1) Lessons that Lead to Service Excellence, Guy Smith, Former Disney Institute Leader and Founder of the Smith Factor Sponsored by .jpg)
The first rule of Customer Service may not always be right
- participants will have a better understanding of Service delivery (showmanship versus transaction) and why most customers don’t come back
- Everything Speaks
- Using the Service Excellence formula - Attention to details + exceeding expectations - participants will walk away with a better understanding of how the little things can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction
- Every customer wants to be treated as VIP (very individual Person)
- Using a Customer Compass, participants will better understand who their customers are, so they can design the experiences around that knowledge
- Don’t build it for yourself
- Participants will walk away with a technique called Process Mapping, whereby they can identify key touch points and how to exceed expectations
In this session marina and yacht yard operators will be provided a comprehensive action plan and the tools needed for identifying and more importantly solving potential OSHA violations.
Real examples of failures from actual property inspections will be utilized along with a review of the Federal Standards associated and the corrective action that was taken.
Marina and Yard Operators will take away a simple guide that can be used to train site teams and avoid injury, damage and fines.
3) Untangling the WiFi Web, Garrett Datz, S, C & H Group
Being able to maybe connect to the marina’s WiFi when you are in the marina office just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Customers increasingly expect to have the same or better type of connectivity at the marina as they have at home. But as you may well already know, setting up WiFi for a marina presents any number of unique challenges. This session seeks to take a down-to-earth look at the issues associated with providing WiFi at your marina, including pitfalls to avoid and approaches to consider.
4) Soft Skills Are Power Skills: Hiring Right to Power the Best Customer Experience, Nick Schacht, Society for Human Resource Management, Sponsored by
.jpg)
Your customer’s experience can make or break your business, and a positive customer experience comes down to employees with the right skills. In this session, you’ll understand how the traditionally “soft” skills associated with communication, business management and dealing with people are as essential as any of the technical skills required for marina operations, and how hiring the right people to begin with gives you a leg up in creating and sustaining positive customer experience.
5) Future of Drystack Architecture and Engineering, David Coyle, Mack David Buildings and Robert Brown, ASAR/GCM.
Sponsored by
.png)
Designing and building a successful drystack, like many things in life, is largely about preparation. David Coyle, who has spent
decades in the construction, marina, and PEMB industry understands that proper planning from the start means a smoother trajectory for the entire project. More than getting the building completed, it is about communication and transparency, determining the right profile for the surrounding area, and finally, about planning for efficient day-to-day operations as well. Learn some of the best ways to add efficiency through planning and how that results in better drystacks.
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Regional Roundtables (see conference signage for your region's event)
Roundtable Discussion: What’s in Your Smart Marina Future?
Moderator: Dan Natchez, President, Daniel S. Natchez & Associates, Inc.
Initial Overview Panel Participants: Stacy Huntingford, Owner/President, Clifton Marina & RV Park, Richard Carter, COO, Suntex Marinas, Elsa Nicol, CEO, Wattson Elements-Falco, Rocko Stojiljkovic, Co-Founder, Molo, Inc.
The goal of this session is to have an interactive discussion with you, the audience, on the topic of Smart Marinas, facilitated by our moderator and panel representing different aspects of the marina facilities world and two up-and-coming marina software providers. What does the term Smart Marina mean to you? What software do you currently use, if any? How is it working/not working for you? What do you wish the software could do, or do better? What would your smart marina look like starting with a blank page and unlimited budget? We’ll look at these and other questions along with the chance to hear a bit about what’s coming from our two software provider experts.
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
1) Your Financials: Understanding the Numbers for Critical Decision Making, Richard Carter and Jason Riggins, Suntex Marinas Sponsored by
Analyzing your financial data and Key Performance indicators to help drive performance at your marina.
2) Forklift Manufacturers Panel, Al Paradela, Wiggins Lift; John Kern, Forklift Exchange; and Brock Rubens, Marine Travelift
Join this panel of seasoned veterans in the forklift manufacturing industry to learn about what is on the horizon for forklift innovation. Get many of your questions answered from what size forklifts are required for the 40’+ center console trend, octane requirements, to what improvements you may need to make to accommodate the larger lifts needed to service the ever-increasing boat-lengths. Tee up your questions for this experienced group and be ready for an informational session.
3) Customer Initiated Legal and Design Issues, Dan Natchez, President, Daniel S. Natchez & Associates, Inc., Dennis Nixon, Maritime lawyer and co-founder of the International Marina Institute, and a retired Professor and Dean at the University of Rhode Island
Taking a look at various real life case studies involving customer initiated legal threats and actions, including how to avoid them and their costs, how to mitigate them, and how to prevent them – from both the legal and design perspectives
4) Developing the Industry Leaders of Tomorrow, Nick Schacht, Society for Human Resource Management
Sponsored by
.png){kind=logo}
The world is changing rapidly, and so are demands on industry leaders. Whether it’s understanding and staying ahead of industry business trends, determining new and productive ways to leverage technology and data, or simply providing effective leadership to multiple generations with different expectations, industry leaders are constantly called upon to flex, adapt and grow. This session will help you understand the most significant areas of development for tomorrow’s leaders, and how to prepare them to successfully master the challenges ahead.
5) Moneyball for Marinas: Using Data to Find Hidden Revenue Opportunities, Mike Melillo, Dockwa
Sponsored by
In the early 2000s, Baseball GM Billy Beane became famous for turning around the Oakland A's from a low-budget losing team to an efficient team capable of winning against the wealthiest of components. His secret? Data. His story, which became the inspiration of the movie "Moneyball", changed baseball. Today, the strategic use of data can also change the game for marina owners and operators.
This session will explain the marina data that can best reveal where hidden upside may be in your revenue potential and show you simple strategic changes you can make to compete on the same level as larger, more well-funded, properties. Whether you're at 100% occupancy or still filling slips, you'll walk away with a plan of action you can employ this season to optimize your operation.
