Most marina managers can tell you which weekends sold out last season and who didn’t show up. They’re less likely to know how many boaters tried to book but couldn’t reach anyone or complete a reservation online.
Our new report, The State of Marine Booking, examines where those bookings fall through and what operators can do to address it. It combines reservation data from more than one million marina and boat-rental bookings on Storable Marine’s platforms with a September 2026 survey of 650 boaters who rented a boat or kept one at a marina in the past year. Here are a few of the findings.
More than half of boaters have walked away from a booking
56% of boaters gave up on a booking in the past year because they couldn’t reach anyone or couldn’t finish online, and nearly a quarter did it more than once. When a boater calls during business hours, gets no answer, and can’t book online, 45% go straight to another business.
Fewer than 1% said they would skip the trip altogether, so most of those bookings went to another business.
Fees, unavailable time slots, and unanswered inquiries cost bookings
We asked boaters what had made them abandon a booking. Surprise fees at checkout and a time slot that was taken with no alternative offered tied for first at 36% each. No response to an inquiry came next at 27%. Operators may not be able to accommodate every request, but they can make prices clear, suggest alternatives, and respond to questions.
Dockside Tip
Show the full price, fees included, before the customer reaches checkout. If their first choice is booked, offer the closest available day, slip, or boat so they have another option to consider.
Bookings paid up front cancelled less often
Across more than one million reservations, bookings that collected payment up front had a cancellation rate of 9.2%. Bookings that deferred payment had a rate of 18.2%. Most boaters don’t mind paying when they book. 74% said they’re willing to pay a deposit or the full amount when they reserve. For an operator running a thousand bookings a season, the difference between those two cancellation rates is about ninety reservations.
13% of boaters found their most recent booking through an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Gemini. That’s close to the 15% who found it through a booking website and nearly twice the share from social media. 74% would let an AI assistant make a booking for them in some form, with checking availability the task they’re most comfortable handing over (68%).
Boaters are finding marinas and rentals through AI
13% of boaters found their most recent booking through an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Gemini. That’s close to the 15% who found it through a booking website and nearly twice the share from social media. 74% would let an AI assistant help with a booking in some form, with checking availability the task they’re most comfortable handing over (68%).
The full report also examines weather-related cancellations, differences between renters and marina customers, and payment preferences, with recommendations for operators throughout.
A companion operator playbook, The Booking Gap – with specific recommendations for each finding in this report, is available for download here.
