Oasis Marina Management, a firm out of Annapolis met with the Cape Charles Town Council Thursday to pitch their services. This is the fourth time the firm has been to Cape Charles. Councilman Steve Bennett, who has been critical of the past performance of our harbor has been instrumental in bringing Oasis in to talk about what they can bring to the table.
Profitability, maintenance and professionalism have been the criticisms most heard from Council. Basically operating with a skeleton crew, the town harbor staff is generally stretched thin on busy weekends.
According to Oasis CEO Dan Owens and VP of Business Development Brian Arnold, the firm began in the hotel and hospitality business and has brought that expertise and process to the marina management business. The group emphasized that first impressions, customer service, and satisfaction are the core goals. They also have a record of increasing profitability.
“A cornerstone of the Oasis experience is a fun, social and consistent customer experience. We believe that if boaters are having a great time at your marina, you will too. The Oasis team has more than 30 years of experience in customer service and hospitality best practices. We will help you implement policies to ensure that your customers are receiving the best service possible from your employees and vendors. Further, we have the tools needed to manage the customer experience at your marina from the moment a slip is reserved, until checkout. ” –Oasis website
Along with design, inventory tracking, and building and maintenance, Oasis also noted that they provide marketing expertise as well. According Oasis, the marketing team will use data captured from the boater community to
analyze current marketing activities, market conditions, customer feedback and more to determine what is, and isn’t, working. Using this data, they will create a plan that incorporates a variety of marketing techniques, from traditional to digital.
“The reason I’m here is that I think, even as nice as the harbor is now, it’s time for us to ratchet it up a bit,” said councilwoman Cela Burge.
Oasis told Council that they have a variety of financial vehicles, from lease to pure management.
This was only an informational meeting, but Town Council appeared to be fully ready to explore this in more detail.
“I read this packet, and I was set to tear it apart…but I couldn’t find anything to tear up. I was impressed, ” said Mayor Smitty Dize.
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