How should a marina run seasonal slip renewals?

Run seasonal slip renewals as three separate records, not one yes or no list. Send each returning boater a written renewal offer with dates you choose, then track the reply (yes, no or no answer), any requested change (different slip, larger boat, different dates) and the confirmed commitment (signed agreement plus deposit) in their own columns. A slip counts as renewed only when it is committed, any vessel change goes back to a fit check against the slip's measured length, beam and depth, and every released slip goes to the waitlist.

Key points

• A "yes" on the phone is a reply, not a commitment. Count a slip as renewed only when the agreement is signed and the deposit is paid.
• Requested changes are their own queue. A boater who says yes but wants a larger slip has not renewed anything yet.
• A new or larger boat goes back to a fit check using the slip's measured limits, not the boat's brochure numbers.
• Pick your response date and commitment date from your own agreement, season and waitlist. No single renewal deadline is right for every marina.
• Slips released by a "no", a missed commitment date or a move go to the waitlist the day they are released.

This guide assumes the season's rates are already set. For how marinas set them, see How do marina slip rates get set each season?

What to collect first

Item	Why it matters
Agreement end date and renewal terms	The offer has to match what the current agreement says about renewal, notice and deposits.
Slip limits on file	Maximum length overall, beam and draft for each slip, set by your dockmaster from measured length, beam and depth.
Vessel on file	Length overall, beam and draft from last season. The baseline for spotting a change.
Contact details and preferred channel	An offer that never arrives looks the same as a "no answer".
Response date and commitment date	Your choices, written into every offer.
Deposit amount and refund terms	From your rate sheet and agreement.
Required documents	Only what your own agreement requires, such as an insurance certificate or registration.

The workflow

Step	Owner	What	Output
1. Build the list	Office	Pull every seasonal agreement ending this season, with slip, vessel and contact	Renewal list
2. Send offers	Office	Written offer: slip, season dates, rate from the rate sheet, deposit, documents, response date, commitment date, and a request to confirm or update vessel details	Offer logged with date sent
3. Log responses	Office	Record yes, no or no answer. Follow up every no answer before the response date	Response column filled
4. Log changes	Office	Record any request for a different slip, a different boat or different dates	Change queue
5. Fit check	Dockmaster	Compare the changed vessel's length overall, beam and draft with the slip's limits, or find an open slip that fits	Fits, does not fit, or another slip offered
6. Confirm commitment	Office	Collect the signed agreement, deposit and any documents your agreement requires	Slip marked committed
7. Release slips	Office	Release slips per your written policy: a "no", a missed commitment date, or a slip vacated by a move	Slip released
8. Offer released slips	Office	Offer through your waitlist rules	Waitlist offer logged

Decide in writing whether returning boaters' move requests are filled before the waitlist. How you order and offer released slips is its own process, covered in How should a marina run a slip waitlist?

Renewal checklist

• Every seasonal agreement ending this season is on the renewal list (required)
• Each offer states a response date and a commitment date chosen for your marina (required)
• Each offer asks the boater to confirm or update length overall, beam and draft (required)
• Response, requested change and commitment tracked in separate columns (required)
• Every vessel change fit checked by the dockmaster against the slip's measured limits (required)
• Insurance certificate checked against what your own agreement requires (required if your agreement requires one)
• Follow-up sent to every no answer before the response date (recommended)
• Released slips sent to the waitlist the same day (recommended)
• Reason recorded for every "no" (optional)

Example (hypothetical)

A marina has 60 seasonal agreements ending this season. Every count, date and slip limit below is invented for the example and is not a recommendation.

Offers go out with a response date and a later commitment date the marina chose for itself. At the response date the log shows 44 yes, 6 no and 10 no answer. 44 + 6 + 10 = 60.

Follow-up reaches the 10 no answers. 4 reply yes and 6 stay silent. Yes is now 44 + 4 = 48. Check: 48 + 6 + 6 = 60.

Of the 48 yes replies, 5 ask for a change: 3 have a larger boat and 2 want a different slip. That leaves 48 minus 5 = 43 unchanged renewals.

One of the larger boats is now 34 feet length overall, 12 feet 2 inches beam and 4 feet 6 inches draft. The dockmaster's limits for the current slip are 32 feet length overall, 12 feet 6 inches beam and 4 feet 9 inches draft.

• Length: 34 feet minus 32 feet = 2 feet over. Does not fit.
• Beam: 12 feet 6 inches minus 12 feet 2 inches = 4 inches under the limit. Fits.
• Draft: 4 feet 9 inches minus 4 feet 6 inches = 3 inches under the limit. Fits.

One failed limit means the boat does not fit that slip. The dockmaster finds a slip released by a "no" boater whose limits cover all three measurements. This marina's written policy fills returning boaters' moves before the waitlist, so the boater is offered that slip. The other two larger boats pass the check for their current slips. Of the 2 slip-change requests, 1 is granted and 1 boater keeps the current slip because nothing open fits.

By the commitment date, 41 of the 43 unchanged renewals have signed and paid. All 5 change requests are resolved, signed and paid.

• Committed: 41 + 5 = 46 slips.
• Not committed: 6 no + 6 silent + 2 unsigned = 14 slips. Check: 46 + 14 = 60.
• Commitment rate: 46 divided by 60 = 76.7 percent.

The two boaters who moved took two slips released by "no" boaters and left their old slips open, so 14 slips are still open in total. Under this marina's policy, the silent and unsigned boaters' slips are released on the commitment date after a final notice, and all 14 open slips go to the waitlist that day. Had the office counted phone yeses, it would have reported 48 renewals and held 2 slips nobody paid for.

Common problems

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Slips counted as renewed that never sign	A phone "yes" logged as a renewal	Keep response and commitment in separate columns. Count only signed plus deposit
A larger boat arrives at launch	Vessel details not asked for in the offer	Ask for current length overall, beam and draft in every offer and fit check any change
Waitlist boaters wait while slips sit empty	Released slips not passed on	Release on the date your policy sets and send to the waitlist the same day
A boater disputes a release	Dates or release rule not in writing	Put the response date, commitment date and what happens after them in the offer
Missing insurance certificate at launch	Document not tied to the commitment step	Check documents against your agreement before marking a slip committed
Change requests stall	No owner for the change queue	Give the dockmaster the fit check and a date to answer by

What to track

Track the commitment rate at your commitment date: committed slips divided by offers sent. Keep it separate from the reply rate so a pile of verbal yeses cannot hide unsigned slips.

Limitations

• Response dates, commitment dates, deposits and release rules are your choices within your agreement. This article does not set them, and one renewal deadline is not right for every marina.
• Insurance and document requirements come from your own slip agreement. This article does not say what coverage a boater needs.
• Slip limits must come from your own measurements, soundings and dockmaster judgment. Depth can change with tide, season and dredging. The example uses invented limits, not a recommended margin.
• Renewal and release terms are contract terms. This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your state program or attorney.
• More marina answers are in Propty Learn for marinas.

Where Propty fits

Propty's marina page describes answering slip calls 24/7 with your approved greeting and a recording notice, quoting prices only from your rate sheet, collecting vessel length, beam and draft, texting back missed callers, and a seniority waitlist that offers open slips automatically every hour. The same page lists renewal drafts, waitlists, paperwork and insurance reminders among its property operations features, and an app where boaters pay and view their agreement. Propty's What you get page describes renewal offers prepared 60 days before the agreement ends, paperwork reminders at 30, 14 and 3 days including chasing insurance certificates, and payment links sent by text within your texting rules. If your agreement or season needs offers out earlier than 60 days, set that timing yourself.

Want to see how your listing and calls look to a new boater? Get a free Get Found audit.

These descriptions come from Propty's public pages as checked on 2026-10-16. They are not a test of the live product. What is available for a property depends on setup and connected services, so confirm current behavior in a demo before relying on it.

See the marinas demo.

Sources

• Propty for marinas: 24/7 answering with approved greeting and recording notice, rate-sheet quoting, vessel length, beam and draft collection, missed-call text back, seniority waitlist offers, renewal drafts, insurance reminders, boater app. Checked 2026-10-16.
• Propty, What you get: renewal offers prepared 60 days before the agreement ends, paperwork reminders at 30, 14 and 3 days including insurance certificates, payment links by text. Checked 2026-10-16.
• No outside statistics are used. All counts, dates and slip limits in the example are invented.