The Problem

• Revenue was volatile across seasons and channels, making it unclear how many charters per month (or at what price per charter/seat) the business needed to cover costs.
• Fixed costs (boat loan/lease, slip fees, insurance, permits, marketing retainers) weren’t separated from variable costs (fuel, bait/ice, deckhand, credit-card/OTA fees, cleaning), obscuring contribution margin.
• Mixed offerings (half-day vs full-day, weekday vs weekend) and discounting through OTAs created pricing confusion and margin leakage.
• Owners lacked a forward view of cash needs by month (seasonality, weather cancellations, maintenance days), making it hard to plan staffing and marketing.

The Solution

We built a 12-month operating model with utilization and pricing controls to surface the exact break-even points.

1. Cost structure
• Fixed (monthly): slip & storage, loan/lease, insurance, licenses, software/booking, marketing retainers, baseline maintenance reserve.
• Variable (per trip): fuel burn by hours × fuel price, bait/ice, deckhand wage/tips top-up, cleaning, CC/OTA fee %, refreshments, incremental maintenance reserve.
2. Offer logic
• Products: Half-Day (4–5 hrs), Full-Day (8–10 hrs).
• Channels: Direct (site/phone), OTA (higher fee).
• Price rules: Weekend premium, seasonal pricing, promo toggles.
3. Contribution margin & break-even
• Contribution per trip = Price − Variable cost per trip.
• Trips to break even (per month) = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution per trip.
• Also report:
• Price to break even at target trips, and
• Utilization to break even at set pricing.
4. Seasonality & capacity
• Calendar with peak/shoulder/off-season demand; maintenance/blackout days; weather cancellation factor.
• Capacity plan (max trips/wk by crew availability and daylight).
5. Sensitivity dashboard
• Fuel price ±25%, deckhand rate, OTA mix %, promo discounts, no-show rate, weather cancellations.
6. Outputs
• Break-even trips by month & by product.
• Monthly cash flow (incl. loan principal/interest, capex reserve).
• Price recommendations and margin by channel.
• Hiring & marketing calendar aligned to profitable capacity.

Conclusion

(#’s modified for anonymity per request from client)

• Fixed costs (monthly): $10,400
• Slip/storage $1,800; Insurance $950; Loan/lease $4,200; Licenses/permits $150; Software/booking $150; Marketing baseline $750; Maintenance reserve $2,400.
• Variable per trip (Half-Day): $400
• Fuel $180; Bait/ice $70; Deckhand $150; Cleaning/consumables $20; CC fees negligible on direct.
• Posted price (Half-Day, direct): $1,200 → Contribution/trip = $800
• Break-even trips/month = $10,400 ÷ $800 ≈ 13 trips (about 3–4 trips/week).
• If 40% of bookings come via OTA at 15% fee, effective price drops to $1,020, contribution becomes $620, and break-even rises to ~17 trips/month.
• Full-Day example: Price $1,800, variable $600 → contribution $1,200 → BE ≈ 9 trips/month.

Actionable takeaways

• Prioritize direct bookings and weekend premiums to keep contribution ≥$800/trip.
• Lock fuel surcharges into pricing or auto-adjust when diesel > baseline.
• Schedule 13–15 bookable half-day equivalents/month in shoulder season (or 9–10 full-days) to cover fixed costs; target +25–35% above BE in peak months to build cash buffer.
• Use the sensitivity view weekly to adjust pricing, staffing, and ad spend to maintain contribution per trip.

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