Making the decision to invest in quality fleet management software isn’t necessarily an easy choice that many operations managers take lightly. However, it represents an investment in the health and future of your watercraft rental company operations.

What is Fleet Management Software?

Fleet management software enables you to accomplish a series of specific tasks in the management of any or all aspects relating to a fleet of vehicles – or watercraft – operated by a company, government, or other organization. Modern GPS tracking hardware and fleet tracking software solutions have a variety of capabilities that help fleet managers and companies reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and improve safety. Essentially, fleet management software provides an internal and external view of your watercraft rentals.

Common Challenges for Watercraft Rental Companies

As with any business, there are challenges inherent to an industry and which you’ll encounter along the way of your operations. Particular to the watercraft rental industry, some challenges might include:

• Mooring pricing and terms: These two qualities can greatly impact your watercraft rental company’s financial future. You don’t want to have a one-year contract that can be cancelled and thereby lose your investment, nor do you want a contract for a whole decade without having an exit option. In general, mooring costs should never be more than 10% of your cost structure.
• Currents, tides, and wind conditions: In some areas of the world, tides, currents and wind conditions can have a significant effect on the sailing experience. Currents and tides, especially, can become deal-breakers if there’s a high risk of watercraft getting stuck. The design of the watercraft should match the water conditions.
• Choose your route carefully: While you obviously have very little influence on the nature of the routes, you’re able to guide your guests to beautiful surroundings and avoid areas that aren’t fit for watercraft. A carefully designed map can nudge customers to act responsibly and thus care for safety and the overall reputation of the business.

Benefits of Using Fleet Management Software For Watercraft Rental

Utilizing fleet management software can benefit your watercraft rental company in a number of ways, ranging from practical to financial and everything in between.

Properly Maintain Watercraft

​​Just like any other vehicle, your fleet of watercraft must be maintained properly. Your liability insurance will likely require stringent service records keeping; not to mention the thought of stranding a customer in the middle of a 6,500-acre lake should be enough to make any watercraft rental operator cringe.

Fleet management software will help ensure that your maintenance is current, fuel is properly tracked and paid for, and no watercraft goes out without all of the necessary safety gear like life vests, paddles, and a fire extinguisher. Fleet management software can also be used to track engine repairs and hours in use, making sure that any engine that is costing you an excess of repair and maintenance fees is quickly brought to your attention.

Track Routes & Renters

Boats, jet skis, and other watercraft are expensive – and handing the keys over for renters is loaded with a multitude of risks. With a GPS tracking device and comprehensive asset tracking system, you can create multiple geofences in areas of the water that you don’t want your property to enter. When a watercraft enters any of these geofences, you and the renter of the watercraft receive a text message warning them to leave the area. If the watercraft doesn’t leave the area, you have an option to trigger an alarm on the watercraft as an additional method to warn the renter to leave the area immediately.

Ensures Safety

Utilizing geofencing capabilities via a waterproof GPS tracking device ensures the safety of your watercraft’s passengers! By mapping out and alerting your watercraft’s renters of prohibited areas, you avoid the risk of them swimming in dangerous currents or accidentally trespassing. Maintaining communication through a watercraft monitoring system is key to assist your renters in case of an emergency.

Monitor Engine Repairs

Active fleet maintenance is an essential component of fleet management. There are many different ways to approach preventative fleet maintenance — some of which are tried-and-true methods while others are bad ideas. Fleet managers typically fall into one of two categories when it comes to the maintenance of their watercraft: proactive or reactive maintenance.

The former, proactive maintenance, entails scheduling maintenance before there is a problem to keep watercraft running in optimal condition. Reactive maintenance focuses on handling unscheduled repairs and reacting to sudden breakdowns and equipment malfunctions. Simply put, the latter is a sign of poor planning and frequently results in expensive repairs that could have been avoided.

Keep Proper Records

Unless you’re one of fewer than 100 people identified as having highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), it’s unlikely that you’re going to remember when each watercraft in your fleet last received preventative maintenance, or precisely what work was performed during the service. This unpractical (and surprisingly common) mistake that many fleet managers make leads to expensive repairs that could have been avoided easily by using GPS tracking software.

Transform your Watercraft Rental Fleet Management with Rastrac!

Rastrac has decades of experience in helping companies, municipalities, and other organizations meet their goals with telematics systems. Our fleet management software can easily be customized to fit your company’s unique needs with a variety of add-ons and services that go above and beyond just “dots on a map.”

With flexible options for fleet tracking devices and software—plus a dedicated support team and online tools—Rastrac has been making integrating GPS tracking solutions with your day-to-day operations easier since 1993. We give you the tools you need to optimize your fleet management processes and become a hero to your company!