Getting Your Fleet Season-Ready: A Boat Tour Operator's Preseason Playbook

Running a boat tour operation is like coordinating a chess game. Every piece — fleet scheduling, crew training, channel distribution, hardware, communications — has to be in position before the clock starts.

Operators who invest in preseason preparation see it pay back tenfold during their busiest months. Every shortcut skipped in March becomes a fire drill in July.

This playbook is a distillation of what we've seen work across dozens of boat tour operations — and what we've seen go wrong.

Fleet Scheduling and Capacity Management

The foundation of a smooth season is your schedule. Before anything else, go boat-by-boat and set up your custom tour schedules, departure times, and vessel capacities.

This sounds straightforward, but the details matter:

1. Build schedules by season, not just by day.

Capacities and departure times should change as demand shifts from spring to peak summer to shoulder season. Set this up in advance rather than scrambling to adjust mid-season.

2. Plan for the unexpected.

Weather delays, mechanical issues, and demand surges will happen. Have a clear process for schedule changes — and make sure your booking platform reflects them in real time so guests aren't showing up for a cancelled departure.

3. Think about capacity strategically.

If you're running multiple boats simultaneously, stagger departures to spread demand. Overselling one vessel while another runs half-full is a missed opportunity.

Getting this right on the back end reduces the manual workload for your staff all season long and prevents the customer-facing problems that lead to frustration and bad reviews.

OTA and Reseller Channel Setup

If you sell through OTAs like Viator, GetYourGuide, or Expedia — or through resellers like hotel concierges and event planners — your distribution channels need to be tested and live well before bookings start rolling in.

Here's what we recommend:

• Test every OTA connection end-to-end. Verify that your availability syncs in real time, that barcodes consolidate properly, and that pricing is accurate across all platforms. Nothing creates more headaches than an oversold departure because your OTA wasn't pulling live inventory.
• Set up reseller accounts early. If hotels, concierges, or event planners sell your tickets, make sure they can log into your system and book easily. They need no special information — just access to your pre-set prices, schedules, and live capacity.
• Verify the guest experience. Book a test ticket through each channel and walk through the entire flow. Does the confirmation come through correctly? Does the barcode scan? Are the departure details accurate?

As Sophia Shafiq, Controller at Red and White Fleet, put it: "RocketRez helps us to make sure that our time slots that are available are also available to our OTAs to make sure they see the same sailing and they're pushing it out to their customers."

That real-time sync is the difference between smooth operations and a dock full of confused guests holding tickets for a sold-out departure.

Crew Training on Ticketing and Operations

Seasonal staffing is one of the biggest challenges in this industry. New crew members often arrive with zero prior experience in ticketing, POS operations, or boarding logistics — and you need them ready to serve live customers within days.

The key principle: train before the season, not during it.

• Identify your veteran employees — the ones who've been through a season or two and know the ropes. These are your "player-coaches." Have them help build training materials and lead hands-on sessions.
• Create cheat sheets. Laminated quick-reference guides taped to the counter or POS station reduce errors and speed up the learning curve. Cover the essentials: how to scan a ticket, process a refund, apply a discount, check in a group.
• Make the tech intuitive. Your software should feel as natural as using a smartphone. If it takes weeks for seasonal staff to learn the system, it's the wrong system.

Robert Lomangino, Operations Manager at Governors Island, described the difference well: "Before RocketRez, we had handheld ticketing devices with card readers on them. The only option was to purchase tickets just as you were getting on the boat."

When the technology is simple, training gets faster and your team gets confident sooner.

Hardware Setup and Management

This is one of the most overlooked areas of preseason prep — and it's the source of a surprising number of opening-week problems.

• Label everything. Every iPad, every payment terminal, every scanner. Mismatched devices are a common and entirely preventable bottleneck.
• Create a sign-in/sign-out system. Track which device goes to which station or vessel. Designate a specific home location for each piece of hardware.
• Install counter mounts. For iPads at ticket booths, mounts improve security, keep devices charged, and prevent them from walking off.
• Charge overnight, every night. Dead devices at 10am on a Saturday is a problem you never want to have.
• Consider phones for scanning. Operators who've switched from iPads to phones for boarding scans often see a real improvement in speed and portability.

A little organization now saves significant time and frustration all season.

Manifest Management and Onboard Operations

Your tour manifests are more than a headcount — they're the backbone of onboard operations.

A well-managed manifest helps your crew:

• Plan food and beverage quantities accurately, reducing waste and stockouts
• Prepare seating arrangements and accommodate special requests
• Brief the captain and crew on group sizes, VIPs, and special events

When you're running multiple boats simultaneously — sometimes miles apart on the water — having a cloud-connected system means every vessel's data flows to a central location. Your staff on Boat A and your staff on Boat B are working from the same source of truth, even if they're in different harbors.

Guest Communication Setup

Before the season starts, configure your guest communication flows. This is the piece that separates a good guest experience from a great one.

At minimum, set up:

• Automated booking confirmations with all the details guests need (departure time, dock location, what to bring)
• Trip reminder emails sent 24-48 hours before departure, with options to add upgrades or pre-purchase food and beverage
• Digital waivers and forms sent automatically so guests arrive ready to board, not filling out paperwork on the dock
• SMS notifications for weather delays, schedule changes, and rainchecks

We also strongly recommend collecting phone numbers at POS from every guest — including walk-ups. It takes an extra moment at check-in, but it gives you a direct channel for day-of communication and builds a marketing list for future seasons.

With digital boarding passes that support Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, you can deliver a modern, contactless boarding experience that guests appreciate.

Conclusion

Your season is only as good as your preparation. Every item on this checklist — from fleet scheduling to hardware labeling to communication setup — is an investment that pays back in smoother operations, happier guests, and fewer fire drills during your busiest months.

The difference between a chaotic opening week and a seamless one is almost always in the preseason work.

If you'd like help getting your boat tour operation ready for the season, our team would love to chat. We bring an operator-first mindset to every conversation.