FAQ Page
FAQ's for Dock Hosts
The reasons might be different for each property owner but there are several advantages to doing so:
- Your dock may sit unused or vacant for long periods of time, and/or you don’t own a boat
- You have multiple dock spaces for boats that are not being used regularly
- Use the money generated from renting out your dock space to keep up with the maintenance or repairs of your dock or property
- Use your earnings to supplement retirement, savings, annual vacations, or pay off debts
- Meet other boaters (maybe you are into boats) and network with interesting people
- If you are a host and a boat owner, you would get access to discounts when booking a dock from another dock host on our platform
No, if you don’t have a dock or boat slip you can still earn money as a host in several ways:
- Lease out your boat lift
- List your waterfront seawall for rent
- Offer your shoreline or beach area for rent, where boaters can beach up or tie up to a point on land,
- Rent out your mooring ball
- List your storage/parking for boats and trailers on your land
Yes, we offer discounts to existing dock host’s, who want to rent a dock from another existing host on parktheboat.com. This is especially helpful for hosts who are boat owners and want to dock their boat on a new lake, river, or coastal area. This could be for several reasons:
- If your location is experiencing a drought (low water levels at a lake or river) and a new location at a nearby dock host has better water levels. This is fairly common on lakes, even in close proximity to each other, due to the way certain lakes are managed. (Certain types of boats are not easily transported or moved, so the Host-to-Host option would not be a good fit for that specific situation). If there are no existing dock hosts near you, we can help match you up with a good location, host, and area that is less affected by drought
- Your dock becomes damaged for whatever reason, but you still want to use your boat. You will be able to move your boat to another dock host location. If there are no existing dock hosts near you, we can help you find a suitable match in your general area
- You may simply want a change of scenery, or to explore a new location (various lakes, rivers, or coastal areas) or perhaps you are going on vacation and taking your boat with you. Save money on your dockage by staying with other existing dock hosts such as yourself
Not at all, we give you the option to provide all the info your guests will need to help themselves. Only confirmed guests will see this information. For short-term, dock-only guests, some basic instructions will suffice. For longer term guests, it would be best if you met your guest in person upon first arrival to your dock.
Providing a restroom is entirely optional. Some hosts do provide access to the entire home (our Dock and Home Access option) as it allows hosts to charge more per night. Some hosts provide instructions for guests to use a side/back door to allow minimal access to the home. If you don’t want to allow guests access to your home, make sure you only accept reservations from boat owners who have boats equipped with on-board, self-contained facilities, and ensure your property listing is set to: Dock Only or Dock and Street Access only. In most cases if you have rented your dock to a boat owner without any access to the inside of your home, the guest (renter) is typically accessing their boat through a designated gate or walkway that you have identified. No interior access to your home is needed. We do have hosts who allow their guests to use their garage, shop, and/or tools to work on their boat on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, you can rent out your dock space, beach, or shoreline to both boaters and to guests for various events. Common examples of events are weddings, birthday/graduation parties, special gatherings, group potlucks, fundraisers/auctions, and other similar engagements. We can help coordinate the booking of your events. Reach out to us at: reservations@parktheboat.com
The duration of stay by a guest will depend on several needs of the boater/renter. For example, is your boating guest traveling through your area to another destination? Is your boating guest only there for the season? Is your boating guest there long term because they live in the area and want a place to keep their boat on the water?
The typical stay durations and types are short term, seasonal, and long term. Additionally, there may be certain areas where live-aboard moorage is allowed. All hosts can decide what types and durations of stay they will allow at their property.
All dockage agreements will need several items in place to be successful. Boaters will not be verified and cannot fully use the reservation system until they have provided proof of boater’s insurance. Proper boater’s insurance will cover the damages in many cases. Park The Boat Inc. will help coordinate the process between both parties but is not liable or responsible for the costs of any damages to structures or injury to persons. All users of the service must agree to the Terms and Conditions of the service prior to usage. For dock hosts, commercial insurance to cover your dock is recommended
FAQ's for Boaters
No, of course not! The dock listings on our website are geared toward matching boaters with private dock owners. We will work hard to find matches that are a good fit for both parties. All types of boats are welcome! Other watercraft such as kayaks, jet skis, dinghy’s, etc., are also welcome. This platform caters to all kinds of watercraft and travelers on the water. Check with the dock host ahead of time for up-to-date details regarding the rental terms and amenities. In fact in some cases, you do not even need a boat to use our service, as some docks can be rented out for events such as weddings, special gatherings, parties, etc.
Crowded Marinas, better amenities versus certain marinas. Certain hosts will have street access and access to a home, and that is attractive to certain boaters who are traveling and want more amenities than just water or power and laundry. The main portion of boaters will have a need for street access so they can access their boats and so they can get to stores like groceries. The costs may result in a savings for the boater or may not depending on location, amenities, and what types of access the homeowner offers.
Isolation or solidarity at your “own” dock away from the crowds and safety from health hazards like the spread of COVID compared to busy marinas.
Why does a boater want this? Location, location, and locations! This is attractive to boaters, and marinas are NOT everywhere you want to be. They are only spread out in certain areas. Dock hosts (homeowners) can be spread out anywhere, giving boaters many more places to go and more places to choose from
Take advantage of huge savings on certain docks for deep mooring/docking. Leave the expensive marinas behind! They have had a monopoly on the industry for far to long. Be a part of the next Airbnb (hotels) or Uber (Taxi industry) and now…. private boat docks replacing corporate style marinas. This is grass roots, organic effort, be part of something new!
You get the opportunity to discover and make use of new docks. You do not need to rush to be sure of a slip, dock or lift. You tie up at your convenience without worrying about whether there will be any spots available for your boat.
You do not need to enter harbors without knowing whether or not there is a spot there for you.
You know that the reserved slip, dock or lift fits your boat
Our website has a search function showing the states we have docks available in. The website also has a large screen view of a map option for a visual map perspective. Boaters can also choose to find locations/dock listings by viewing the “Types of Places to Park your Boat” section on the homepage
Yes, you will be required to carry insurance to cover your boat. No dockage agreements or reservations will be allowed until you have shown proof of your boaters insurance.
We also encourage boaters to allow the host to include their name on the boaters insurance policy as there are various advantages of doing so
Once you have requested to book the mooring location you are interested in, the host will review your request and either approve or reject your request. If your request is approved, you will then be able to see the exact address of the location.
Once you submit your request the property owner (host) will review the dates of your request, the details of your boat and other information. If the host finds that the dates and the type of your boat is suitable for their dock/slip/lift, they will then reply to your request within the website reservation system. You will get an email notification and also a SMS text if you have signed up for text notifications.
A waiver and a contract will then be issued to you for signature as part of the dockage agreement, contract, and terms and conditions. You will fill out the waiver/contract, sign it and return it to our reservations department. The host will then also sign and complete the dockage agreement (contract).
Once these steps have been completed, your payment will be accepted through the website, and you can follow through with arriving at your destination and meeting your host.
You will then complete your stay duration as per the terms set forth in the contract and dockage reservation/agreement.
You can make payments for your mooring reservations through the website. All major credit/debit cards are accepted. You can also make payments through Paypal. We hope to eventually allow payments through Zelle (Zellepay) as well. If that is your payment method of choice, please contact us to discuss.
You will need to log into your profile on our website and navigate to the “My Trips and Reservations” tab/screen. You may also see links titled: “My Reservations” or “Reservations”, these are all the same screens and will be the place that houses all the booking requests that you have inquired about.
You will need to set up your email to accept emails from no-reply@parktheboat.com, as this is where your booking details will arrive, in addition to your phone if you have signed up for SMS/text message notifications. You can also find inbox messages about your reservations within the website messaging/inbox system, at “My Inbox”.
If you are a user who is both a boater and a host, you will find booking requests for your dock, under the following titles: “Bookings”, or “Booking Requests”, or “My Bookings”