By Rya Jetha. Bay City News.
Summer is the peak season for charter boats in the Bay Area. The weather is nice, the kids are out of school and tourists from all over the world visit San Francisco.
But this year, the busy season has become painful for many charter boat owners, who are having to raise their prices or cut their profits due to record fuel prices. Some are even having second thoughts about owning charter boat companies.
"Business has definitely slowed down a little bit, it's not as busy as it has been the last couple of years," said Steve Talmadge, owner of Flash Sports Fishing Charters based at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco.
Talmadge remembers going to work seven days a week during the peak summer season for the past two years. His weekends used to book months in advance. But this July, he has five weekend days still open.
"I can see just from the calls: we don't get that many. Households are finding it harder to survive, so they have less money to participate in charter boat companies," Talmadge said, talking about how inflation is affecting customer interest. in fishing in San Francisco Bay.
Talmadge's own operation has been hit hard by high fuel prices. His boat, like most charter boats, runs on diesel.
"I don't understand why diesel is so much more expensive than regular fuel, and our ships burn a gallon a mile. When you go up $3 to $7 a gallon, it has a big impact," he stressed.
Currently, the price of diesel at Gashouse Cove, a popular fueling dock at the San Francisco Marina, is $7.75 per gallon.
Talmadge could not afford to maintain the same charter rates as it shelled out more money at the pump. It raised its prices this May, increasing them from a half-day charter per person from $200 to $250 and a half-day private charter for six people from $1,100 to $1,400.
"We tried to hold on. But it was too much, we just couldn't do it," Talmadge said.
Other fishing boats in San Francisco Bay are also raising their prices.
Michael Rescino, owner of Lovely Martha Fishing Charter in Fishermans Wharf, says the cost of operating his boat is about double this year compared to last year due to fuel prices.
Rescino raised its prices last month from $200 to $220 for a full-day rental, but "honestly, it's not enough," he said.
Rescino's boat is larger than Talmadge's, with a total capacity of 20 people compared to six.
"This was the best halibut season we've seen in a long, long, long time, and it was hard for us to fill the boat," Rescino said. "And that was when the price was $200!". Amented his prices, the salmon fishing season looks promising and has begun to attract customers.
"At first, people didn't book, but they see that the salmon fish are biting and they start calling," said Rescino, hopeful but unsure of what the summer holds.
The San Francisco Bay Area also hosts charter flights for tourists, which have been similarly affected by high fuel prices.
Charles Jennings, owner of Bay Voyager for 12 years, offers a variety of boat tours of the bay from Pier 39.
"We talk about the history of San Francisco Bay, we take pictures of passengers, we go fast and slow, so it's the perfect combination of excitement and learning about our beautiful city," said Jennings, whose business is currently the number one San Francisco boat tour on Tripadvisor, according to more than 800 customer reviews on the online booking website for destinations and experiences.
Jennings has charged adults $99 and children $69 since 2017 for its popular 90-minute ride that passes under the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. This year, it has opted not to raise its prices.
"The whole inflation thing makes me sick, because I think a lot of the inflation is just a few rich people being opportunistic," he pointed out.
"When you hear that oil companies are making record profits, not sales, profits!" it's wrong, and that's why I haven't raised my prices at all. Eventually I'll have to, but I won't." do it yet," he said, referring to Big Oil's record earnings in the first quarter of 2022.
The top five oil companies alone - Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and ConocoPhillips - generated 200 percent more profits in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 2021, totaling more than $35 billion in profits in just three months, according to the Center for American Progress, a Washington DC-based public policy institute.
ExxonMobil's net profit doubled from the same period last year, while Chevron reported its highest quarterly profit in nearly a decade and Shell had its highest quarterly earnings in its history.
Jennings also believes that the high cost of fuel is affecting charter boat owners more than most other businesses because boats are so expensive to maintain and operate.
"Most companies, of course, have expenses, but when you have a boat, it's amplified, because boats are expensive," Jennings explained.
"Ask anyone: what are the two most memorable days of owning a boat? Buying it and selling it! There's a very real reason behind that," he said, adding that after hiring employees, fuel is the next biggest expense for the boat rental business.
The stress of the pandemic coupled with this year's inflation is causing Jennings to reconsider owning his own business and working long hours most days of the week.
"It makes you wonder: is this the industry I want to stay in? I love what I do, the people who come on my boat love what we do, but something doesn't make sense. It's painful, and every boat owner feels it," he said, adding that despite his best efforts to provide customers with a premium experience, he believes he is earning around minimum wage.
"Especially since the COVID issue I really questioned, am I doing all this to give people a premium experience at minimum wage? With the stress of owning a business? What's the point of that? And it doesn't!" he culminated.
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