Time and time again, it seems that most people are in serious need of a vacation in order to recover from their recent vacation. While lakeside holidays are often quite refreshing, the unknown and unexpected aspects of a family trip have a tendency to cause a little more stress than necessary.
In order to prevent these hangups, many families will do their research and try to plan activities as much as possible. However, one overlooked aspect of many trips occurs at the end of the vacation. Fortunately, you have the opportunity to embark on your adventure knowing all that may be involved when it’s time to head home again.
1. Wash It
When offering houseboat rentals, many marinas require families to care for their vessels as if they were their own homes. Renters will need to be sure to wash any supplies, such as dishes, and give the living quarters a nice cleaning before returning the boat to the marina.
Many even require families to bag up all of their trash in preparation for its easy removal and will usually charge additional fees for the cleaning of excessively dirty houseboats.
2. Bag It
Don’t be left scrambling to pack up at the last moment. For the smooth disembarkment from a rented houseboat, all of your party’s personal belongings need to be thoroughly packed up and ready for removal from the vessel.
If all of your bags are packed, it will be much easier to retrieve your vehicles and remove the items. Not only will this help you return the vessel on time, but it will also ensure that no items have been accidentally overlooked an left behind.
3. Unpack It
On the day of checkout, most marinas will ask you to return your rented houseboat to the area from which you received it. Once you have successfully docked the vessel, anyone with a parked vehicle should do their best to retrieve their cars and transfer their belongings as quickly as possible.
Marina wheelbarrows can be very useful in the removal of your personal belongings, but be sure to keep a watchful eye on the younger generation if they are attempting to load and operate these handy tools anywhere near open water or moored boats.
4. Time It
Avoiding extra fees is key to enjoying a stress-free end of your family vacation. One of these fees often occurs due to the late return of vessels. Marinas will clearly state the date and time of return during the initial booking process.
Any boat that is returned late will be charged per-hour late fees as this will reduce the marina’s chances at fulfilling future reservations. If your party is running late, you need to contact the office and prepare to pay any fees associated with your late departure.
5. Inspect It
Throughout your stay on a houseboat, you may find things that need repair, but may not have affected your trip. When returning the vessel, you will work with a staff member to go over any losses or damages you may have caused and then agree on the charges for those items.
At this time, you and your marina agent will check the boat, fuel levels, prop health, and inventory. In order to keep the houseboats in tip-top shape for future rentals, now is the time to alert the crew to any mechanical issues that may need repair.
Don’t make the mistake of only planning to embark on your houseboat vacation. It is best to plan for everything and go into any vacation with full knowledge of what you plan to do and how best to go about ending your trip when the time comes.
