Jet Ski Rental Business

Summary: Starting a jet ski rental business entails only 3 things: location, equipments and know-how. You might know that "know-how" includes everything from knowledge, operation, marketing, sells and more. You might find this article on how to start a jet ski rental business is a great help to you.

Although it may seem uncomplicated, putting up jet ski business is rather difficult. First of all, not many places in the world can actually benefit from having a jet ski rental business.

Unless you can find a proper location for your proposed enterprise, the basis for putting up this jet ski rental service business is moot. Sure, you can put up a jet ski rental business anywhere, but would you have patrons coming out of the woodwork for you? Not likely.

The key to finding a great location for ski business is finding a place where water sports are in demand. Not all open bodies of water are jet ski locales; there are protected waterways or shallow waters with a network of corals or marine life habitats that are not only dangerous to run the jet boats in, but also against federal and environmental laws. It might be wise to check your local geography first, and update yourself with local, regional and environmental laws before plunging headfirst into jet ski rental services. If your chosen “spot” has its share of water sports machineries for rent, it is still advisable to check laws and regulations. You wouldn’t want to have the rug pulled from under you just because you neglected to research your “spot” first. After all, setting up a jet ski rental business is rather pricey.

And that leads us to the reason why a startup jet ski rental business is indeed expensive. Startup kit for jet skis are expensive on its own, and so in repair, maintenance and its fuel. In order to have a respectable income, you need to have at least a couple of these Yamaha jets working simultaneously. It is also advisable to get brand new jet skis, because second hand (or even third hand used jets) machines may save you a couple of hundred dollars on the initial sale, but will drain your accounts from jet ski maintenance and tune-ups. Brand new jet skis range from about $2,500 to $10,000, depending on the make and model of the machine and local jet ski dealers. Plus, jet engines need regular tune-ups as well. If you think the expenses end there, you may want to consider getting insurance for both your jet ski machines and your customers. Think of it as a car rental sort of transaction, only that your jet ski boats run in water, and if accidents do happen, its very likely that you will need the services of a specialized towing company (if you are lucky.)

Having enough knowledge to run a jet ski rental business venture is imperative. You need to know just what your potential market is, how powerful the jet engines you can buy, whether you can market your jet ski rental business only to the experienced, what to do during emergencies, etc. Before that, you must also check on the environmental factors around you like: when is it safe to rent out the jet ski 800 or 550, and when is it advisable to tell the potential customers off? You also need to set the demarcation line in the waters, and advised your future patrons as to where they can safely go, and where it should be out of bounds.

Although some people might think that setting out a jet ski rental business can be likened only to putting up a rental shop for bicycles, you must remember that these are powerful boats, which is quite capable of upturning sailboats, ramming through speed boats and crashing into docks and other physical barriers. If your customers don’t sustain enough injuries during these kinds of accidents, it is with great probability that the water might claim them – and that, assuredly so, is never good for business.

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52 Responses to "Jet Ski Rental Business".

2. Neil on 1/19/2009 11:08:48 AM

I have ALWAYS been interested in starting my own jet ski rental business. I just came back from a cruise and St. Maarten was one of my stops. People were waiting in line to go jet skiing at $65 a pop for a half hour. That solidified my interest even more. This article did provide some good information, but just like any other start up business, there are risks, and that i understand. What i do want to know is what is the cost going to be to start up this company? How many jet skis should i get? how much is the insurance policy? etc. Please let me know because i want to do my research and make a decision to see if this is right for me. Thank you. Neil

21. Scott on 12/18/2009 5:10:33 PM

I own a Jet Ski operation in Panama City Florida and have since 2000. I get this all the time some guy walks up after renting and says" I think I will open a Jet Ski Rental Business!" Where do I begin? First off unless you have around $80,000 cash laying around forget it!! You must also be able to do all maintenance on these machines short of rebuilds yourself. Then there's the location, at most beach's in Florida that allow rentals you can figure on coughing up $15 to $25,000 dollars per spot!! Then you are limited to how many machines you can run per feet of Beachfront at your resort. Then you will need a 4x4 vehicle to drag them that will eat away at the bottom of the skis $200 per waverunner to repair every season. Insurance will stop 99% of the DREAMERS out there, there are only 2 companies in the U.S. that even write this sort of policy and if you have never owned a Jet Ski Rental business in the past you probably don't qualify and if you somehow do get in figure on approx $4,000 per machine for coverage 25% upfront with 4 payments! You need a minimum of 4 to break even just so you know. figure $1000 to $2000 each machine for repairs as rental are not covered under factory warranty as well! I personally run 9 machines and must make $200,000 per year just to pay all the bills and net $80,000 and I must do all of this in 5 months out of the year ( 7 days a week straight!) that means from march thru August I work from sun upto sun down no breaks and no life except my business. then there is the added bonus of being in the sun every day for 12 hours here in Florida. If you forget to coat on the sunblock 5 times a day you will be seeing the dermatologist scalpel up close and personal as he cuts off inflamed cartilage and sunspots for biopsy, what a great time!! Sorry if I paint a grim picture but not just any bozo off the street can throw a few old skis in the water and call it a business!! that my friends it not how it works at all! My advice to you is buy an established rental business from a company with a great safety record and stability in one spot. You should only pay 10 months of revenue and all machinery is depreciated at 20% each year of age period! My business for example would sell for $246,000 that's it! nine machine that are two years old and ten months of sales DON"T GET RIPPED OFF by someone who attaches emotions to their business. I see these ad's all over the net for ridiculous asking prices all you are doing is taking over a lease paying the ten months and equipment depreciated worth it's real simple. Think long and hard before diving in people! Good luck!

24. Amiri on 2/1/2010 1:27:59 PM

I am really glad I came across your article Scott. Scott, you are the only one who has put true numbers out there. I will say though, I'm not feeling too sorry for you considering you work 5 months out of the year and net $80,000.00. :) Remember $80,000 for a business owner is $80,000.00. $80,000 for an employee is somewhere in the vicinity of $65,000.00 (Less to write off). I agree starting any business usually takes some up front cost but $80,000.00 is not a heck of a lot of money. I think the hard part as you have mentioned is getting the insurance and location. Also consider that America is much more stringent then many other countries. I am a native NY so I do understand the pain here... I am a young entrepreneur and investor and I am looking at many options at making additional wealth. I wish many blessings on all who are trying to live out there dream job!

38. Tom on 6/4/2010 6:08:49 AM

Scott almost had it correct. $80,000 is what you need to purchase at least 7 skis. Insurance is about $1700 per year per ski. So multiply 7x$1700 and u have an idea of total cost per ski. Then you have to get EACH ski permitted, depending on location can be from $90-$200. Multiply that by 7 minimum. Location. The key is location. You want the best, so be prepared to pay. Top locations in panama city start out at $35000 per year (8 months PER BEACH) and you're only allowed one ski per 200 feet of beach. That means you may need up to 5 beaches to carry 7-10 skis. Gas is around $400 PER DAY. And you need at least 2 employees plus yourself at 10% each of total sales per day, usually paid in cash. Plan on breaking even the first year, assuming none of the skis get damaged, that's not likely. Save your money. Invest in a Roth Ira. You'll come out better in the long run.

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