What Does It Take To Run A Jet Ski Rental Business
I feel like I’ve seen way to many ChatGPT style posts, or just right out not true posts on what running a jet ski rental business is like, and what it costs. No it is not a solid side gig that you can do in your free time, despite what some influencers may say. As well, insurance is not $500 a year as some blog posts I have seen have said, it is a high risk business, and as such the liability insurance is expensive.
How Much Time Does A Jet Ski Rental Business Take?
Running a legit jet ski rental business is not as simple as just taking your newly purchased jet skis to the dock, giving them to the renters and getting them back in the exact shape you’ve given them out in. I’ve seen way to many of those individuals think it would be very easy, and just the greatest way to make some passive income while having jet skis to enjoy when you like.
The reality is, it’s more like a second job, and in reality, more like a primary job. I’ve seen too many new excited people that thought everything would always be perfect and there would never be any issues, when in reality, if new people that have never ridden jet skis are set free into water they’ve never been in before, and sometimes they themselves haven’t even been on water before, catastrophe can happen. I’ve seen jet skis be left out at sea, I’ve seen far too many sunk skis and horrible collisions, and then what seemed like a great way to make extra money ends up being losing a $10,000 jet ski, and possibly end up being sued (because people forget about the commercial liability insurance).
The best way, and honestly the only way to protect your equipment and guests is to be out there with them. Whether you have a guide or you yourself is electing to be the guide, they need someone with them to enforce the rules and make sure things stay safe. Trust me I know, I have had a jet ski sunk in my first year, as I was one of those newbie guys that didn’t guide. I learned right off the bat, it was a bad idea, and good luck chasing down someone for the money for sinking your equipment. With a proper guide we have gone from damage every other trip, to maybe a small bump or bruise once a month (there will always be damage, but it will be minimized drastically). As well customers will be extremely helpful that they weren’t just left floating in the water with a jet ski upside down.
Because of this, it is now more of a legit business, you have a lot of time involved with going out with customers, doing asset protection etc. It’s no longer just a let people take the skis and get them back, it’s now a full time event.
If you are interested in getting certified to be a guide, there isn’t a whole lot you need. To guide in Florida legally you need First Aid and CPR. We also train our guides a step further to learn proper rescue sled use (A link to a good rescue sled can be found HERE). Being able to go above in beyond and keep your guests safe will keep you from having a lot of headaches in the long run, flipping and falling off will be a common occurrence even with training the guests as much as you can. You have to remember, these people are new, and they can only learn so much in an hour before you get them on that water.
How Much Does It Cost To Do It Right?
That’s the big question right? How much does it really cost? To do it right you definitely want newer generation jet skis, they can be a year or 2 old, but definitely the latest generation. This is for parts availability and just customer expectations. For this kind of equipment expect to pay $6000-$7000 a jet ski in the used market ($10k+ if you go new). Then you will need a 4-Spot jet ski trailer, to rent 3 skis at a time (if you’re starting as a mobile business), you will need at least 4 to guide and have 3 guests. If you want to guide more people you will either need a partner and a 2 spot to follow you, or a bigger 6 spot trailer (it’s near impossible to navigate a 6 spot at some places, I wouldn’t consider it unless you have plenty of space). A 4 spot trailer will cost you roughly $8500. Then you will need liability insurance to get your livery permit in Florida (where we are located). Our latest quote for 6 jet skis this year was $25,000 for jet ski liability insurance for the year. Also don’t forget about maintenance, we probably spend $5000-$10,000 in misc. maintenance and repairs through the year.
What I have seen is a lot of people thinking they would make a lot of money very fast, and it would be an amazing get rich quick business. Yes some of the bigger jet ski places just roll in money, but they didn’t get there overnight. Even for myself I wasn’t able to pay myself for 2 years, and even now I don’t pay myself unless I have to. If you want to do it right you have to be okay with losing money the first year or so while you build and gain visibility. No one will know your business or really be able to find it for a while, unfortunately there’s not a free lunch anymore, and all these passive income ideas I’ve seen (including this one), is honestly way more work than even most day jobs).
The amount of money we made our first year was just enough to cover insurance and basic expenses. Insurance my first year was $13,500, as well my visibility was atrocious. One thing people do not consider is that insurance does not have to approve you. There are companies that will insure jet ski rental businesses, but they need 3-5 years of loss runs with no claims or accidents, meaning you have to be squeaky clean as far as issues for 3-5 years to even be considered. Otherwise in Florida, your only choice will more than likely be Prime, and you can expect your premiums since SB606 to be over $20,000 even with just 4 jet skis.
(Link for Prime insurance HERE).
How much did we make our second year? Roughly $60,000. What we did with this was buy nicer equipment, paid more insurance, and had more expenses. Our visibility had improved but of course we were spending more to keep that visibility. $60,000 would be amazing as a side gig if it was all profit, but I didn’t get to keep a single cent of it for myself, it all had to go back into the business to even have a chance of growing or making the money it needed to make.
Mobile VS Location
Can you make money as a mobile jet ski rental business? Yes and no. Being mobile really hinders the ability to be high flow, because you’re limited by the amount of groups you can take at once, as well as the amount of equipment that can be transported. Having a location you can scale up easier and lump groups together. No worries about customers choosing locations and having to waste time driving from one location to another to only have a single ski going out. The other big thing locations can do that mobile can never do is walk-ins. Walk-ins are like half our business, and the fact that people can just walk-in and do everything here is very appealing to people.
We have done mobile rentals of course, it’s a great way to learn the business and see if it’s something you would like to pursue in the long term, but it shouldn’t be the end goal. The most I have seen someone make in a year doing mobile rentals was $90,000, including sales tax. But of course that is not all profit, and there is a lot of costs that get taken from that amount. By comparison even small locations can do that just in 2-3 months with 4-6 jet skis just because the flow is better and there isn’t as much wasted time driving and dealing with single jet ski bookings.
In my opinion getting a location should be a priority and be done as soon as possible if you even consider this being a business in the future. To me not having a location will end in failure (even some of the best mobile places I have seen around here have fallen because of the issues that come with being mobile).
Can I Get In Trouble If I Do Jet Ski Rentals Through An App?
In Florida, yes. Whether you rent on a site like GetMyBoat.Com or something similar, in Florida you are acting as a livery and are required to abide by the rules of being a livery. I have spoken with the local authorities about this quite a few times, and unfortunately the laws are made to dissuade people from using these websites. In Florida you are required to get a livery permit if you rent out any kind of boat (kayak, paddleboards, jet skis, pontoons etc.), and to get this permit you have to have the very expensive commercial liability insurance. Without this permit fines can be extensive, as well as the fact that you can obtain misdemeanor and felony charges.
Is It Worth It?
It depends on how bad you want it. I love Evolution Jetsports, it is like a child to me. We’ve put a ton of work and time into it to get it where it is, and I’ve made many many sacrifices to get it where it is (including selling my own home and sleeping in my office on a futon). I understand that it is a process, and a lot of time and work will be needed to let it grow. We specialize in jet ski rentals, as well as niche crafts like jet karts and craigcats, and I hope to add other niche craft as time goes on. But what it is not, is passive income. It consumes most of my time, but I hope one day it can be my full time job (yes I have a day job still, which I love as well). Please join us as we continue to grow, and if you decide to start your own rental business, hopefully our words can set realistic expectations.
Conclusion
Can starting a jet ski rental business be worth it? I believe so. But is it passive income or easy? Definitely not. We want any new people starting a livery to have realistic expectations, and we also want people to go into it with safety in mind. We believe safe boating practices is a top priority, and should be for every rental operation. We hope you guys succeed with your venture, thanks for reading!
Happy Boating!
