Gold Anchor scheme gains traction

The Marina Industries Association of Australia (MIAA) launched the Gold Anchor rating scheme for marinas in May 2009. Since the launch 11 marinas with ratings from three to five Gold Anchors are participating in the scheme and a further 12 are already committed to entry this year.

The rating system is designed for the Asia Pacific region and Marina at Keppel Bay in Singapore is the first marina outside Australia to be MIAA Gold Anchor rated. A Gold Anchor rating is designed to provide boat owners and marina users with a simple way to determine which marinas best fit their needs via a quick and easy reference system similar to the accommodation sectors star rating scheme.

Gold Anchor marinas are independently site audited using a points-based criteria covering more than 102 different elements of marina facilities and services. Once a rating has been assigned to a marina it is subject to mystery shopper checks over the following three-year rating period to ensure the integrity of the scheme.

Marinas participating in the scheme find participation improves marina performance. Darren Vaux from Empire Marina Bobbin Head in NSW said “Participation has had a number of benefits to our business including an independent and objective assessment of our facilities and customer service as well as delivering a framework upon which we can measure our continuing improvement.  It is already yielding a point of difference with prospective customers and as more marinas come onboard it will become the standard by which customers will confidently choose their marinas and services.”

Miranda Borzecki from Yaringa Boat Harbour in Victoria believes it is important the industry opens itself up more to the public through the customer focused rating scheme.“We are proud to be participating in Gold Anchor. Our clients appreciate that we are rating ourselves with other marinas and committed to delivering to them what they want” she said.

Participating marinas are also benefiting from the marketing advantage the rating provides. Increasingly print and on-line marina directories are differentiating marinas by those that are rated/not rated. A Gold Anchor marina is provided with a suite of sophisticated marketing tools to highlight their Gold Anchor status and promote their commitment to being independently rated and focused on customer service. A dedicated web site www.marinas.net is part of the growing marketing program for Gold Anchor marinas.

MIAA Executive Officer Colin Bransgrove said the scheme is important for the long term development of the marina industry. “Over time the sector has seen more barriers to growth from investors, governments and communities. Quality accreditation schemes such as Gold Anchor and Clean Marinas are increasingly important for the industry to demonstrate to these and other groups that it is open to scrutiny (transparent in political speak) and committed to continual improvement to meet and exceed the expectations of the public and government”.

MIAA is providing a special Gold Anchor participation offer to delegates registering for Marinas 2011. Contact Colin Bransgrove at MIAA for details.