SEFL Boynton, WPB, Jupiter ops booking online vs over the phone

[FreqFlier]

Quite a few dive ops in Keys and elsewhere will give discounted price for bookings over the phone ( I assume to avoid online booking engine fees - 7%+ to my knowledge?) compared to online price.
Any and all ideas welcome?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Pura Vida is cheaper if booked over the phone vs online. I don't recall how much though but 7% sounds about right. Jupiter Dive Center I always call as well but I don't recall if it saves any money or not. Kyalami I book online as it is the same price regardless and they don't have a shop to call. Sea Experience and Starfish I book online as the price is the same, at least it used to be.

 

[edwants2dive]

I can't name any ops other than Pura Vida that @Divin'Papaw mentioned in that area that do for sure accept phone bookings. That said a phone call can't hurt. There is an OP I go out of Clearwater sometimes that will give you a break on price for cash. what they do is have you still book online first then when you get there on the day of you pay cash they cancel the booking and issue you a refund. Good luck on you search and let us know when you are going to be around who knows you might bump into some of us.

 

[Johnoly]

Any and all ideas welcome?

Didn't know that...just assumed it's a cost of business like website hosting fees..

But what I don't understand is that those same shops use the online service to 'regulate' passenger loads also. It's won't allow a booking if the max capacity for the trip is reached. The boat captains also use the booking service to generate a passenger 'manifest' which is a legal requirement.

So if a shop goes around the booking service and does 'off-line' bookings, I wonder how they get their manifest and also generate their customer profiles & sales history. I've got no stake or claim in the booking industry, but it would be interesting to understand how Off-Line booking sales are tracked without doing double work re-enter the data in a 2nd place. I'd guess there is something in the contract about off-line transactions that don't get paid a booking commission.

 

[scubadada]

I mostly use 5 operators, Starfish and Splashdown Divers (Loggerhead) in Boynton Beach, Narcosis and Walker's Dive Charters in Palm Beach, and Jupiter Dive Center in Jupiter. I make nearly all my reservations online. I don't believe any of these offer a discount for calling. I call or text when it is last minute or change from operator that won't be running. Works well, I have been using all these operators for a long time.

Hi @Johnoly, I have always assumed that when you call, the operator must manually enter you into the database. If you have used them before, your profile is likely available, if not ?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

One more savings opportunity. Pura Vida always has frequent Diver cards available. The standard one is buy five you get one free. So essentially six for the price of five. Often times Kyalami and Jupiter Dive Center also have discounted frequent Diver cards available. I will frequently take advantage of those to get the per charter price down.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Hi @Johnoly, I have always assumed that when you call, the operator must manually enter you into the database. If you have used them before, your profile is likely available, if not ?

Correct. That is at least how Pura Vida and Jupiter Dive Center work. They look me up in their system, then they book the charter, and then I get all the normal email confirmations that you get is if you had booked online. They even have my credit card & frequent diver card on file already. It’s really super easy.

 

[MrChen]

One more savings opportunity. Pura Vida always has frequent Diver cards available. The standard one is buy five you get one free. So essentially six for the price of five. Often times Kyalami and Jupiter Dive Center also have discounted frequent Diver cards available. I will frequently take advantage of those to get the per charter price down.

This is a good tip. Kyalami allows you to buy 5 or 10 dives and it brings the price down to around $90 a dive. There's no savings difference between 5 or 10.

 

[SubseaSports]

Didn't know that...just assumed it's a cost of business like website hosting fees..

But what I don't understand is that those same shops use the online service to 'regulate' passenger loads also. It's won't allow a booking if the max capacity for the trip is reached. The boat captains also use the booking service to generate a passenger 'manifest' which is a legal requirement.

So if a shop goes around the booking service and does 'off-line' bookings, I wonder how they get their manifest and also generate their customer profiles & sales history. I've got no stake or claim in the booking industry, but it would be interesting to understand how Off-Line booking sales are tracked without doing double work re-enter the data in a 2nd place. I'd guess there is something in the contract about off-line transactions that don't get paid a booking commission.

Great question.
When I was 'in it' there is an option for 'paid other'. This bypassed the web host's fees, which actually added more than taxes (8% or so) and gave the cpt a manifest.
We also did online waivers from a other service the day of and that married to the sales manifest.
Cash is best to save $, but would need to done in advance to secure a spot and also guarantee the charter cancellation fees if needed.
If you paid cash and cancelled the trip within the no fee period, just rebook for another day.

 

[FreqFlier]

Well, it's $20-25 difference per trip for two divers. Kinda makes sense to ask, right?