Opening a dive center

[PhatD1ver]

New divers do not seek out small remote locations to start their scuba experience.

Seriously, and your foundation for that idea is what? New divers in Asia don't have much choice. The fastest growing scuba marketing in the world is China. They people here who have money to learn and dive, have the money to spend on some pretty sweet rigs. I remember staying in Anilao with a group where a 16 year-old kid had TWO Shearwater Petrels (one for each arm) along with a very sweet BP/W rig his daddy bought him. And even the ones who rent, they have cash to throw around.

Where else do you want them to go? There is essentially no good diving in China as a whole (at least not identified and activity being developed). People who have money to dive, want to travel. So they end up in Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Remote places like Sipadan.

This is a growth market, and I see no reason that these divers can't consider most of SE Asia as their backyard, if they are diving within limits.

 

[PhatD1ver]

Hi Andy, thank you for the feedback. 8 korean ladies with XS-S BCs? Nice. LOL. Jokes aside, I agree with you that BPW are very flexible in term of sizing. The problem with us now is that we don't have access to BPW easily. It has to be ordered from abroad and quite expensive. Not to mention that non of our staff has experience with BPW yet. However, in the future, after we grow into a bigger center, we will definitely look into BPW, side mounts, rebreather, etc.

Let me tell you about pro valves or not. Be a good business man, not a penny pincher. Let's say the pro-valves run you $25 extra over the standard yokes. That's $1000 for 40 tanks. I'm not talking about purchasing left and right sets (though I don't know why you wouldn't get 6-8 of them to match out for sidemount divers).

Now, let's talk business, what model are you working from that won't allow you to pay off $1000 extra over 5 years? (psst, that's $200 per year. Geez, I'd pay you $1 extra a tank for converting your pro-valve from yoke to DIN, unless of course I'm staying a week and doing 20 dives on SM. Then you should comp it to me, because you will make it up in dives and accomodations, and tips)

I'm a SM diver. Even on vacation. I bring my own gear, all you'll supply to me is tanks and weight. But if you force me to use adapters, just because you are 'cheap' you are going to hear about it. And if you are hearing about it, every person I talk to who asked about my trip will hear the same critical comment. "Oh, they were a nice operation, but half-assed, couldn't even keep a few tanks with a DIN setup around."

Europe uses DIN, SM divers use DIN, try and think of the customer, not the bottom line, which believe me, if you have my best interests in mind when you set it up, you will pay back your $1000 extra on valves in the first year (assuming you did some market research before you opened up). Even if you set up only HALF your AL-80s with the pro-valves, you end up with $500 difference, and I'm a happy customer, and so will be a lot of the people I diver with.

Also, don't forget, your 40 tanks are just for AIR, you need another 10-12 for EAN mixes.,

 

[PhatD1ver]

Now, all that said, has anyone ever done a real dive shop/resort business model?

I have run rough figures with a buddy who ran an operation in Thailand, but haven't plugged them into a full business model program, but the rough stuff makes me want to ask a lot of questions for the guys who claim they can't make ends meet in a dive op.

 

[noblesix]

Let me tell you about pro valves or not. Be a good business man, not a penny pincher. Let's say the pro-valves run you $25 extra over the standard yokes. That's $1000 for 40 tanks. I'm not talking about purchasing left and right sets (though I don't know why you wouldn't get 6-8 of them to match out for sidemount divers).

Now, let's talk business, what model are you working from that won't allow you to pay off $1000 extra over 5 years? (psst, that's $200 per year. Geez, I'd pay you $1 extra a tank for converting your pro-valve from yoke to DIN, unless of course I'm staying a week and doing 20 dives on SM. Then you should comp it to me, because you will make it up in dives and accomodations, and tips)

I'm a SM diver. Even on vacation. I bring my own gear, all you'll supply to me is tanks and weight. But if you force me to use adapters, just because you are 'cheap' you are going to hear about it. And if you are hearing about it, every person I talk to who asked about my trip will hear the same critical comment. "Oh, they were a nice operation, but half-assed, couldn't even keep a few tanks with a DIN setup around."

Europe uses DIN, SM divers use DIN, try and think of the customer, not the bottom line, which believe me, if you have my best interests in mind when you set it up, you will pay back your $1000 extra on valves in the first year (assuming you did some market research before you opened up). Even if you set up only HALF your AL-80s with the pro-valves, you end up with $500 difference, and I'm a happy customer, and so will be a lot of the people I diver with.

Also, don't forget, your 40 tanks are just for AIR, you need another 10-12 for EAN mixes.,

Hi PhatDiver, thanks for the reply. You live in Shanghai? I used to live in Zhongshan park. And yes, the people there pay tons of money to dive, this is why we're trying to open a dive center and hopefully to get a slice of the cake.

We are not trying to be penny pinchers. It's just we are not making a huge investment in the center at the moment but we will in the future. The idea is to start small and gradually expand our business. That is why we are not going to have too many tanks or nitrox at this stage because we are only offering air. We do have in mind to have more equipment, including nitrox, more tanks, photo/camera workshop at the center, and even liveaboard because our location is perfect for wide angle. I'm filtering all the information and writing it down for future reference. So yes, we will have pro valve in the future and many more.

 

[widget]

I spent 30 years in the industry, I dont see anything wrong with your set up, the only thing I would change is toss the Aluminium tanks and get Steels. Sizes I would use are mostly 12 litres and a few 10's for the ladies.
Din inserts work just fine so its something to consider I guess, but Yolk only is no big deal in my opinion, I also dive din at home but when traveling I dive whats offered, if its yolk and I have my own reg, thats fine, I use an adapter.

As someone else said Jacket BC's are the way to go for rental gear, most people are trained on them and familiar with them, dont go integrated weights unless you are prepared to replace them continuously because they WILL get lost and misplaced, stick to weight belts and basic weights, dont get involved with plastic coatings and strange shapes, basic, basic ,basic.

Any of the branded manufacturers regs are fine, get a basic one thats quick and easy to maintain and tune, dont get regs with 2nd stage adjusters, venturi's or any fancy gimmicks, they work fine on a personal level, not in a rental environment.

Masks fins snorkels etc, these are heavily used especially if you offer snorkeling as well, they dont last forever no matter what the manufacturer says, so get basic sets of average quality that dont cost the earth and replace them as they get used.

Other than that, I think you pretty much have it covered. Good luck.

 

[noblesix]

I spent 30 years in the industry, I dont see anything wrong with your set up, the only thing I would change is toss the Aluminium tanks and get Steels. Sizes I would use are mostly 12 litres and a few 10's for the ladies.
Din inserts work just fine so its something to consider I guess, but Yolk only is no big deal in my opinion, I also dive din at home but when traveling I dive whats offered, if its yolk and I have my own reg, thats fine, I use an adapter.

As someone else said Jacket BC's are the way to go for rental gear, most people are trained on them and familiar with them, dont go integrated weights unless you are prepared to replace them continuously because they WILL get lost and misplaced, stick to weight belts and basic weights, dont get involved with plastic coatings and strange shapes, basic, basic ,basic.

Any of the branded manufacturers regs are fine, get a basic one thats quick and easy to maintain and tune, dont get regs with 2nd stage adjusters, venturi's or any fancy gimmicks, they work fine on a personal level, not in a rental environment.

Masks fins snorkels etc, these are heavily used especially if you offer snorkeling as well, they dont last forever no matter what the manufacturer says, so get basic sets of average quality that dont cost the earth and replace them as they get used.

Other than that, I think you pretty much have it covered. Good luck.

Hi Widget, thank you for the reply. I think we both have the exact same idea. I do care about guests satisfaction and provide DIN valve but in our region, yoke is the primary valve and that's why we're going to go with yoke. Having a flexible guest like you is always a pleasure. =)

I agree as well with your opinion on BCs. Get the basic ones as rental gear to make it easy for maintenance and parts replacement. This is also the reason why we don't use bp wings because it's not economical nor practical. I got attacked earlier by another member of scubaboard for "ditching" the idea of using bp wings. I wish he knew and understood our center situation and needs before passing judgement. I myself used rental bcd, aqualung wave, when I did my dm and instructor course. I think aqualung wave is a very basic, simple, yet an awesome bc.

 

[redacted]

With knowledge, experience, and adequate funding; it might work.

However, when knowledge, experience, and funding are a bit short; it is more likely to turn into a train wreck.

Edit reason: mod changed message of original post.

 

[widget]

Hi Widget, thank you for the reply. I think we both have the exact same idea. I do care about guests satisfaction and provide DIN valve but in our region, yoke is the primary valve and that's why we're going to go with yoke. Having a flexible guest like you is always a pleasure. =)

I agree as well with your opinion on BCs. Get the basic ones as rental gear to make it easy for maintenance and parts replacement. This is also the reason why we don't use bp wings because it's not economical nor practical. I got attacked earlier by another member of scubaboard for "ditching" the idea of using bp wings. I wish he knew and understood our center situation and needs before passing judgement. I myself used rental bcd, aqualung wave, when I did my dm and instructor course. I think aqualung wave is a very basic, simple, yet an awesome bc.

Yolk is very common in most rental situations I have been too as well, all over the world, I dont think its a problem.

Sure, if Aqualung is a popular and supported product in your area it makes perfect sense to use it, rental equipment needs to be basic and easy to use and repair, bells and whistles are great on personal equipment but in a commercial operation ease of use and maintenance is paramount.

 

[noblesix]

Tell me why can't new divers dive in a remote place. Back your opinion with a fact or stats. Why?

Second, we're talking about how many BCs of different sizes to purchase to cater different sizes of people.

 

[Rusty Roo]

haven't read all the replies so this may have been said before.

when it comes to business I must admit I've stolen a saying from my boss.

"if it flies, floats or *****, RENT IT!"

I own a bp and wing but would i suggest all dive shops go out and buy halycon bp/ws? no, simply the cost, also i would say you need to experience a bp/w to enjoy it. if you're remote enough that halcyon or any other bp/w supplier may be interested in making you a stockist and so you could rent one out at request and try and push a sale? could be a better option.

tanks, unless you are really remote then rent them.

again if remote buy as many as you can as the shipping cost will far exceed the value of the product. buy a container load of bcds, masks, regs etc etc.

dive boat, please see statement above - rent it.