Marina owners and operators are increasingly asked to plan for changing water levels, stronger storms, flooding, erosion, heat, drought and ice impacts, but resilient design does not always mean building bigger, higher, or more expensively. This session will focus on practical engineering and planning strategies that help marinas prepare for future conditions while avoiding unnecessary overdesign. The discussion will explore how water level variability, wave exposure, overtopping, ice damage, drainage, shoreline erosion and aging infrastructure affect marina operators and long-term capital planning.

Attendees will learn how early risk screening, phased improvements, targeted engineering studies, and smart material or layout choices can reduce future repair costs and support better funding, permitting and budgeting decisions. The goal is to help marina owners invest in the right improvements at the right time, rather than reacting after damage occurs or overbuilding based on uncertainty.

In the AEC Industry, there is nothing more frustrating than having a client that will not stand their ground. They want something a certain way, and demand it a certain way, but ultimately do not get what they want due to pressure or even coercion from the architect, engineer, and/or contractor. This presentation will discuss the perils of not standing your ground and will reinforce the extremely challenging job an owner is tasked with.

Case studies will be presented where the client did not stand their ground. An emphasis will be placed on the architect-engineer and construction industries. Specifics on contracts, risks, liabilities, red flags, project costs and project performance will be highlighted. The audience will walk away with a renewed commitment to standing their ground, being careful of the “grease” and having greater confidence in their ability to enforce contracts.

Marinas do more than rent slips, sell fuel, or store boats — they build boaters.

In this high-energy and framework-driven presentation, Roxanne shares the customer growth philosophies and operational systems developed during her 30 years operating a multi-profit-center marina business built around customer experience, retention and boating participation. Roxanne combines operational experience, customer psychology and modern marketing strategy into a practical framework specifically designed for the marina industry. Built from real-world implementation across eight intertwined profit centers, the We Build Boaters™ philosophy explores how marinas can intentionally guide customers through “The Boater Journey” — transforming first-time customers into lifelong boaters through systems, communication, operational readiness and customer experience.

Attendees will be introduced to several signature frameworks, including:
• The Boater Journey
• Infinity Marketing Machine
• Rockvam Ready
• One Profit Center Away
• Bubble Buster

And will leave with:
• Actionable ideas to improve customer retention and engagement
• A practical framework for evaluating customer experience
• Strategies for using profit centers as customer entry points
• Ideas for improving responsiveness and operational readiness
• A new perspective on customer lifetime value in the marina industry
• A worksheet/checklist they can immediately bring back to their teams

Marina reinvestment is getting harder: higher water levels, aging infrastructure, storm damage and tighter budgets; yet owners can’t afford to lose slip revenue during construction. This session delivers a practical framework for prioritizing and phasing resilience upgrades while protecting day-to-day operations.

Attendees will learn a simple “3P” approach: Prioritize → Phase → Protect Revenue and how to quickly diagnose issues. The session will highlight the highest-return upgrade opportunities, common mistakes that lead to repeat repairs, and three phasing patterns that can keep portions of the marina open while work is underway. Participants will leave with a one-page checklist and phasing worksheet they can apply immediately, including the right questions to ask designers and dock contractors before spending money.

Preventive maintenance isn’t just a checklist—it’s a culture. This session is designed to help marina operators and service teams shift from reactive problem-solving to a proactive, preventive mindset that protects assets, saves time and drives long-term value.

We will explore how small, consistent actions—when understood and embraced by the entire team can dramatically reduce breakage, limit costly repairs and extend the life of boats, docks, equipment and infrastructure. More importantly, we focus on how leadership can instill accountability, discipline and pride in preventive practices at every level of operation.

Successful marinas and waterfront communities are evolving to meet the changing expectations of today’s boaters and visitors. Increasingly, guests seek destinations that offer a variety of experiences, authentic connections, and compelling reasons to stay longer and return more often.

This presentation explores practical strategies to expand the marina experience beyond the docks and transform marinas into vibrant waterfront destinations. Through examples of marina-inspired upland planning, waterfront parks and shoreline communities, we will examine how thoughtful landscape and architectural design can support local culture, heritage and character while creating authentic places that attract boaters, visitors, and residents alike.

Featured projects include marina amenity buildings, beaches, parks, waterfront trails, public gathering spaces, family activities, food and beverage destinations and connections to downtowns and local attractions. Whether your marina is established, expanding, or seeking its next chapter, you’ll discover inspiration to shape a successful future.

Marinas generate vast amounts of data every day across berthing, maintenance, finance and customer activity. The challenge is not collecting it but turning it into something commercially meaningful.

This session at focuses on how marina operators can move beyond visibility alone and start using data to actively drive revenue, improve margins and make more confident decisions. Built around the EliteRevenyx model — Operations → Insight → Revenue — the session demonstrates how structured, connected data becomes a true commercial asset.

Attendees will see how improving operational visibility is only the first step; the real value comes from translating that visibility into measurable financial outcomes. Using Microsoft technologies including Dynamics 365, Power BI and Copilot, alongside real-world applications within EliteMarinas, the session will explore how marinas are:
• Gaining full visibility across operations in a single, trusted view
• Using reporting to identify revenue opportunities and margin leakage
• Making faster, more confident commercial decisions
• Scaling operations without increasing complexity

A key focus will be how Copilot acts as an acceleration layer enabling teams to interrogate their data using natural language, surface opportunities instantly and take action without relying on specialist resource. The session will also address a critical point: AI does not create value in isolation. Its impact depends entirely on the quality and structure of the underlying data. By getting the foundations right, marina operators can move from reactive reporting to proactive, revenue-focused operations.

Designed for marina owners, operators and senior leaders, this is a practical session focused on one core outcome, turning everyday operational data into stronger commercial performance.