The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Port posts boost for river cruises
Boat tours turn a profit in 2017
Boat tours on the Black River turned a profit this year for the Lorain Port Authority.
However, ridership on the Jet Express cruise boat was lower than Port staff would like.
The figures were published this month by the Port Authority.
“I am pleased to announce that we actually profited this year on our shuttle boat operations,” said Port Economic Development Specialist Tiffany McClelland.
The Port Authority operates two boats, the “Pride of Lorain” and “Lady Charleston,” for various cruises on the river and trips to the Lorain Lighthouse.
“Overall it went over really well and we’re hoping to continue this on for the seasons to follow,” McClelland said.
She reviewed the figures as part of the Port Authority’s regular board meeting Dec. 11.
The number of river boat trips rose from 95 trips in 2016 to 154 trips in 2017, a 38 percent increase, according to Port figures. The boats
Overall it went over really well and we’re hoping to continue this on for the seasons to follow.”
— Port Economic Development Specialist Tiffany McClelland
carried 2,230 passengers, a 40 percent increase from 1,351 riders last year.
The cancelation rate dropped to 7.78 percent this year, down from 37.16 percent of trips canceled in 2016.
“We made some policy changes that really added to this, such as not canceling our trips at all,” McClelland said. “We always had our captains in service if the trip was going, regardless of the number of passengers, so that our vessels were running and they were consistent, which was a wise decision on our end.”
The average number of passengers per trip rose to 14.49 people, up from 12.32 riders per trip in 2016.
“So really we made some good decisions for this season and overall that’s reflected in our numbers,” McClelland said.
In 2017, trips to the Lorain Lighthouse had 559 riders, while the river cruises had 548 passengers. There were 451 riders for sunset cruises, 288 passengers for private and special trips, 214 dinner cruisers, 124 riders for history cruises and 46 passengers for the fall foliage cruises.
For the shuttle boats, total cost of the river tour program was $30,516 for the spring, summer and fall. The 2017 costs increased over 2016, when the Port spent $22,295 for the river tours.
However, the boats had income of $33,306, for an operating profit of $2,790 in 2017, according to figures from the Port. The income was more than the $21,446 in 2016 revenues from the river tours.
This year the river tours made $18,336; lighthouse tours brought in $5,590; lighthouse dinners brought in $4,875; and special or private tours brought in $4,505.
McClelland noted the boats brought in more money even as the Port invested more in vessel maintenance. The Port spent $6,114 on maintenance costs this year, up from $4,252 in 2016.
“So we went from a large deficit and actually have a little bit of money to reinvest into our shuttle boats now after a season,” she said. “We still have a lot of money that we need to put back into these boats so that is just going to be reinvested into the upkeep and maintenance of them.”
The Jet Express summer did not log similar ridership.
Four trips were canceled — the winetasting cruise and Ladies Night Out in July and the Port Appreciation Cruise and craft beer cruise in August. The canceled trips did not have a cost, so the Port Authority did not gain or lose money based on those cruises, according to figures.
The Port Authority did not sell enough tickets to cover costs for the September cruise to the Cleveland Browns football game, which lost $2,356.
In October, the Island Cruise trip lost $1,357; the Oct. 1 Browns cruise lost $2,678 and the Oct. 8 Browns cruise lost $3,726.
In sum, the Jet Express had cruise operating expenses totaling $23,256, but revenues of $13,139.
Port Executive Director Rick Novak retired this year and was succeeded by Tom Brown, who retired as Lorain fire chief to take the job. Brown served as a Port Authority board member for years before taking the directorship.
Due to the transition in staff and other projects, McClelland acknowledged the Jet Express marketing was not necessarily the top project for staff in the summer.
She and Port Authority board members agreed the agency needs to work with the Jet Express to increase ridership out of Lorain.
“There’s not a simple, easy solution. What we have to do is be creative,” Brown said.
“So we went from a large deficit and actually have a little bit of money to reinvest into our shuttle boats now after a season. We still have a lot of money that we need to put back into these boats so that is just going to be reinvested into the upkeep and maintenance of them.” — Port Economic Development Specialist Tiffany McClelland