Hey Palm Cay management!

This page is not connected to the website and is intended only as a reference for you. The review itself is a very early draft intended only to get an idea of what I mean by in-depth review. I put everything online so you can view it and make suggestions. I hope we can reach some kind of agreement so I can start advertising for you! I am very confidant that attracting more cruisers to Palm Cay would help increase revenue and exposure tremendously!

At the bottom you’ll find a number of the photos I’ve taken which would be in the review, obviously far more organized. Also, I’ve included some friendly suggestions from a cruiser’s perspective, and I attached the written out proposal that I gave to Demario.

Thanks again!

– Palm Cay Marina –
Everything a Cruiser is Looking For

— Highlights —

• Ideal location for cruisers exploring the Bahamas or just passing through
• Sturdy, quiet, protected dockage far less expensive than Nassau Harbor
• Fantastic resort atmosphere
• Especially friendly and accommodating staff
• Wifi, laundry, shower, courtesy car, all included with dockage fee.

Palm Cay Marina is a medium sized marina resort just outside the hustle and bustle of Nassau. Some of the marina facilities are still under construction as I type this, but in the last few days I’ve stayed here I’ve found everything I need as a cruiser in an exceptionally beautiful and secure setting. Below you’ll find a short explanation of my experience here, as well as a number of pictures of the facilities.

Navigation – Palm Cay Marina is on the Southeast corner of New Providence Island, (North 25* 01’ x W 77* 16’), which makes it the perfect jump off point between Nassau and just about any other worthwhile cruising destination. It is located immediately between two new condominium developments, and many boats occupying the marina’s many slips belong to residents. There are three flashing white light markers that line up to the entrance, and Palm Cay Marina is the narrow channel about 9’ deep that curves to port as you approach land. The marina monitors VHF 16, give them a shout and they’ll meet you at the dock.

Dockage – The docks here are very sturdy wooden docks. Most have power and water, but if you don’t need it you’re far more likely to find an open spot. I’ve been told there are plans to add electric to all slips in the near future. Strong Wifi reaches all docks but the farthest away from the resort, but it’s a very short and easy walk. A chain gate raises in the channel at night, so if you’re coming in at dark be sure and call ahead.

Facilities – With your purchase of a slip, you’ll have free access to laundry, showers, a courtesy car, WiFi, and a fantastic array of recreational options.

Supplies – With access to the courtesy car, everything is only a few minutes drive away from your boat. A grocery and liquor stores are very close. The airport is a 20-minute taxi ride away. Even if you feel like visiting Nassau for a day or two, this marina is close enough to access everything on the island but far enough not to let it distract your from relaxing.

Recreation – Second only to the tremendously accommodating staff, the best part of this marina resort is the beachfront and pool area. There is a fine restaurant with mostly affordable drink prices as well as delicious food. Our first day at Palm Cay, we kicked back at the pool drinking ice-cold $5 Kalik Gold and eating flavorful meat-lovers pizza. The view from the pool is breathtaking, and when you’re not grilling on the numerous full sized BBQ grills or playing chess on their jumbo chess board, I suggest spending your days there, kicked back in total serenity with full WiFi access.

Staff – As I mentioned above, the staff is the best feature you’ll find at Palm Cay. From the moment I hailed on VHF 16 and spoke with the Dockmaster Demario, to the moment he helped tie us up at the dock, to the moment one of the accommodating waiters ensured I had WiFi access all around the pool area, I’ve been impressed at every turn.

Price – At the time I stayed at the marina, the price was a very reasonable $1.75/foot. Considering the included amenities, I found this to be a fair price to give myself and crew a much needed and very relaxing break from our extensive travels.

Fuel Prices –

Constructive Criticism for Palm Cay Marina

• Shower and Laundry facilities, while free, are at a bare minimum. Consider adding another washer and dryer, as well as another shower or two.
• Wifi does not extend throughout the marina, this could be fixed easily with a WiFi network extender or repeater.
• I very strongly suggest giving marina residents access to the upstairs “members only” room. This does not mean there needs to be a bartender or staff of any kind, but this room is especially useful for cruisers in need of a productive day on their computer without distractions. Without any other kind of “lounging” or “business” room on the property, this upstairs room has become a necessary part of my stay and I know many cruisers feel the same way.

I really have to say I’ve been very impressed with Palm Cay so far, and if we can arrange something, I’ll be an enthusiastic advertising partner. If our deal includes trade for dockage, I’ll be back regularly doing follow up reviews, which would help as well.

Thanks again for your interest!

Hank Harrison
Contigo Commerce
followcontigo@gmail.com

Advertising Proposal –

Palm Cay Marina and Contigo Commerce
Marketing Partnership – Strategy and Proposal

What We Are: A Network of Trusted Resources for Cruisers

Over the last few months Contigo Commerce websites, especially our travel blog and Facebook page, have benefitted from exponential growth in our online following. Due primarily to our aggressive social networking tactics geared toward boaters in the United States and across the globe, we’ve come to expect at least 4,000-7,000 views per day (often more) on days we post updates. Most who visit our sites are long distance cruisers seeking trustworthy information and recommendations about destinations, boater services, sailing stories, and our experiences with marina and mooring services throughout the Gulf Coast, Florida, the Bahamas, and soon the Caribbean!

Why Partner with Contigo Commerce?

Contigo Commerce can connect Palm Cay with a currently underutilized and especially profitable demographic: cruising boaters. We will introduce Palm Cay Resort to the cruising community as a new, vibrant, and far more practical destination than other New Providence Island cruising destinations. Increases in crime and exorbitant prices, especially in the Nassau Harbor area, are pushing cruisers away. Palm Cay is the new option that cruisers are looking for; all we have to do is tell them!

Palm Cay stands to seriously profit from this shift away from Nassau. With an increase in transient customers in the marina, Palm Cay will benefit not only from a far higher transient dockage rate as compared to the locals storing their boats ($0.45 vs $1.75), but also far more activity and revenue in the restaurant. As a lifelong owner/manager of a marina based restaurant (Harrison’s Landing in Corpus Christi) as well as a cruiser, I can personally identify with how much revenue can be gained by an increase in transient customer traffic. Not only do cruisers spend far more per day in restaurants and marinas, but they also love to share their experiences, which means word of mouth advertising would increase greatly as well.

What We’ll Do

Potential transient customers are looking for very simple qualities, and our marketing strategy is an appropriately simple one. We will introduce Palm Cay Resort as the best, most cost effective, and most practical staging point for cruisers traveling between the Bahamas and United States. 

• Palm Cay is in an ideal location on the Southeast corner of the island, making it a perfect jump-off point for cruisers bound for Florida, Exumas, Eleutheras, Abacos, Cuba, and the rest of the Bahamas and Caribbean. Location, location, location!
• Palm Cay offers a far better value and a much safer experience than all other locations on New Providence Island. At $1.75/foot/night, Palm Cay is substantially less expensive than the crime heavy areas in Nassau Harbor. Couple that with the beautiful resort atmosphere, included laundry, WiFi, courtesy car, stunning resort area, as well as other amenities, Palm Cay provides a truly remarkable value for the cost, which is exactly what cruisers are always looking for.

Itemized Proposals

In order to successfully market Palm Cay Resort to the many cruising followers in Contigo Commerce’s network, I propose the following specific tactics. As Demario mentioned in our last meeting, we don’t want to strike too hard too fast. Palm Cay has a lot of growing to do, and we don’t want to be turning customers away. Therefore, I propose a Three Step Strategy.

** Prices on Page 3 are specifically tailored to Palm Cay and are not the same as standard Contigo Commerce rates. All time periods, dates, deadlines, and features are entirely customizable. **

Step One – What we’ll start immediately

• In-depth Review on FollowContigo.com and Facebook Paid Endorsement – $650 Value
  • This in-depth review will include at least a dozen professionally captured and edited photos as well as 800-1,200 words detailing the facilities and experience to be found at Palm Cay. With your direction, we’ll tailor the review to touch on whatever specifics you’d like included! A first draft is already underway!
  • Additionally, FollowContigo.com’s Facebook page will post a promoted link to the in-depth review page on FollowContigo.com for two weeks. This post is expected to reach between 2,000-5,000 boaters using Facebook every single day it is active.

*** Please keep in mind – Many cruisers do not require power, so advertising to cruisers before some slips are powered is a safe, prudent move. ***

Step Two – Starting in October near the end of Hurricane Season

• One Banner Ad on both Contigo Commerce Websites for Six Months – $1,200 Value
  • This includes a customized banner on top of the FollowContigo.com site. With this proposal, we’ll add a banner to JabscoRulePumps.com for free! All banners will lead to www.PalmCay.com.
• Paid and Targeted Facebook Endorsement – $400 Value
  • com’s Facebook page will design and execute a paid advertising banner active for two weeks that will appear on the home pages of all subscribed members as well as the tens of thousands of “Facebook friends” connected to each member. Overall, we expect no less than 10,000-20,000 impressions to cruising boaters on this ad alone.

Step Three – By Spring of 2016

• An updated, follow up review of Palm Cay to include any changes, again coupled with a Facebook promotion – $650 Value
• Video Review – A high definition 60-second video review of Palm Cay, including video tours, on-site interviews of staff, recordings of your facilities in action, and anything else you’d like. It will appear on our site and on YouTube. – $850 Value

— Collective Value of All Features Listed – $3,850 —

 ** Remember, anything on the above list can be customized! We’ll do our best to accommodate Palm Cay Resort in the most fitting way possible!

Compensation for the Marketing Campaign

Contigo Commerce is a young but quickly growing company that relies entirely on traveling to tourist destinations in the Bahamas and Caribbean to conduct its business, which means dockage is one of the chief operating costs. Therefore, trading advertising for “credit” at marinas is an especially beneficial way of doing business for all parties. Palm Cay would be a perfect home base for our operations throughout the Bahamas now and in the future. As a result, we would like to establish a long-term relationship trading dock space for advertising. Our vessel does not require power, which means the trade cost to Palm Cay would only be an empty, unpowered slip.

The following figures reflect what we believe would be a fair trade for services provided. All discounts reflect the initial value of $3,850 listed on Page 2 and rounded down.

• Option One – 28.5% Discount – $2,750 – 50/50 split Payment/Docking
  • $1,375 Payment, $1,375 Dock Credit

• Option Two – 28.5% Discount – $2,750
  • $750 in payment, $1,500 in Dock Credit, $500 in Restaurant/Bar credit

• Option Three – 35% Discount – $2,500 Payment

* Docking Credit does not include fuel, electric, water, or restaurant services, and does not expire.

If Palm Cay has any suggestions, ideas, critiques, or anything they’d like to change or add to this agreement, please let me know. I’ll be happy to draw up a contract as soon as an agreement has been made.

Thanks again for your time and consideration, and lets get to work telling the cruising world about Palm Cay Resort!

Capt. Hank Harrison

Contigo Commerce, LLC

followcontigo@gmail.com