NEWPORT, R.I. & JUPITER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dockwa, Inc., the slip and mooring reservation platform which boaters use to connect to marinas online and by app, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Marinas.com, the world’s most extensive online marine directory of more than 75,000 marine locations, including 15,000 marinas, yacht clubs, and shipyards. Marinas.com was the first online resource of its kind for the marine industry, pioneering a comprehensive guide for boaters worldwide and amassing more than 100,000 users. Marinas.com solves the challenge marinas face in reaching new customers by providing online and digital tools to communicate.
The acquisition solidifies Dockwa’s position as a leader in marine technology and expands Dockwa’s already growing footprint of marinas. Dockwa’s marina network and boater community tripled in size in 2016, resulting in a 1,766 percent increase in nights served. Incorporating Marinas.com into its portfolio demonstrates the startup’s continued commitment to advance the marine industry as a whole.
“The company vision of Dockwa is highly aligned with the vision of Marinas.com,” said Mike Melillo, CEO of Dockwa. “Both connect marinas with boaters and provide marinas with the online tools and data necessary to make informed decisions about their business strategies. By unifying these platforms, we can more rapidly advance technological adoption in the industry and help our customers achieve their growth goals.”
Marinas use Marinas.com’s online tools to advertise, generate sales leads and implement digital marketing campaigns. These efforts help marinas drive new business and foster brand loyalty with repeat customers. The application of both Marinas.com and Dockwa’s product offerings extends beyond a marina’s management team, proving a powerful tool for dock staff who manage daily operations.
“After more than two decades of steady growth and customer loyalty, we're passing the helm of Marinas.com over to the talented team at Dockwa," said Pam Harris, Owner at Marinas.com. “Since 1995, Marinas.com has been the gold standard representing the marina industry on the web, and Dockwa is poised to take it to the next level.”
The acquisition of Marinas.com also encompasses the domains reservenow.com, marinafinder.com, boatbuzz.com, and geowake.com. With this acquisition, Dockwa grows its marina partner network to more than 500 businesses and further expands its international footprint to Central and South America, and parts of Europe.
“With the wealth of engineering, marketing, and business strategy expertise on our team, we’re uniquely positioned to continue the development of the Marinas.com platform,” said Melillo. “Our primary goal is to increase the value for Marinas.com clients and empower marinas to reach the next generation of boaters.”
Dockwa blogged about the acquisition for their users here. Dockwa co-founder and CEO Mike Melillo wrote a post about the acquisition for the company's marina partners here. Dockwa executives will be in attendance at International Marina & Boatyard Conference (IMBC), which takes place January 25-28, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, to field any partner and press inquiries. Attendees can visit Dockwa at booth #708.
About Marinas.com
Founded in 1996, Marinas.com has the
world's most extensive database of marine locations, featuring low
altitude, high-resolution aerial navigation photography of marinas, key
inlets, detailed overviews of waterfront communities, bridges, locks,
anchorages, lighthouses, along with other major nautical points of
interest. For more information, visit: http://marinas.com
and follow Marinas.com on Facebook.
About Dockwa
Founded in May 2015, Dockwa is an
award-winning, unified marina operations platform which connects boaters
to marinas in real time, online and by app. Boaters download the free
iOS or Android app or log in online and then search, explore, reserve
and pay for their reservations in a matter of minutes. Marinas then use
the Dockwa platform to confirm the reservation, collect payment and
deposit the customers' information into their intelligent database with
a single click. Headquartered in Newport, RI, Dockwa rapidly expanded
along the eastern seaboard in its first year to a growing marina network
of more than 400 marinas and tens of thousands of boaters. Dockwa is now
expanding into the Great Lakes region, the West Coast and beyond. For
more information, visit: https://dockwa.com
and follow on Facebook, LinkedIn,
and @getdockwa
on Twitter.
All trademarks recognized.
