“Dockwa” Will Change Boating Forever
Have you ever tried booking a slip for the weekend? You probably had to do it days if not weeks in advance to make sure you had nailed down a guaranteed space. And even then it’s not 100% guaranteed that you’ll get what you were looking for… Dockwa, the 2014 startup by Mike Melillo is changing that.
Melillo started his research into the issues with booking slips by going to the marinas first. He realized that from the time the boater expressed interest in docking to the time he was actually tied up at a slip there were 20 to 35 touchpoints which impeded and or completely stopped the reservation process. In order to combat these delays he developed the Dockwa App. The app is revolutionary in that it allows boaters to explore regions and marinas all up and down the eastern seaboard, select a destination, and almost instantly be approved and given a reserved slip. On top of this impressive improvement on the speed of reserving a slip, is Dockwa’s 24/7 support for both the boaters and the marinas so that anything can be resolved relatively quickly and painlessly. With the app taking care of all payment process for both ends, it’s simply a no-brainer for both boaters and marinas in today;s world of boating.
Dockwa’s network of marinas is ever expanding and currently includes over 250 unique locations all the way from Maine to the Bahamas and Caribbean. They are in the process now of expanding to the Great Lakes which promise to be a massive market for the app. With a new “instant approval” service being introduced into the mix that allows boaters to book slips immediately without the approval of the dock master, Dockwa is set to change the boating industry forever and bring it into the modern age!
