Boat booking system – Self-service boat rental

Yes – each motorboat's or sailing boat's key goes in its own Igloohome key box, and each rowing boat's or pedal boat's chain gets a code padlock. Kajakbryggan rents out pedal boats and kayaks from an unmanned station in Björholmen's Marina on Tjörn: every booking gets its own code for the lock. In Germany, the harbour at Zwenkauer See near Leipzig books out its pedal boats for up to five people – and kayaks, canoes and SUPs – through Rentalbuddy, with life jackets in a box on the jetty. Fix the key box on the jetty by the boat's berth – or, where the marina doesn't allow that, on the boat itself by the helm – and keep each key on a floating keyring. Oars and life jackets can share one locker that every booking at the harbour gets its own code for; it counts as one more lock on your plan, so 4 boats and a locker are 5 locks – still Starter.

Jetty behind a locked gate? Ask the marina whether its gate key or tag can go in one more key box outside the gate: every booking at the harbour gets its own code for it too, and it counts as one more lock. Renters moor the boat, lock the key back in the box – or press the padlock shut on the chain – and confirm the return on their unlock page, with a photo if you ask for one.

With Rentalbuddy, 4 boats and a shared locker for oars and life jackets are 5 locks – Starter, 299 SEK a month excl. VAT, with no commission. Each motorboat's key box and each rowing boat's padlock counts as one lock, and so does a key box for the marina's gate key. More than 6 locks, or more than one harbour, is Growth: 599 SEK a month with 8 locks included, then 120 SEK a month per extra lock.

On top come Igloohome's code fee of about 20 SEK per lock a month and Stripe's fee per payment, plus the locks, bought once – €159 for a Keybox 3 per motorboat and €159.99 for a Padlock 2 per rowing boat or locker in Igloohome's EU shop (October 2026). Rentalbuddy works wherever Stripe accepts businesses from your country, in your own currency; rental businesses use it in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and the UK, and in the US and Canada.

About 300–450 SEK a day for a rowing boat – less at fishing clubs – and about 600–2,000 SEK a day for a small motorboat – typical prices on Nordic rental businesses' public price lists (October 2026). What could 4 boats earn?

Yes – before the code appears, renters accept your terms, can sign your rental agreement on their phone, upload a photo of their ID or boating licence and watch your safety video. Put in your terms where they may go, how many may be on board, that the skipper is 18 or over and that they're back before dark. The photo is saved on the booking for you to look at – it isn't checked automatically, and the code doesn't wait for anyone to approve it.

Licence rules depend on the country and the boat: in Sweden, a boat under 12 metres long and under 4 metres wide needs no licence; in Norway, anyone born in 1980 or later needs a boating licence for a boat over 8 metres or with more than 25 hp; in Switzerland, a motorboat over 6 kW or a sailing boat with more than 15 m² of sail needs one. Check what applies to yours. Where a licence is required, check the photo before the code appears on the renter's unlock page, 15 minutes before the start, and cancel and refund a booking that doesn't meet your terms – or keep self-service for boats that need none.

Move that booking to another free boat in the admin, and the renter gets that boat's code instead. A boat that isn't back stays marked as picked up in your calendar, and the booking holds the renter's phone number. Igloohome codes run in whole hours, so leave an hour between bookings of the same boat – the last renter can't reopen the key box during the next rental, and you have time to check and refuel. Rentalbuddy doesn't track where boats go; fit a GPS tracker of your own if you want that.

Not on the renter's card – put a damage clause in your terms instead, for example that the renter pays your insurance excess for damage they cause, and charge afterwards with a payment link from the booking. Ask for a photo of the boat moored and the key back in the box at return, so you have something to show your insurer. Sell fuel, extra life jackets or a fishing kit as extras.

Often not – check before the first rental. Ordinary boat insurance often doesn't cover a boat while it's rented out, or a renter who doesn't bring it back. Ask your insurer for cover that includes rental to the public, and tell them that renters take the key from a key box with nobody at the jetty. A photo of the boat moored and the key back in the box at every return gives you something to show them.

Close the day in the admin and move or refund its bookings from your phone – the codes follow the bookings. Renters can see your weather rules in the terms they accept when they book.

Yes. Members buy a membership in the same booking window, or you add them by hand, and their bookings with that email get your member discount – up to 100%. There's no members-only login, though: anyone with your booking link can book at your normal price, so set that as your non-member price. Boats for members only – for example because your insurance covers only members? Cancel and refund any booking from an email that isn't on your member list before its code appears.

On Growth, every harbour runs as a location in one account – as many as you have – and a membership can cover one harbour or all of them. How MarinaOne's members book boats at several harbours