How to get more fishing charter bookings

Most charter skippers don’t need more people to hear about them. They need more of the people who already found them to book. An angler who has to ring, wait for a call back and then send a bank transfer often books someone else in the meantime.

This guide covers what fills trips for small charter boats and guides: being easy to book, being easy to trust, and making the most of the anglers you already have.

Fill your next trips

1. Let anglers see your prices and free dates, and book and pay online.
2. Put your boat on Google with a Business Profile, and link it to your booking page.
3. Ask every angler for a review the day after their trip.
4. Sell single places as well as the whole boat, so one or two anglers can come out.
5. Keep a waiting list for full dates, and tell the people on it when a place opens.

Let anglers book when they’re ready

Anglers plan trips in the evening, after work, often on their phone. If the only way to book is a phone call, the ones who can’t get through tonight may book with whoever lets them. A booking page that shows your free dates and takes payment there and then catches them while they’re keen.

Show your prices. An angler comparing boats skips the one that says “call for prices”. If you’re not sure what to charge, our charter price guide shows what other boats on your coast ask.

Take a deposit or the full price when they book. An angler who has paid is far more likely to turn up, and you’re not chasing transfers the night before.

Be easy to find on Google

Many anglers start with a search like “fishing trips Brighton”. Google shows local businesses on a map above the results, from their Google Business Profile.

• Create a free profile, with your harbour as the address or the area you serve.
• Choose the category that fits, add photos of the boat and fish, and your opening season.
• Link the profile to your booking page, not to a phone number alone.

Your own website helps too. A page for each trip, with what you catch, where you meet and what it costs, answers the searches that a single home page can’t.

Make it easy to trust you

An angler handing money to a stranger wants proof that the trip happens and is worth it.

• Reviews. Ask every angler, the day after their trip, while they still remember it. Reviews from people who actually went are worth more than any words of your own.
• Photos. Recent ones, of real catches and the boat. Big and sharp, not a screenshot from a video.
• Clear terms. Say what happens if they cancel or the weather turns. Our guide to writing booking terms covers what to put in them.
• Insurance. Say you carry passenger liability cover.

Sell places as well as the whole boat

A whole-boat trip needs a group of six or eight to agree on a date. Many anglers fish alone or in twos. Selling single places on some dates lets them come out, and fills a boat that a party would have left empty.

Try a few shared dates on days that don’t sell to parties, such as weekdays, and see which fill.

Don’t lose the anglers you’ve got

A full date is a list of anglers who wanted to come. Let them join a waiting list, and when someone cancels, tell everyone on it at once so the place goes to whoever books first.

Bad weather doesn’t have to lose a booking either. When you call a trip off, offer a new date beside a full refund. Many anglers would rather fish another day than take their money back.

Anglers who had a good day come back, and bring friends. Keep in touch with a catch report now and then, by email or on social media. The rules on marketing emails say you need an angler’s permission. The one exception is someone who booked with you and was given a clear chance to say no, when they booked and in every email. The simplest way to stay on the right side is to let anglers sign up, rather than adding everyone who books.

Should you list on a booking marketplace?

Marketplaces put your boat in front of anglers searching their site, and some anglers only book that way. In return they take a commission on each booking, and the angler is their customer as much as yours. Many skippers list on one while taking most bookings direct. Before you sign up, check what the commission is, who sets your cancellation terms, and whether you get your anglers’ contact details. Our comparisons with FishingBooker and Guidesly set out what each one takes.

Getting more bookings with Gillie

Gillie gives you a website where anglers see your free dates and book and pay on the spot, with no commission. It sells places or the whole boat, asks anglers who went for a review the morning after their trip, and keeps a waiting list for full dates. When you call off a date, anglers pick a new date or a full refund themselves. On Pro, anglers can sign up for your catch reports.