Marco Island Ski And Water Spt

What Marco Island Ski And Water Spt does

Marco Island & Naples Beach Water Sports is a Southwest Florida water sports rental and tour operator founded in 1981 by Mark Bahr, operating five beachfront locations across Marco Island, Naples, and Goodland under preferred-vendor arrangements with upscale hotel brands including JW Marriott Marco Island, Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort, Marriott's Crystal Shores, and The Ritz-Carlton Naples. The company operates a fleet of Yamaha VX Deluxe WaveRunners and a proprietary 45-foot powered catamaran called the Calusa Spirit, delivering six distinct activity products: Guided WaveRunner Tours, WaveRunner Rentals, Parasail Adventures, Banana Boat Rides, Paddle Boarding, and Calusa Spirit Eco Tours, with session durations ranging from 15 minutes (banana boat rides from $50) to 2.5 hours (eco-tours at $70 child/$95 adult) and guided WaveRunner tours priced from $265. Underlying infrastructure consists of beachfront sales huts at each location and the FareHarbor online booking platform embedded on the company's website for advance reservations.

The business generates revenue through three primary streams: transaction-based activity rentals and tours sold to individual vacationing tourists, families, and local residents; customized corporate group reservations with all-inclusive pricing built around hotel meeting schedules; and gift cards sold in fixed dollar amounts or toward specific experiences. Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer booking via FareHarbor with an enterprise field sales motion targeting hotel concierges, corporate event planners, and meeting organizers. Marketing relies on TripAdvisor reviews displayed prominently on the homepage, organic social content across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and direct referrals from hotel partners. The business was acquired in 2019 by Hoffmann Family of Companies, a diversified Florida conglomerate, while founder Mark Bahr remains as owner/operator.

Name

Marco Island Ski And Water Spt

Legal name

Marco Island Water Sports

Website

https://marcoislandwatersports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Marco Island & Naples Beach Water Sports is a Southwest Florida water sports rental and tour operator founded in 1981, running five beachfront locations at upscale hotels (JW Marriott, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton) offering WaveRunner tours, parasailing, eco-tours, and paddleboarding to tourists, families, and corporate groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Sports Tourism and Recreational Activities

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Recreational Goods Rental (532284)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Jet Ski, Parasailing & Tow Sports (Wakeboard, Waterski, Tubing) (THAJAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Kayaking, Canoeing & SUP Coastal Tours (THAAAIAF), Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA)

Keywords

• Water sports rentals
• Beachfront tours
• Parasailing adventures
• Waverunner tours
• Guided eco tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Marco Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Activity Rentals and Tours: Transaction-based revenue from individual water sports activities including WaveRunner rentals, parasailing, banana boat rides, and paddle boarding. Customers pay per activity session with durations ranging from 15 minutes to 2.5 hours.
2. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards in specific dollar amounts or toward specific experiences. Provides flexible gifting options for birthdays, holidays, and employee rewards.
3. Corporate Group Bookings: Customized corporate group reservations with all-inclusive pricing including gratuity. Private tours designed around hotel meeting schedules with volume-based arrangements for hotel partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Marco Island & Naples Beach Water Sports operates a beachfront water sports rental and tour business at five locations across Marco Island, Naples, and Goodland, Florida. The company sells six activity products: Guided WaveRunner Tours through the Ten Thousand Islands, independent WaveRunner (jet ski) rentals, Parasail Adventures over the Gulf of Mexico, Banana Boat Rides, all-day Paddle Boarding, and Calusa Spirit Eco Tours aboard a 45-foot powered catamaran. Activities range from 15 minutes to 2.5 hours and are led by USCG-licensed captains and trained guides, with online booking via FareHarbor and walk-up service at beachfront sales huts at partner hotel properties.

Product overview

Marco Island & Naples Beach Water Sports operates as a water sports rental and tour company offering six distinct activity products: Guided WaveRunner Tours, WaveRunner Rentals, Parasail Adventures, Banana Boat Rides, Paddle Boarding, and Calusa Spirit Eco Tours. The company provides both guided group experiences and independent rentals, with activities departing from multiple beachfront locations in Marco Island and Naples, Florida. The Calusa Spirit is a proprietary 45-foot powered catamaran used for eco-tours, while WaveRunners are Yamaha VX Deluxe models. Booking is handled through an integrated FareHarbor system embedded on the website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Calusa Spirit: A 45 ft. powered catamaran offering eco-tours for dolphin watching and shelling experiences.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Hoffmann Family of CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Marco Island Water Sports and Naples Beach Water Sports joined the Hoffmann Family of Companies in 2019. Hoffmann Family of Companies is the parent company providing ownership and strategic direction. Part of Hoffmann Creative Agency for site design.
• JW Marriott Marco Island Beach ResortcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred on-site water sports vendor at JW Marriott Marco Island. Activities depart directly from hotel beachfront saving transportation costs for guests. Primary location for parasailing and Calusa Spirit tours.
• Hilton Marco Island Beach ResortcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred on-site water sports vendor at Hilton Marco Island. Main sales hut check-in location. Departures from beachfront for all activities including WaveRunner tours and eco-tours.
• Marriott's Crystal ShoresmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOn-site water sports operations at Marriott's Crystal Shores beachfront location. Additional departure point for WaveRunner rentals and tours.
• The Ritz-Carlton NaplescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred on-site water sports vendor at Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach Resort. Naples location opened January 2013. Departures for parasailing and beach activities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sea Screamer: Large passenger speedboat dolphin watching tour operator in Panama City Beach, FL. Comparable business model offering scheduled narrated marine wildlife tours with similar per-ticket pricing structure targeting beachfront vacationers in Florida.
• Captain Doug's Watersports: Marco Island jet ski rental and tour operator offering guided WaveRunner tours through the 10,000 Islands. Hyper-local direct competitor sharing the same SWFL tourist market and a nearly identical guided WaveRunner tour product.
• Pure Florida: Naples and Fort Myers-based boat tour, dolphin cruise, and water sports rental operator. Directly comparable offering mix including jet ski rentals, dolphin tours, and sunset cruises targeting SWFL beachfront tourists in the same geography.
• Naples Princess: Sightseeing and dinner cruise operator based in Naples, FL directly overlapping with the Calusa Spirit eco-tour market. Offers narrated cruises on Naples Bay with comparable hospitality-tourist customer base and vessel-based experience product.
• Speed Boat Adventures: Florida-based guided speedboat and mini powerboat tour operator offering narrated sightseeing and dolphin tours. Comparable experiential boat tour model targeting family and tourist segments with similar per-trip pricing.
• Sunshine Water Sports: Fort Myers Beach jet ski, parasailing, and boat rental operator offering comparable water sports product mix to Florida tourists. Direct competitive overlap in the SWFL jet ski/parasailing rental category with similar pricing and customer base.

Others

• FareHarbor: Online booking platform used by Marco Island & Naples Beach Water Sports for activity reservations. Industry-standard booking infrastructure provider for tours and activity operators, also used by many direct competitors in the same category.

Regional players

• Barefoot Sailing: Florida-based sailing tour and charter operator offering catamaran and sailing experiences comparable to the Calusa Spirit eco-tour. Overlaps in vessel-based nature and sightseeing tours for tourists with similar guided water experience format.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/marcoislandwatersports
• Instagraminstagram.com/marcoislandwatersports
• TikToktiktok.com/@marcoislandwatersports
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marco-island-ski-and-water-spt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marco Island Ski And Water Spt