Turnaround day: check-out, cleaning, maintenance, check-in

The day one charter ends and the next begins — turnaround day — usually has to fit into a few hours on a gulet: the guest disembarks, the boat gets cleaned, any open maintenance item gets fixed, the new guest comes aboard. When these four steps aren’t on one list, the delay usually comes from whichever step was noticed last: cleaning looks done, but a maintenance note from the night before got forgotten.

Check-out: recording the boat’s condition

As the guest leaves, the boat’s condition is recorded — fuel level, any damage, anything missing. This isn’t just a form to fill in; it’s what the next step, cleaning or maintenance, is based on. A damage note taken at check-out turns directly into that boat’s maintenance item, tagged with whichever captain or crew member logged it, so who noticed what and when is never left to argue over later.

Cleaning and maintenance on the same list

Once the cleaning crew finishes, they mark the list; separately, any open maintenance or repair item for that boat — fuel, engine, a marina or haul-out job — shows on the same day’s list. Boat maintenance ties the fuel, marina and maintenance cost tracked per hull to this same record, so a charter’s real cost is visible at period end.

Winterizing and the season-end plan live in the same record

Turnaround is a weekly, sometimes daily, cycle — but every boat also carries an annual maintenance calendar: end-of-season winterizing, periodic survey, major overhaul. That annual plan is part of the same boat maintenance record, separate from turnaround day’s daily list but tied to the same boat file, so “what maintenance has this boat had this season, when’s the next survey” has one answer.

Turnaround cost feeds the profitability number

Fuel, cleaning supplies and maintenance cost from each turnaround day post to that charter’s record. At period end, subtracting these costs from rental income shows real profitability boat by boat — so which boat needed unexpectedly costly maintenance this season shows up in that table rather than requiring someone to add up invoices one by one.

Document check: the boat and the crew

Before a new booking begins, the boat’s and the assigned crew’s documents are checked for validity. A seaworthiness certificate, a registry document, a seaman’s book — each carries its own expiry date; document tracking watches these per boat and per person, and raises a warning before a boat with an expired document is assigned to a new booking.

Check-in: handing over a boat that’s actually ready

Once check-out, cleaning and maintenance are done, the boat counts as ready for check-in; the new guest’s details — arrival time, cabin layout, special requests — come from the booking record, and the welcome message goes out automatically in the guest’s language. If any item — cleaning, maintenance, documents — is still open, the boat isn’t marked ready, so a half-finished job never gets quietly handed to the next guest.

The captain’s screen over a weak marina connection

Turnaround morning often means the captain and crew are working with a weak connection at a marina or out at sea. The day’s list — check-out notes, cleaning status, open maintenance items — stays open on screen with its last synced state; anything marked off gets written back once the connection returns, so a completed task never disappears just because the signal dropped.

Example

A gulet checks out at 09:00 on Saturday morning, with the new guest checking in that same day at 15:00. During check-out, the captain notes a small generator fault. That note drops straight into the maintenance list; a technician fixes it at 11:00 and closes the item, while the cleaning crew finishes and marks their list at 13:00. By 14:30 every item is closed, so the boat shows ready for check-in and the arrival message goes out to the new guest automatically.

How Rotenta does it

1. At check-out, the boat’s condition is recorded; any noted damage or missing item turns automatically into a boat maintenance item.
2. Cleaning and maintenance crews mark their own tasks on the same day’s list, which stays usable with its last state even over a weak marina connection.
3. Before a new assignment, document tracking checks that boat’s and its crew’s documents, warning off the assignment if anything has expired.
4. Once every item closes, the boat is marked ready for check-in.
5. The new guest’s arrival and check-in details go out automatically over WhatsApp in the language on their record.

If you’d like to fit this flow to your current crew setup, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Does a damage note at check-out automatically become a maintenance record?

Yes; a damage or missing item marked on the check-out form drops straight into that boat’s maintenance list — no separate record needs opening.

Cleaning and maintenance are done by separate crews — how do they end up on one list?

Each crew marks its own task; the list shows every open item for that boat that day — cleaning, maintenance, document check — together, so nobody has to ask around for status.

Can the captain reach the day’s list without a marina connection?

Yes, the list stays open with its last synced state; anything marked off writes back to the system once the connection returns.

What happens if a boat’s document has expired?

The system warns before that boat is assigned to a new booking; the assignment stays blocked until the document is renewed.

How does turnaround day’s cost show up in reporting?

That day’s fuel, cleaning and maintenance items post to the charter record; at period end, subtracting them from rental income shows each boat’s real profitability on its own.