Transforming Operations with Elite Dynamics, Port of Newport Choose EliteMarinas

The Port of Newport, founded in 1910, is one of the largest fishing ports on the U.S. West Coast and a vital economic driver for Oregon. It manages a complex mix of operations: commercial fishing, an international terminal, a 522-slip marina, and 300 RV spaces. These recreational assets are a significant source of revenue, helping to reinvest in the port’s core infrastructure. With only 31 full-time staff, efficiency and smart investment in technology are essential.

The Challenge

For years, the Port relied on a patchwork of legacy financial and reservation systems. While they provided some functionality, none were designed to handle the Port’s unique blend of high-volume, transient traffic across both marina and RV operations.

Key pain points included:

• Cumbersome interface & slow performance: Transactions that should take seconds were taking minutes to complete. Staff often walked customers through online bookings over the phone.
• Poor fit for operations: The systems were designed for lower-turnover businesses, not the 4,000+ new customers the Port welcomed each year.
• Integration gaps: Finance, operations, and reservations ran separately, leading to manual reconciliations, audit headaches, and wasted staff time.
• Customer frustration: Online bookings were declining year-on-year, bucking national trends and telephone calls were increasing as customers opted to call-in to book a reservation. Customers found the portal difficult to navigate and abandoned the online system to call the office.
• Staff turnover: The cumbersome tools contributed to 100% turnover in customer service staff at South Beach over consecutive years.
• Hidden costs: From extra staffing to paper waste from printing errors, inefficiencies were costing the Port time and money.