WaveRez Feature Update: Florida Boating Safety Act of 2022

If you’re operating a boat rental business in Florida you’ve probably heard of the Florida Boating Safety Act of 2022 that was passed last year. As of January 1, 2023 that law is in effect and there’s a few guidelines that livery operators need to adhere to that you may need to add to your checkout/check in process. What we feel are some key pieces of information you need to gather from your customers are the following:

• Full Name, Date of Birth, and Address of the renter.
• Number of passengers that will be aboard the vessel.
• Emergency Contact Name, Address, and Telephone Number of someone who is not aboard the vessel.
• Time the vessel will be returned to the livery.

It’s also worth noting the following:

• If a vessel is unnecessarily overdue more than 4 hours after the contracted vessel rental time has expired, the livery must notify law enforcement.
• The livery must keep all noted information for at least 1 year.

You can find the full list of regulations here: SB 606 Compliance Regulations
Most operators have been requesting the bulk of this information already so it shouldn’t be a huge change to add a few pieces, and WaveRez has built some features to make it easy to add the required regulations that you’ll need to be compliant.

Emergency Contact Information on WaveRez

Using WaveRez’s Options currently allows you to collect the necessary name, DOB, address, # of passengers, length of trip, etc. of the renter and now we have added a new feature for the Emergency Contact portion.
Under Booking Portal Settings you are now able to require Emergency Contact information upon checkout.

Once this option is selected,  your customer will be required to add the needed information when they are checking out on the Booking Portal

If you are making a reservation internally, you will be required to add the needed information when you are completing the reservation for the customer.
 

The customer’s information will display in their Order Details.
 

More functionality with WaveRez and Wherewolf

WaveRez recommends Wherewolf as the best digital waiver solution and our integration with them provides an even deeper level of information and features.
If you use Wherewolf or are interested in signing up with them our integration includes the following information that goes above and beyond the requirements of SB606. In your order detail view, you’re able to see a list of customers/passengers with the following:

• Name, Email, Date of Birth, Age
• Emergency Contact Information (will be given during the waiver process vs. check out)
• Driver details: Who’s driving, Age, with more details such as if the driver needs parent or  needs boaters license
• Icon if passenger is a child (i.e. needs life vest)

Having all this information easily viewable in your order detail can be a huge help with the smooth operation of your business. If you’re interested in learning more about Wherewolf and the integration process please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we’re happy to help you get set up.
 

Conclusion

This new bill should improve the renter experience in Florida and hopefully help reduce the amount of accidents on the water. Compliance should be quick and easy using the new features in WaveRez or the combination of WaveRez and Wherewolf. While you are still here, check out the Florida Boating Safety Act of 2022 FAQ.