The Gold Anchor Program has been developed by the marina industry with the specific objectives of raising standards and providing customer centric services.The Program assists marinas to position and differentiate themselves in the market place. Participation also provides a global performance benchmarking that contributes to continual business improvement. For consumers, Gold Anchor helps in their evaluation and selection of marinas aligned with their needs.

Marinas entering Gold Anchor can choose to self-assess against the core program criteria or be independently assessed by one of the expert assessor team. Feedback from participating marinas confirms the significant value associated with an audit every three years by a highly experienced marina professional checking systems, infrastructure and customer service whilst also providing innovative ideas for improvement.

The self-assessed program is most suited to marinas preparing for future accreditation within the next three years and who adhere to the values of Gold Anchor and want to show their commitment to those values by flying the Gold Anchor flag. This Global Program is jointly administered by The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) and the Marina Industries Association (MIA). TYHA delivers the Program in the United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. MIA delivers the Program in Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Pacific Regions including Australia and NZ. In the Americas the Program is jointly delivered by TYHA and MIA in association with the Marine Recreation Association (MRA).

Gold Anchor History

The Gold Anchor Program was first developed by TYHA in 1988 and MIA also subsequently established a Program in 2013 TYHA and MIA agreed to work to create one singular global Gold Anchor Program for the benefit of marina users and the industry and as of December 2015, there were Gold Anchor accredited marinas in 30 countries.

Gold Anchor Values

The Program is based upon the belief that the marina industry needs a customer centric focus for marina businesses and recreational boating to grow and prosper. Marina or yacht harbour customers expect good service, suitable facilities and value for money no matter what the accreditation of the marina. As with hotel accommodation not everyone wants to pay for top of the range facilities and services. The Gold Anchor brand associates with these three key attributes:

• Gold Anchor marinas provide very good customer service.
• Gold Anchor marinas represent value for money at all levels of accreditation
• Gold Anchor means that recognised industry standards have been achieved.

Process to becoming a Gold Anchor Marina

The Program is based on self-assessment and site assessment of specific items across six evaluation categories which are

• Ambience
• Planning, Policies and Procedures.
• Customer Service.
• Environmental.
• On Water facilities and infrastructure.
• On Shore facilities and infrastructure.

To arrive at the Gold Anchor accreditation a berth holder survey is also conducted. Once the assessor has completed their evaluation and report an accreditation recommendation is put to either TYHA or MIA Gold Anchor Standards Panels for approval. Mystery shopper checks are used during the three-year validity period to ensure the accreditation remains valid as well as providing valuable additional information to the marina

Benefits of being a Gold Anchor Marina

There are a number of benefits in becoming a Gold Anchor marina:

• Prestige of being a Gold Anchor accredited or recognised and branded marina is an excellent marketing tool for you
• Receive a Gold Anchor flag and certificate
• Receive electronic logos to use for marina web and print communications
• Listing on the Gold Anchor website with the marinas' directories and location map (www.globalgoldanchor.com)
• Media release issued to specialist press following your accreditation
• Articles in TYHA/MIA/MRA magazines
• Promotion of Gold Anchor brand and values at boat shows attended by TYHA/MIA/MRA
• Brand recognition provides customers with additional confidence in your marina
• Accreditation or recognition helps position your marina and reinforce your price points with existing and potential customers in a competitive market place
• Accreditation or recognition helps customers differentiate your marina from competing marinas
• Expert assessment provides a business ‘health check’ using thorough assessment criteria including berth holder questionnaire and mystery shopper feedback to identify areas for improvement
• Accreditation benchmarks your marina against others locally, nationally and internationally
• Gold Anchor participation provides marina staff and investors with a tangible measure, reward and recognition for their efforts.