FAQ
Questions operators ask us
Everything that comes up on our calls, in one place.
Price and terms
What does it cost?
$297 a month for the whole system. Or prepay. $891 for 3 months includes Google Business Profile optimization. $2,970 for the year adds OTA optimization and two months free.
Is there a contract or a setup fee?
No to both. It’s month to month with no setup fee, and you can cancel any time.
Why is your pricing so cheap?
Our only interest is keeping you for 10+ years. We believe the best way to do that is to be priced affordably.
We believe if we don’t overcharge and provide you with excellent service, you’ll never have a reason to leave. So it’s $297 a month, month to month, with no setup fee.
What happens if I decide to cancel?
It’s month to month, so you can leave whenever you like. We’ll be extremely sad to see you go, but after a good cry we’ll bounce back.
You will lose access to everything we set up for you, except your website: that’s yours to keep, at no charge. So are your domain, booking system, Google Business Profile, and reviews.
Is FareHarbor extra?
No. FareHarbor is free for operators; guests pay a small booking fee when they book.
If you’re not on it yet, we set you up as part of your build.
What if my business is seasonal?
Most charters are. Prepaying 3 months at the start of your season gets you Google Business Profile optimization included. Paying $2,970 for the year gets you that, OTA optimization and two months free. Google Ads management can be paused in the off-season.
Why aren’t add-ons included?
They only pay off once the basics are working. The AI receptionist’s cost also scales with how many calls you get, so it wouldn’t be fair to price it into everyone’s plan.
Results and fit
When am I going to start seeing results?
Some of it starts the day you launch: missed calls get a text back, and every guest gets a review request after their trip.
The rest will completely depend on what else you’re doing for advertising, how long you’ve been running trips, the quality of your trips, and of course that you commit to using our system.
If you think you’re going to close your eyes and pay us $297 a month to solve all your problems, we’re probably not the right fit for you.
We cannot stress this enough... you have to be doing multiple forms of advertising. CharterChoice is meant to provide you a simple, yet extremely effective foundational marketing system to help grow and expand your business. We’re here to build your online business foundation, not perform miracles.
“Explain how you help me grow my business.” Sure...
1. Do you believe having more 5-star reviews will attract more guests?
2. Do you believe a website that gets found and actually works will turn more visitors into paying guests?
3. Do you believe answering every call and chat right away will get you more business?
4. Do you believe staying in touch with past guests will get them to book with you again?
5. Do you believe making it easy for past guests to send friends your way will get you more referrals?
6. Do you believe using automation and AI for the same basic tasks will give you more time for other things?
7. Do you believe having these systems in place will grow your business?
If you believe any of this can grow your business, that’s exactly what we can help you with.
Why spend money on a website when word of mouth already brings in business?
Word of mouth is the best business there is. But it doesn’t end with the tip.
People look you up before they book, and what they find decides it.
A site where they can pick a date and book makes it easy to say yes. A call nobody answers sends some of them to the next boat.
What’s the catch?
Just one: it only works if you use it.
The system catches the calls and chats you miss, but someone still has to text them back. If nobody will, it’s not for you.
Is the point to get me off Viator?
No. Viator finds you guests you’d never have reached.
We go after the guests who already searched your name and still booked through Viator, and the callers who hung up when nobody answered.
Is it a fit for my business?
It works best for trips where one booking is worth hundreds of dollars. If you run $60 per-seat tours the math is tighter, and we’ll tell you honestly on the call whether it works.
I already have a web guy. Why would I need you?
If he’s good, keep him. We respond to requests within 24 hours and charge a flat monthly rate. We update your website whenever we find something new that works for charter operators, and we maintain the whole marketing system for you.
Website, booking and Google
I’m already on FareHarbor or FishingBooker. Doesn’t that do the job?
Keep it. They take the booking; we get guests to it.
Where guests book decides what you pay. Right on your own website, through FareHarbor’s or FishingBooker’s widget, you pay no commission. On FishingBooker’s own site, or on Viator, you do: 10 to 30 percent of the trip, sometimes more.
So we put your Book now button on every trip on your own site. If you’re on FishingBooker or BoatBooker, your site’s calendar syncs with it so nothing double-books.
Then we add what booking systems don’t do: a text back for every call you miss, website chats that land on your phone, and a review ask after every trip.
Not booking online yet? We set you up on FareHarbor, which is free for operators.
I like talking to every guest before they book. Will I lose that?
Nope. Every call and every website chat still comes to you, as a text you answer yourself. If you want to OK each trip first, guests can send a request instead of booking outright.
But be honest with yourself: does anyone give up while they wait for you to call back? One Keys captain who books everything by phone told us “Probably a few.”
A Book now button for the guest planning at 10pm, and a text back for the one who called when nobody could pick up, means you keep those few.
Do I need to be on FareHarbor?
No. If you’re already on FareHarbor, we plug it in.
If guests book by phone, email, or DMs, we set you up on FareHarbor, which is free for operators. On another booking system? We put it on your site.
Can people find my website on Google?
That’s what we build it for. Every trip gets its own page with your town in its name, tagged so Google and AI apps can read it.
After each trip, guests get a text asking for a review, and reviews help you show up on Google Maps.
No one can promise you the top spot: that also depends on the boats you’re up against. Prepay 3 months or the year and we tune up your Google listing too, with a Book button on it if you’re on FareHarbor.
Can guests book from Google?
Yes, if you’re on FareHarbor.
Our Google Business Profile package connects Google Things to Do, which puts a free Book button on your Google listing. It’s included when you prepay 3 months or the year.
Setup and working with us
How long does setup take?
7 to 10 business days once we have your photos and trip details.
Texting from your business number goes live once phone carriers approve it, usually within 5 business days and rarely longer. We file that for you during the build.
What do you need from me?
Your photos, trip details, and booking link, access to your Google Business Profile, and a past-guest list if you have one. We handle the rest.
Who will I be working with?
Us. CharterChoice is run by Nick and Jon out of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with our designers and Google Ads specialist.
When you text us, you’re texting a real person.
Reviews
What about bad reviews?
Stop worrying about them. After each trip, guests rate their experience first.
Four and five stars go straight to your Google and Tripadvisor review pages. Anyone under four stars is sent to a private feedback form instead, and you get a text so you can make it right.
Features
Do I have to switch booking systems?
No. If you’re on FareHarbor, FishingBooker, Peek, Xola or another system, we put your booking button on the page.
Don’t take online bookings yet? We set you up on FareHarbor, which is free for you (guests pay a small booking fee), or on a booking calendar built into your site. The monthly report needs FareHarbor for now.
Can I OK each trip before it’s booked?
Yes. Guests can ask for a date through the request form, and you call them back.
Do I keep my website if I cancel?
Yes. If you leave, you keep your website at no charge. Your domain stays yours either way.
Will it put me at the top of Google?
Nobody can promise that. Every trip gets a page built around what guests search for. Where you land also depends on your reviews and how long you’ve run trips.
Is it a chatbot?
No. The guest is talking to you, or anyone you add to the app. The one automatic message goes out if nobody answers in 10 minutes.
What if I don’t see it for hours?
They’ve already had the automatic reply with your booking link. The question waits in the app. Reply when you’re back and it reaches them as a text.
Do I need to be at a computer?
No. It all runs from the app on your phone.
Can someone else answer for me?
Yes. Anyone who answers bookings for you gets the app too.
Do I have to change my number?
No. You keep your number, and your phone still rings first. We add a local number behind it. Calls you don’t answer forward there.
What do I have to set up?
One setting on your phone: forward calls you don’t answer to your new number. We send you the steps for your carrier before your launch call.
When does it start texting?
Once phone carriers OK it. That’s usually within 5 business days, and rarely longer. We file it for you during the build.
Can I keep it from texting certain people?
Yes. Tell us who: staff, family, vendors. They never get an automatic text.
Can guests still leave a bad review on Google?
Anyone can post on Google directly. But the guests we ask rate the trip first, so an unhappy guest reaches you while there’s time to fix it. If a low review does land, you get a text so you can answer it.
Do I have to send anything?
Not if you’re on FareHarbor or our booking calendar. Every trip that ran sends its own ask. Walk-up guest, or on another system? Add their name and number on a short form on your phone.
Do guests who booked through Viator get asked?
Yes, by email when that’s all the booking gives us. They’re sent to Google only.
Won’t the reminders annoy people?
Four at most, over four weeks. They stop once the guest rates the trip or replies.
Does it work with my booking system?
Right now it reads your bookings from FareHarbor. On another system? Ask us on the call.
How do you work out what I saved?
We add up the online bookings on your own site. Then we use the rate a booking site would take. FishingBooker lets captains set 10 to 30 percent. Viator keeps 20 to 30, and up to 35 in some programs.
Do phone bookings count?
No. The saved figure is online bookings on your own site only.
What if my website books nothing that month?
You still get the text. It says so, and it lists what the rest of the system did.
Do I have to log in to anything?
No. It comes to you as a text and an email.
Will this work for me?
To be straight with you, most tourists don’t come back. This works best if you run fishing trips with regulars or have local guests. The review blitz works for anyone.
Do I need a big list?
No. Whatever list you have works.
Do I have to offer a discount?
No. If you want a returning-guest offer, it goes in the text about a year out. If not, the text goes without one.
Do guests from booking sites get these?
Most don’t. Booking sites like Viator hide the guest’s real phone and email, so we can’t reach them. A guest who books direct is one you can reach again.
Who gets the campaign texts?
Campaign emails go to your past guests, with a link to unsubscribe. Campaign texts go only to guests who opted in. Any guest can reply STOP.
Will it take the calls I want to answer?
No. Your phone rings first, and it picks up only when you miss the call. You can pick after hours or every call instead.
Can it book trips directly?
No. It can’t see your open dates. It answers questions and texts the caller your booking link so they can pick a day.
Will callers know it’s not a person?
Yes. It greets them as your virtual assistant and says so if asked. It never claims to be the captain.
Can it transfer a call to me?
No. It texts you instead, and tells the caller you’ll call back.
Does it replace missed-call text-back?
They work together. A call it answers isn’t a missed call, so the caller doesn’t get a second text. When it’s off, text-back runs as usual.
When should I start ads?
Once the base system is working and your reviews are strong. Ads that send guests to a site with no booking and a phone nobody answers are backwards.
Do I have to leave FishingBooker or Viator?
No. They find you guests you’d never reach on your own. This is about the guest who already searched your name.
Can a booking site still show up on my name?
Yes. Anyone can pay to show up on your name, and nobody can promise you the top spot. Your ad makes sure you’re up there too.
Who pays for the ads?
You do, right to Google. What we charge to run them is separate.
Can I pause it?
Yes. Pause it in the off-season and pick it back up when your season starts.
Do you promise bookings from ads?
No. We run the ads and send the traffic to your site. It’s a system, not lead generation.
Do you need my Google password?
No. You add us as a Manager in your Business Profile settings.
Is my listing still mine?
Yes. We work on it as a Manager. It stays yours whatever you do next.
What if I never claimed my listing?
We do it with you. Google sends you a code, and the listing goes in your name.
Will you answer my reviews?
Yes, every one you have today, in your name. New ones after that are yours to answer.
Will this put me at the top of Google Maps?
Nobody can promise the top spot. A full listing helps you rank higher, but Google also looks at how close a guest is and how well known you are.
What if I’m not on FareHarbor?
You still get a Book online button. It goes to your own booking page. Only the free Book button in Google Things to Do needs FareHarbor.
Is it a one-time cost?
Yes. You can add it on your call. Or prepay 3 months or the year and it’s included.
What’s an OTA?
It’s short for online travel agency. It just means a big booking site, like FishingBooker or Viator. Guests find you there, book, and the site keeps a cut.
Will this put me at the top of the list?
Nobody can promise that. Each site ranks boats its own way, by things like your reviews and your history with them. We fix the parts you control.
Do I have to leave FishingBooker or Viator?
No. Stay on them. They find guests you’d never reach on your own.
How long do new listings take?
New listings need each site’s OK, which takes time. Any fees the sites charge are paid by you.
Do you need my logins?
We need a way into each account. Where the site allows it, you add us as a user. If not, we sort it out on a call.
Can I use phone photos?
Yes. Send your best ones in a Dropbox or Google Drive folder.
Is it a one-time cost?
Yes. You can add it on your call, or get it included by paying for the year.
Still have a question?
Email, text, or call. You’ll get a real person.
Want to schedule a time to talk?
Book a 20-minute call with Nick. He’ll answer your questions, show you sites we’ve built for other charters, and tell you straight if it’s a fit.
- Month to month
- No setup fee
- Live in 7 to 10 business days
- You keep your website if you leave
18 onboarding spots available this month
“I spoke with Nick personally. He’s prompt about getting back to me.”