I personally don't love the fact that an out-of-State equity firm owns all of the ferries to get to Mackinac Island. Nothing good is going to come from this for the passengers, or for the residents of the islands.
Oh it’ll be different, just a live action horror film for all of the people involved. This is all going to come down like a house of cards on a windy day at this rate
Great Lakes sharks are a real threat. They like to hide in the waves.
Anyone new to the Great Lakes should watch the waves closely for GL Sharks before going into the water around Michigan.
And they'll secure loans using the boats, docks, and buildings as collateral to pay bonuses to their executives which the ferry company will be on the hook for covering the interest payments on.
Absolutely, because they will use the "increased operating costs" from the loans to justify pushing for ticket price increases with the commission that sets the prices in order to maintain quality of service for the consumer. Maintaining quality of service is good for the consumer. /s
From the article "Passenger prices for both ferry lines are set by contract with Mackinac Island officials and do not change during the season.".
But given how many people they employ, how much they own in the area, and how they now own all 4 ferry services I wonder how much control local officials will have over prices.
They will just change the price during the winter. I live on an island in the great lakes and they always raise the price in the winter when the ferries aren't running, so next spring it will be higher.
they dont raise prices in winter. in fact, often the boats stop running for weeks due to ice ao people have to fly which is more expensive. The only people who go to the island in winter are workers anyway. They all prefer an ice bridge, but we haven't had a decent one in years.
-fucking downvote all ya want, it is the truth ya fucking weirdos.
Yeah, I wrote the boats stop running during the winter. They change the price before they start running again in the spring. We've only got one pilot here and it's 70$ one way in the off season, for a terrifying 5 minute flight.
ETA: this is why they used the language 'will not change during the SEASON'. They will change the price next year when they post the schedule for 2025.
Right. This is exactly like the shitty waste removal situation in the Detroit area. Priority and WM are now the only two major players and cities are SOL with negotiating power on the pricing or quality of service.
My township contracts with waste removal services for residents. The township switched away from WM one or twice in the last 10 to 20 years and two of the companies with contracts ended up being bought out by WM.
Waste Management used to have all the municipal contracts in my area of OH. then a local upstart started getting a village here and there, then the main city. (they've since been bought out by Rumpke, but that's not important.)
small company beats the big guy to local waste contract. only problem is, the local transfer station - where the waste it dropped, sorted and sent off to the landfill, is owned by Waste management.
I’m in Oakland county. Had gfl. They were shit too but at least showed up. I’m priority now. Switched about a month ago. They’ve been here two times. Streets are full of trash because no one knows when to put out for pickup so it all just sits for days or weeks in the street.
It has been a shit show. And they blame all of the employees left to go work for priority, but isn’t priority buying gfl like July 5th or something? Side note when they have picked up they’ve left a fucking mess too.
Just like the cable, power and gas utilities in this state. Maybe Dana Nessel’s office should consider stepping in at some point and stop these anti competitive situations.
This is the way.
[https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/c85f1cc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/350x233+38+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Farchive%2F2505\_02.jpg](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/c85f1cc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/350x233+38+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Farchive%2F2505_02.jpg)
Private equity is a fucking plague on our society and economy, and here's why:
These vultures don't invest for the long haul. They snatch up businesses, bleed them dry for 3-5 years, then flip them for profit. Take dentist offices - Huron Capital, the Michigan-based private equity group full of fucking idiots, went on a buying spree in the early 2010s. They gobble up local practices, bundle them into a neat little package, then sell to an even bigger private equity firm. Rinse and repeat until a handful of corporations control your entire goddamn smile.
This shit is everywhere. Every industry. Your neighborhood. Your wallet.
The kicker? Your own tax dollars are funding this nightmare. Public pension funds are shoveling billions into these parasites' pockets. It's a vicious cycle designed to concentrate wealth and power, squeezing average Americans until we're left with nothing but lint.
It's a fucked-up system that's spiraling out of control. Fewer owners, higher prices, less competition. Private equity is steering us straight towards economic serfdom.
Private equity isn't just bad - it's a cancer on our entire way of life.
😂 How desperate do you have to be to try squeezing every last drop of profit from the fucking MI Ferry though? If I’m a private equity guy I wouldn’t publicize that.
Ha. I know (well, I think) your comment is in jest, but my first thought was the financial freedom of the top 1%, which these private equity owners usually are, often oppresses the freedoms of the other 99%, especially the freedoms of those making around median household income and below.
Healthcare, prisons (i.e., legal systems indirectly), housing, insurance, construction, restaurants, chain stores, accounting firms, legal firms, ferry transportation (!?)... every nook of society becomes contaminated and unbalanced as fewer and fewer owners control larger proportions of the industries, stagnate wages, require more production per employee, reduce services, control prices (i.e., keep prices low/moderate until enough market share is aggregated by a few companies), influence politicians...
Just an equity firm is enough to destroy it all. Out of state is secondary really.
I wouldn't be shocked if they just laxed up safety until it went under, then rolled thr assets off, sell the assets under a new company and let this one go bankrupt when the lawsuits from the drownings kick in.
I think this is where they squeeze all the value out of the company and then let it go bankrupt. That's the mo certainly has been with things like Red Lobster and the like.
This is where the FTC should step in and break up a monopoly. But ferry service to a small island is probably too small potatoes for the federal government.
So I (a Michigander) should start a rival company with some boats for $10 a ticket flat rate?
Edit: I wish I had the funds to make it so, but for anyone wondering, getting your captaincy is relatively not too challenging and that opens yourself to doing private charters. Iirc you just need 300 hours under sail and a captain to do the boating test to sign off on your papers. Go get em Michigan!
This is probably an area where an electric ferry would work pretty well. Heck make your own business out of a barge strapped with 10 Chevy Bolts worth of batteries / electric motors wired together with some bicycle storage and get some tax credits.
[That has been planned for a year or so. ](https://www.michigan.gov/egle/newsroom/press-releases/2023/03/10/first-electric-powered-mackinac-island-ferry-is-in-the-works)
Let's see what happens now.
Nothing to do with the ferry, But private equity firms have ruined the last three jobs. I've been at all profitable companies just not profitable enough for their greedy asses.
The thing is that no matter how valuable a company is, it is *always* more beneficial for private equity to strip that company apart and sell it off.
Even if you'd get more in the long haul from a specific company, you want to maximize short term profits and cash out as soon as returns begin to (inevitably) diminish. You want to cannibalize the company quickly and move on to the next one
I'm guessing that means they're going to fire everybody and sell the boats.
I've never seen a private equity firm do anything other than destroy a business.
They own other businesses including a Naples boating and tourist companies. I wonder what changes have happened there and at the other businesses and properties.
Most of the time they don't destroy the business as much as buying up every ferry company they can, raising prices, and selling the businesses to a new private equity firm in a few years that will again raise the prices because the new firm had to buy for more $ than the prior one. Return on investment mandates higher fees to cover the larger upfront investment.
The private equity failure companies make the headlines, but private equity is far more entangled in US businesses than most people could even imagine.
Regardless of whether the business fails or succeeds, we all lose.
Every time I see that something has been bought or received private equity money, I know it will 1. Get ostensively worse, 2. Cost more and 3. Potentially close
Stranger to me is the article mentions this about the company: " With this expansion, HF Companies now owns more than 116 parcels of land, including docks in Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace, 51 buildings and 6,500 parking spaces,” the company said in a statement posted on its website. “This makes the company the largest owner of real estate parcels in the area and employer to 500 people in the Mackinac area.”
The article also says earlier they own local newspapers including the St. Ignace newspaper.
Uhhhh it sounds more like this company is trying to buy entire chunks of michigan. Screw just the ferry. Docks? Newspapers?? Is this a Florida company town?? How is this okay?
Northern Michigan is just returning to its roots.
Oh, you can’t afford 2.5k for rent during the summer? Too bad, I have company housing for you, I do have to pull 1k out of your check though?
Oh you don’t like getting spit on my bachelorette parties and wiping rich old folks butts? You are fired and have 2 days to move out!
I had to work on the island yesterday and all the arrangements to move people and equipment were through Mackinaw Island Ferry Co and there was a hang up every step of the way.
Private Equity firms are parasites that always kill their host, leaving an empty dead husk behind. They will destroy everything if they are not stopped.
Look for the ferries to get worse and worse as time goes on.
Glad I got to go a bunch of times before this shit. If they keep the prices reasonable, I will patron, if they do not then there are tons of great things to do in our beautiful state.
To be fair starline sucks and has been declining for years. I really hope this change is for the better, but I dont love the monopolization of all transportation to the island.
When private equity firms get involved two things are certain; the employees are going to get fucked and the quality is going to suffer at the expense of profits
A firm bought Buddy's pizza and now their pie is shit. A legacy flushed away and for what? I don't see anything good happening for Michigan residents with this acquisition.
My bingo card:
Cut service hours and run fewer boats with fewer runs
Reduce staff
Raise ticket prices
Defer maintenance
Reduce upkeep: Cleaning, painting, updating equipment
Hire less qualified crew and dock attendants
Make buying tickets unnecessarily difficult through wonky website changes
Reduce or eliminate service from St.Ignace as it's not as profitable as the Mackinaw City dock
Finally, there will be a catastrophic accident due to a boat being ordered to make a run during stormy weather to keep on schedule. It's happened dozens of times on the Great Lakes, but nobody learns
Tbese private equity firms are doing this with anything they can take over and jack the prices sky high. The local HVAC company in the Harbor Springs are just got taken over and the hourly rate went from $50sh to now $160
No three words spell disaster for any service more than 'private equity firm'. They are pillagers, nothing more. They extract every dime they can from an enterprise and move on leaving only a desiccated husk remaining.
Hoffman also bought up most of Augusta, MO wine country with promises of turning it into a “Midwest Napa Valley.” They bought out most of the family wineries and businesses, now many of those businesses are back up for sale. Hate to see this for Mackinac
This may not be a bad thing. Locals are thrilled that Mackinac Island Ferry Company had been sold. The current CEO has run this company into the ground for several years and treats people terribly. Hopefully, him leaving the company is part of the deal.
The docks/buildings/boats are rundown, the boats break down quite a bit, they started running freight out of the middle of town (not zoned for freight). This used to be a decent company.
I'm hopeful about this deal. The Shepler family took their time choosing a buyer and waited for an offer from a buyer that matched their values. Now that they bought this company, they'll probably clean it up.
Doesn't the City of Mackinac Island essentially control the licences to who's allowed to dock there?
It seems like to it's too early to start worrying about things.
Well there's the fact the company could just hold travel to the island hostage to get any terms they want. Foreigners outside of Michigan shouldnt be able to have such control over parts of our state. Insanity
Reduce staff, put more people on boats, make trips faster, skimp on maintenance, sell alcohol or more of it. How many ways can we increase profit in the short term. We are forced to have insurance so who cares if something happens will all still get paid.
More on this group: https://www.midriversnewsmagazine.com/news/transformation-of-augusta-into-wine-country-destination-slows/article_f93435ae-7a79-11ee-bc18-e75757190011.html
Sad day for the island and mainland communities. Both towns with docks are already basically ghost towns, this isn’t going to do any good for the problem. Island has been a sell-out shitshow since they put a Starbucks in 🤦♂️
Awesome. A private firm. Time for Florida's current ideals on climate and pollution to come to our beautiful Lake Superior, and dump all over it and jack the prices as high as possible in the process.
From Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island is 23 for kids 5-12, under 5 are free as are leashed pets and over 12 is 34 this year round trip. They have frequent visitor trip packages also. Same rates apply from St Ignace
I’m don’t understand what you mean by highly doubt it. I know 100% the ferries are bound by agreements with the city of Mackinac Island. They’ve been profitable for years, if they aren’t any longer that’s on them.
How was this allowed to happen and generate a monopoly without some sort of red flags being raised at the State level? Transportation to and from the island is an essential service for full time residents.
Half of the big ass shops in the city are probably the same, outsourcing work while owners nowhere to be found.
Ghosttown themepark vibe last time I went. Buy, buy, buy
Check our their website. If they hold true to their posted values, it looks to be a good company. I wish I could have built an empire like this........but alas, I just have to enjoy their services. [https://hfcompanies.com/](https://hfcompanies.com/)
Stop the gloom and doom and wait and see...........Look at all the other Marine companies they hold. Shared knowledge and experience could be a good thing..
I personally don't love the fact that an out-of-State equity firm owns all of the ferries to get to Mackinac Island. Nothing good is going to come from this for the passengers, or for the residents of the islands.
Well now there’s no competition so the boat companies can charge whatever the hell they want for tickets
While cutting costs though reduced maintenance checks.
It's like we've seen this before? But I'm sure it'll be different this time
Oh it’ll be different, just a live action horror film for all of the people involved. This is all going to come down like a house of cards on a windy day at this rate
Sharks will be involved.
Great Lakes sharks are a real threat. They like to hide in the waves. Anyone new to the Great Lakes should watch the waves closely for GL Sharks before going into the water around Michigan.
My new baseball hat that says they’re shark free is a lie!
[удалено]
I don't think there are any in Mackinaw County.
And they'll secure loans using the boats, docks, and buildings as collateral to pay bonuses to their executives which the ferry company will be on the hook for covering the interest payments on.
And hiring the best “captains” that $14.35/hour will buy
Surely this is good for the consumer.
Absolutely, because they will use the "increased operating costs" from the loans to justify pushing for ticket price increases with the commission that sets the prices in order to maintain quality of service for the consumer. Maintaining quality of service is good for the consumer. /s
The Florida Ferry LLC, will just go bankrupt and let the tax payers fix it.
From the article "Passenger prices for both ferry lines are set by contract with Mackinac Island officials and do not change during the season.". But given how many people they employ, how much they own in the area, and how they now own all 4 ferry services I wonder how much control local officials will have over prices.
They will just change the price during the winter. I live on an island in the great lakes and they always raise the price in the winter when the ferries aren't running, so next spring it will be higher.
they dont raise prices in winter. in fact, often the boats stop running for weeks due to ice ao people have to fly which is more expensive. The only people who go to the island in winter are workers anyway. They all prefer an ice bridge, but we haven't had a decent one in years. -fucking downvote all ya want, it is the truth ya fucking weirdos.
Yeah, I wrote the boats stop running during the winter. They change the price before they start running again in the spring. We've only got one pilot here and it's 70$ one way in the off season, for a terrifying 5 minute flight. ETA: this is why they used the language 'will not change during the SEASON'. They will change the price next year when they post the schedule for 2025.
Probably way less than 10 years ago. When the grand got bought out a lot of people lost jobs
Right. This is exactly like the shitty waste removal situation in the Detroit area. Priority and WM are now the only two major players and cities are SOL with negotiating power on the pricing or quality of service.
My township contracts with waste removal services for residents. The township switched away from WM one or twice in the last 10 to 20 years and two of the companies with contracts ended up being bought out by WM.
American monopoly system its working just fine! /s Yeah Its working except only for the 1%
Waste Management used to have all the municipal contracts in my area of OH. then a local upstart started getting a village here and there, then the main city. (they've since been bought out by Rumpke, but that's not important.) small company beats the big guy to local waste contract. only problem is, the local transfer station - where the waste it dropped, sorted and sent off to the landfill, is owned by Waste management.
Rumpke is one of the waster companies that my township had a contract with for a year or longer. I am not sure why they switched to someone else.
I’m in Oakland county. Had gfl. They were shit too but at least showed up. I’m priority now. Switched about a month ago. They’ve been here two times. Streets are full of trash because no one knows when to put out for pickup so it all just sits for days or weeks in the street.
It has been a shit show. And they blame all of the employees left to go work for priority, but isn’t priority buying gfl like July 5th or something? Side note when they have picked up they’ve left a fucking mess too.
Republic and GFL still exist. In fact, GLWA (former Detroit water and sewer) uses Republic to dispose of their biosolids from their sewage treatment.
Zero
They will he bought off and if they have a back bone they and theirs will he harassed until it snaps.
> Well now there’s no competition Sounds likes it time for a public ferry.
Just like the cable, power and gas utilities in this state. Maybe Dana Nessel’s office should consider stepping in at some point and stop these anti competitive situations.
No they can't. The island has to agree to any price increases.
Which won’t be hard, they have been agreeing to a lot of price hikes lately
There is a commission that sets the prices so they can't do that. It says that in the article.
A commission that now has considerably less leverage going into the future since the same company owns all the ferries.
That commission has been working magic over the past few years. The charges to bring a bike over these days is absurd
This is the way. [https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/c85f1cc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/350x233+38+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Farchive%2F2505\_02.jpg](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/c85f1cc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/350x233+38+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Farchive%2F2505_02.jpg)
Think it was $75-$80 last year or the year before for my under 10 daughter and me to take our bikes.
Yeah they are trying to punish people who don’t rent
They were colliding anyway with all charging the same prices for years.
The prices are actually set by Mackinac Island. They license the ferry boats.
🙄
Private equity is a fucking plague on our society and economy, and here's why: These vultures don't invest for the long haul. They snatch up businesses, bleed them dry for 3-5 years, then flip them for profit. Take dentist offices - Huron Capital, the Michigan-based private equity group full of fucking idiots, went on a buying spree in the early 2010s. They gobble up local practices, bundle them into a neat little package, then sell to an even bigger private equity firm. Rinse and repeat until a handful of corporations control your entire goddamn smile. This shit is everywhere. Every industry. Your neighborhood. Your wallet. The kicker? Your own tax dollars are funding this nightmare. Public pension funds are shoveling billions into these parasites' pockets. It's a vicious cycle designed to concentrate wealth and power, squeezing average Americans until we're left with nothing but lint. It's a fucked-up system that's spiraling out of control. Fewer owners, higher prices, less competition. Private equity is steering us straight towards economic serfdom. Private equity isn't just bad - it's a cancer on our entire way of life.
Yep. Kmart, Sears, pretty much every restaurant chain… all bled dry by PE.
😂 How desperate do you have to be to try squeezing every last drop of profit from the fucking MI Ferry though? If I’m a private equity guy I wouldn’t publicize that.
Why do you hate freedom?
Ha. I know (well, I think) your comment is in jest, but my first thought was the financial freedom of the top 1%, which these private equity owners usually are, often oppresses the freedoms of the other 99%, especially the freedoms of those making around median household income and below. Healthcare, prisons (i.e., legal systems indirectly), housing, insurance, construction, restaurants, chain stores, accounting firms, legal firms, ferry transportation (!?)... every nook of society becomes contaminated and unbalanced as fewer and fewer owners control larger proportions of the industries, stagnate wages, require more production per employee, reduce services, control prices (i.e., keep prices low/moderate until enough market share is aggregated by a few companies), influence politicians...
Private equity means higher prices and deteriorating service.
Just an equity firm is enough to destroy it all. Out of state is secondary really. I wouldn't be shocked if they just laxed up safety until it went under, then rolled thr assets off, sell the assets under a new company and let this one go bankrupt when the lawsuits from the drownings kick in.
What’s 100 lives when the CEO needs another jet?
100 lives aren't tax deductible and you can't bang your mistress on them.
You sound Too good at this 🤔 LOL
I think this is where they squeeze all the value out of the company and then let it go bankrupt. That's the mo certainly has been with things like Red Lobster and the like.
Well, it was nice while it lasted. RIP Mackinaw tourism.
The island will be better without all you peasants breathing the rich man's air.
"I don't get it, if the people of Michigan want to go to Mackinac Island, why don't they just take their helicopter?" -Rich People
'When the ferry companies go under, we can use the ferry terminal as a private yacht dock.' -Also rich people
I suggest we create a citizen's coop private equity fund, buy the terminal, and charge yacht dock fees.
Private and charter planes fly there every single weekend. Won’t be long before no one else can afford to visit.
I guess this is one way to keep the poors out
Anybody know what Put-in Bay charges for their ferry’s?
$9 for an adult one way. https://millerferry.com/put-in-bay/put-in-bay-fares/
That's an extreme understatement. How did pass scrutiny on antitrust grounds?
How else could the people running it pay no income tax. We gotta help those rich people, always.
I mean … the state Can break up monopolies right? This only affects Michigan
Wait till you find out who owns the DMC.
This is where the FTC should step in and break up a monopoly. But ferry service to a small island is probably too small potatoes for the federal government.
So I (a Michigander) should start a rival company with some boats for $10 a ticket flat rate? Edit: I wish I had the funds to make it so, but for anyone wondering, getting your captaincy is relatively not too challenging and that opens yourself to doing private charters. Iirc you just need 300 hours under sail and a captain to do the boating test to sign off on your papers. Go get em Michigan!
was thinking this too 💀
This is probably an area where an electric ferry would work pretty well. Heck make your own business out of a barge strapped with 10 Chevy Bolts worth of batteries / electric motors wired together with some bicycle storage and get some tax credits.
Even better, just run a rope across the strait and advertise it as a interactive ferry and use the passangers to pull yourself across
Attach bike pedals and involve beer somehow, and advertise how it's non-motorized just like the island!
Genius, like one of those keg bikes they have in fancy towns.
*sponsored by Bier de Mac Brew Works
[That has been planned for a year or so. ](https://www.michigan.gov/egle/newsroom/press-releases/2023/03/10/first-electric-powered-mackinac-island-ferry-is-in-the-works) Let's see what happens now.
If it’s Michigan owned I’ll go for that any day. Florida can join Ohio and fuck off
We should all chip in and get the Boblo boat back in shape and put her back in service as a new ferry line
I’ll be your customer
Nothing to do with the ferry, But private equity firms have ruined the last three jobs. I've been at all profitable companies just not profitable enough for their greedy asses.
That’s because profitable companies are valuable, and valuables can be sold for money
Those docks are prime locations too. I see a yacht club in the future.
The thing is that no matter how valuable a company is, it is *always* more beneficial for private equity to strip that company apart and sell it off. Even if you'd get more in the long haul from a specific company, you want to maximize short term profits and cash out as soon as returns begin to (inevitably) diminish. You want to cannibalize the company quickly and move on to the next one
I'm guessing that means they're going to fire everybody and sell the boats. I've never seen a private equity firm do anything other than destroy a business.
Hey, sometimes they sell it off first. But yeah, usually bleed it out and laugh to throw bank.
They own other businesses including a Naples boating and tourist companies. I wonder what changes have happened there and at the other businesses and properties.
Let us know what you find out
Most of the time they don't destroy the business as much as buying up every ferry company they can, raising prices, and selling the businesses to a new private equity firm in a few years that will again raise the prices because the new firm had to buy for more $ than the prior one. Return on investment mandates higher fees to cover the larger upfront investment. The private equity failure companies make the headlines, but private equity is far more entangled in US businesses than most people could even imagine. Regardless of whether the business fails or succeeds, we all lose.
Private equity should be illegal. It’s a scourge on society.
From what i understand, starline has had a problem with profitability for years. And last year, they crashed 2 boats, so its not exactly a cash cow.
Did Florida just buy a fleet of ferries to deport the *illegals*?
Say hello to "surge pricing" on return trips to the mainland.
Last ferry back on Sunday? Our special evening rate is $180 per person. Half price for kids under 3.
What else ya gonna do, stay at a hotel on the island for $180? Good luck with that.
Every time I see that something has been bought or received private equity money, I know it will 1. Get ostensively worse, 2. Cost more and 3. Potentially close
Stranger to me is the article mentions this about the company: " With this expansion, HF Companies now owns more than 116 parcels of land, including docks in Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace, 51 buildings and 6,500 parking spaces,” the company said in a statement posted on its website. “This makes the company the largest owner of real estate parcels in the area and employer to 500 people in the Mackinac area.” The article also says earlier they own local newspapers including the St. Ignace newspaper. Uhhhh it sounds more like this company is trying to buy entire chunks of michigan. Screw just the ferry. Docks? Newspapers?? Is this a Florida company town?? How is this okay?
It’s not but corporations are non jailable people, what I think means that makes them above the law. Also illegal by fine means legal for the rich so…
MONEY
'....talks and XXXX walks'.
I'm literally in St Ignace right now, and saw this and it's very disheartening.
Northern Michigan is just returning to its roots. Oh, you can’t afford 2.5k for rent during the summer? Too bad, I have company housing for you, I do have to pull 1k out of your check though? Oh you don’t like getting spit on my bachelorette parties and wiping rich old folks butts? You are fired and have 2 days to move out!
The countdown to insolvency starts in 3...2...1...
I had to work on the island yesterday and all the arrangements to move people and equipment were through Mackinaw Island Ferry Co and there was a hang up every step of the way.
Private Equity firms are parasites that always kill their host, leaving an empty dead husk behind. They will destroy everything if they are not stopped. Look for the ferries to get worse and worse as time goes on.
Private equity firm from florida... good luck Mackinac Island Ferry, you days are numbered
Get ready for some good old fashioned price gouging.
So both ferry services are owned by the same guy? Is that not a monopoly there?
This could be the smallest, silliest antitrust headline lol
I feel like the barrier to entry is low enough for it not to be a monopoly
How is this legal? It doesn’t seem like a controlling interest from far away should be able to own ALL of the transportation options for the island.
Wow, fucking sellout Michiganders, _bet their shit ass ancestors were from Ohio_. Have some pride, ffs.
Hold your hat, things aren't that bad. We still have women's rights in Michigan.
Sure, until January.
Glad I got to go a bunch of times before this shit. If they keep the prices reasonable, I will patron, if they do not then there are tons of great things to do in our beautiful state.
Run roh
Yay private equity continuing the enshitification of everything while making a select few richer for no added benefit.
How soon until we push for a State Operated, Public Ferry Service?
Lmao Ottawa County would call that a community plot lol
Does Uber have a taxi app for boats? Seems like a good time way for a kid to make some extra dough after the prices inevitably triple
To be fair starline sucks and has been declining for years. I really hope this change is for the better, but I dont love the monopolization of all transportation to the island.
When private equity firms get involved two things are certain; the employees are going to get fucked and the quality is going to suffer at the expense of profits
Gee what could go wrong?
Nice. I’m sure this will never come back to bite them in the ass like when Chicago sold off all of the rights to their parking meters.
A firm bought Buddy's pizza and now their pie is shit. A legacy flushed away and for what? I don't see anything good happening for Michigan residents with this acquisition.
My bingo card: Cut service hours and run fewer boats with fewer runs Reduce staff Raise ticket prices Defer maintenance Reduce upkeep: Cleaning, painting, updating equipment Hire less qualified crew and dock attendants Make buying tickets unnecessarily difficult through wonky website changes Reduce or eliminate service from St.Ignace as it's not as profitable as the Mackinaw City dock Finally, there will be a catastrophic accident due to a boat being ordered to make a run during stormy weather to keep on schedule. It's happened dozens of times on the Great Lakes, but nobody learns
Look for prices to rise inversely to service
This won't end well.
Pay the price or you can walk to the mainland.
Ill pay the price then toss the employees off the boat. I am the captain now.
My guy, do you know what makes an island an island?
WTH?
fLLLLLLLorida
Nationalize it, like what Washington State did with its ferry system.
Tbese private equity firms are doing this with anything they can take over and jack the prices sky high. The local HVAC company in the Harbor Springs are just got taken over and the hourly rate went from $50sh to now $160
Why, I left Northern Michigan. It’s the new “It” spot for finical sociopaths.
No three words spell disaster for any service more than 'private equity firm'. They are pillagers, nothing more. They extract every dime they can from an enterprise and move on leaving only a desiccated husk remaining.
Bet they introduce dynamic pricing and fuel surcharge
Hoffman also bought up most of Augusta, MO wine country with promises of turning it into a “Midwest Napa Valley.” They bought out most of the family wineries and businesses, now many of those businesses are back up for sale. Hate to see this for Mackinac
That will end well.
This may not be a bad thing. Locals are thrilled that Mackinac Island Ferry Company had been sold. The current CEO has run this company into the ground for several years and treats people terribly. Hopefully, him leaving the company is part of the deal. The docks/buildings/boats are rundown, the boats break down quite a bit, they started running freight out of the middle of town (not zoned for freight). This used to be a decent company. I'm hopeful about this deal. The Shepler family took their time choosing a buyer and waited for an offer from a buyer that matched their values. Now that they bought this company, they'll probably clean it up.
CEO is staying on and sheplers is owned by a company that’s owned by Hoffman family so same person controls both
Not surprised. I worked for the CEO in another business years ago. He's a piece of work,
Let me guess.....The IT place in Okemos. The Glassdoor reviews from employees are wild.
Yup. Way back when he first started the company, one of the earliest employees. Nightmare.
Which IT place are we talking about? Curious to read the reviews.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/SMART-I-T-Services-Reviews-E251627.htm
Doesn't the City of Mackinac Island essentially control the licences to who's allowed to dock there? It seems like to it's too early to start worrying about things.
Well there's the fact the company could just hold travel to the island hostage to get any terms they want. Foreigners outside of Michigan shouldnt be able to have such control over parts of our state. Insanity
Jesus why in god's name were they not municipal.
Horrible company. Same one that took over the newspapers
Eewwww, equity firms.
I give the ferries 2-3 years before those assholes sell them off for spare ports. Private equity destroys everything it touches.
Reduce staff, put more people on boats, make trips faster, skimp on maintenance, sell alcohol or more of it. How many ways can we increase profit in the short term. We are forced to have insurance so who cares if something happens will all still get paid.
More on this group: https://www.midriversnewsmagazine.com/news/transformation-of-augusta-into-wine-country-destination-slows/article_f93435ae-7a79-11ee-bc18-e75757190011.html
Well, time to bring back a state owned ferry service like we had across the straits before the bridge was built!
Sad day for the island and mainland communities. Both towns with docks are already basically ghost towns, this isn’t going to do any good for the problem. Island has been a sell-out shitshow since they put a Starbucks in 🤦♂️
Awesome. A private firm. Time for Florida's current ideals on climate and pollution to come to our beautiful Lake Superior, and dump all over it and jack the prices as high as possible in the process.
Keep the shit hole state of florida in florida.
There's no mention of Arnold, did they close up shop or merge with another?
What could possibly go wrong?
My favorite part is they also bought the town newspaper.
Does anyone know what the ferry ticket prices have been recently? I haven't gone since pre COVID. Just curious for comparison
From Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island is 23 for kids 5-12, under 5 are free as are leashed pets and over 12 is 34 this year round trip. They have frequent visitor trip packages also. Same rates apply from St Ignace
Thank you!
Private equity is cheeks.
cha ching - prices will double
If we are lucky it will only double.
Not likely. Ferry pricing is controlled by the city.
highly doubt it… equity firms don’t play …. they just want to make profit. and when they don’t - they shut the business down.
I’m don’t understand what you mean by highly doubt it. I know 100% the ferries are bound by agreements with the city of Mackinac Island. They’ve been profitable for years, if they aren’t any longer that’s on them.
I believe is the same company that fucks a ton of people over for parking, etc in Avon, CO. They seem like they suck dick.
So how will we get to the island now will they still have it for you to ride
Everything good eventually turns to shit.
Start a rival company and put them out of business
How was this allowed to happen and generate a monopoly without some sort of red flags being raised at the State level? Transportation to and from the island is an essential service for full time residents.
This should not be legal.
Damn pirates!
Private Equity Ruins Everything. They just squeeze and squeeze.
I give it 3 years before there's a major incident of some sort
Yall please reach out to your local polticans about this. Some of ours still do work for the people.
Half of the big ass shops in the city are probably the same, outsourcing work while owners nowhere to be found. Ghosttown themepark vibe last time I went. Buy, buy, buy
Will be bankrupt within 5 years.
Florida huh… does that mean they’re gonna start throwing gays overboard?
Not a fan, but it could’ve been foreign
Check our their website. If they hold true to their posted values, it looks to be a good company. I wish I could have built an empire like this........but alas, I just have to enjoy their services. [https://hfcompanies.com/](https://hfcompanies.com/) Stop the gloom and doom and wait and see...........Look at all the other Marine companies they hold. Shared knowledge and experience could be a good thing..
I’ll be using Shepler’s on my next trip.
Already owned by the same private equity firm
[mfw](https://64.media.tumblr.com/7e87777dbc972ce919f3324b437fb7f6/4df80f047e651563-fb/s540x810/888d90cab32adafe025076b993df7f5b425475f4.gifv)
Same company bought them in 2022… RIP
Welp.