Boating rentals on decline at Lake Mead

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Houseboats at Callville Bay are lined up and ready to go but this year rentals were down. It’s the first year businesses have seen a decline in houseboating rentals in the last 5 or 6 years.

Lake Mead Mohave Adventures has a fleet of over 50 boats. 35 of them are houseboats and another 20 are smaller recreational boats.

Chad Taylor with Lake Mead Mohave Adventures said the low water levels didn’t help the situation but the biggest factor was the surge in fuel prices.

“As fuel prices started climbing in March we actively started seeing cancellations,” he said.

FOX5 asked Taylor what he thinks changed.

“At its peak going into spring fuel prices were probably almost double, pretty significant when you have a 500-gallon tank on a houseboat,” Taylor added.

Taylor admits it would have been hard to match the rental numbers from 2020 and 2021 when COVID shut down everything except their houseboat rentals.

As demand is outpacing supply he’s hopeful 2023 will be a better year.

Lake Mead Mohave Adventures isn’t the only option for houseboat rentals. Over at Cottonwood Cove, they have another 20 boats.

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