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In the last 15 years at Rodriquez Consulting we have served a variety of yacht charter companies and private owners who were keen on chartering their yachts.  We have created a Yacht Charter Business Plan download because more often than not we are asked to help them with their business plan but often times startups can’ afford to rely entirely on our team from the start so we decided to poor in some of our knowledge into a ready made starting point.  Undoubtedly the question we are asked most often is:

Is yacht charter profitable and/or is it a good business to get in? or Can investing in yacht charter be profitable in some ways?

In many industries the above questions would be rather simple to answer. However, in the yachting industry answering these questions with anything else other than “It depends..” requires us to get into a great level of details. At the very least, we need to get into the specifics of the size segment you choose, the primary geographic area and the yacht charter business model that you intend to implement.

Geography, Business Model, Size Segment of the yacht/boat/vessel

To most people Yacht Charter rates seem to be very high as an absolute per-week-value, but are they high enough when you consider the cost of the asset/s (the yacht/s) and its running costs? The latter can have a very large range as variable costs depending on how and where the vessel is managed and can make a significant difference. Ultimately, it the acquisition price (the price of the vessel) that is crucial but the variable and fix costs are the ones that can determine whether the operation (your yacht charter business) is profitable or not.  If you are looking to build a business plan to charter yachts and get in the business this article will be useful, however, you might want to contact us for more ad-hoc support. Read more

Our team has been on both buy side (pre-purchase surveyors and advisors) and sell side of numerous vessels bough and sold through auctions. Yachts and commercial vessels of various size and conditions have gone through our desk. We have been able to observe, evaluate and appreciate all the advantages and disadvantages of buying and selling through auctions. Our final conclusion, after weighting pros and cons, is that it is probably the very best way to sell or buy a vessel. Regardless, if you are a broker or professional or if you are the principal (buyer or seller). In this post we would like to give you the details and reasons why we came to such conclusion.

Why are yacht auctions great if you are a seller:

  1. TIME:

    Some data published by large yacht broker house suggest that over a certain size ( 30mt ) the average time to sell a yacht is 18 months from its first listing now this likely to be 50%-60% less at about 6 – 9 months for vessels between 13-25 meters but this is an even more price sensitive segment. The sale average time an auction is 1 – 1.5 months as published by YachtBid.com who in the last 5 years managed to sell 85% of the vessels auctioned.

  2. THE COST OF TIME FOR ON THE SELLER

    It goes without saying that yachts/vessels have running costs every month even at the dock. To simplify let’s assume 10% a year of the value of the yacht is the burning rate of the vessel X valued at 1 million euros. (without taking into account weather-induced damage that may occur when a yacht is idle and/or unattended and is not always covered by insurance) So €100k in running cost per year means that if the sale process takes 6 months the seller has an added cost of €50’000 + the risk and potential cost of weather-induced damages. This means that an offer of 950k in one month from the auction start is as valuable (if not more) than €1 million 6 months later.

  3. THE COST OF TIME FOR THE BROKER (viewings):

    Auctions have set viewing dates and a limited amount of time to schedule extra viewings or inspections by definition therefore the people that are interested in viewing a vessel (and eventually do a sea trial, inspection survey) have a limited amount of time to schedule it so they are forced to be decisive and efficient about it. Such process also proves how serious a buyer is about the vessel.  A limited viewing and inspection time frame saves hundreds of hours and thousands of euros (especially if the vessel is far from the broker/seller) in travel costs for each individual that expresses some interest in the vessel and may also be just day-dreaming that one day he/she may buy it and truly just using the Yacht viewing as an excuse to take a holiday in some lovely yachting destination where the vessel is located.

  4. PRICE AND PAYMENTS:

    The general notion is that at auction you buy at a lower price. In most cases this may as well be true, however because of; 1) the running cost and added depreciation and decay a vessel can quickly generate costing a lot to the owner and 2) the negative effect that it can have on value to see a boat listed for sale for a year or more. At auction you may just end up getting a much more fair treatment by the market. There is also the issue of payment terms.

    A lot of buyer and sellers agree on some instalments with a lump sum at the beginning. In the case of auction the buyer has to have already arranged to have the full amount. He/she will need to wire the full amount by auction end. This amount is invoiced by the auction house and received in full. The auction house acts as an escrow account. The seller at this point signs a document, whereby he/she/they take delivery of the vessel and full charge of all associated costs and liabilities. Once that is signed the auction house immediately wires the full amount to the seller, without any further hassle or delays and usually within 48hours the full amount is available in the seller bank account.

  5. RESERVE PRICE AND OFFERS TOO LOW: 

    Auctions can run in two ways either with a low base price and a hidden reserve price above which the seller implicitly accepts the offers exceeding such reserve price or with a slightly higher base price and no reserve price at all whereby the seller reserves the right to accept or refuse the highest offer. Auctions have a setup cost just like on ebay. However, on such high ticket items it is very minor. It barely even compares to the cost of showing a boat to 15 different people in the course of 6 months even if that means fuel cost only to the boat and back.


Why are yacht auctions great if you are a buyer:

Let us tell you a real story: once we were instructed as surveyors from an English buyer to do a pre-purchase survey on a 1991 Italian-built 87 feet fly bridge yacht laying in the port of Ibiza, the asking price was €400k it had some work to do but it was sea worthy nonetheless, furthermore, it had 77 days of day charter fees to showcase for at an average price of 6,000 euros/day so the numbers showed it was quite a good deal. We conducted a full pre-purchase survey we delivered the report to the client and the client instructed us as buyer representatives to complete the transaction with the selling broker offering the full asking price to be paid in one payment only. In other words, the ideal situation for a seller.

The asking price paid in full nearly no negotiations, other than the mooring, the buyer wanted to take too. We did as instructed and we were fully paid for our surveyor services + the travel costs of course. We offered the full amount to the seller and the seller almost literally disappeared for 2 months after. So to sum-up the buyer had spent money with us + taken days to come and see the boat. He sustained the cost of sea trial. However, the buyer could not complete the sale for reasons that were completely  unexpected. Later on the seller re-appeared proposing a Spanish-only vessel sale agreement. The seller wanted the full payment before signing a change of ownership commitment. Clearly that was not conceivable for an English client even if one assumes good faith.

  1. BUYER HAS SAFETY OF SMOOTH TRANSACTION:

    At auction the process is clear. Agreements are standardised to international legal standards. The process is explained clearly from the very beginning. There can be no surprises or changes of mind. Once the highest bidder offer has been officially accepted (within max 48 hour from auction closing). The buyer money is safely kept in escrow in a dedicated account until the buyer is signing the delivery. Once the seller has verified that the specification and pre-purchase inspection match the condition at delivery and inventory that constitutes part of the sale. The boat changes hands.

  2. PRICE: 

    Some auctions are done because sellers wants out fast. He/she is willing to take a little less money  than the market value, but faster. Some other auction require a fast sale because of a bankruptcy of a company. Some other maybe because of a divorce case, that imposes turning assets into liquidity. In some other cases boats require work. So the new owner must be someone who has the knowledge, time or simply willingness to carry on such works. In the majority of auction there is a price advantage as a buyer. The ability to act fast and buy quickly always brings a price advantage to the buyer. Furthermore, the YachtBid.com team for instance has careful consideration that the description of the vessel matches the most recent status of the vessel if a vessel is listed for sale for 9 months the pictures and videos you see may not match reality anymore so price becomes an issue of lengthy and tiring negotiations.

  3. VIEWINGS AND INSPECTIONS: 

    At auction the buyer can simply book one of the viewing dates. Otherwise he can schedule make an appointment to view the boat. The vessel and professional personnel is ready and available to show the vessel. In private sales, without a nearby broker fully appointed with keys to the vessel. It is often difficult to schedule a viewing. Futhermore most likely the seller doesn’t have much time to use the vessel. Therefore, he/she is quite busy and hard to reach.

The value of rarity in Yacht Auction: Yachts have History with Celebrities

When it comes to yachts oftentimes they are unique and not part of production series. Some of them have the added value of some very special owners or guests in their history. For instance on YachtBid.com very recently former Frank Sinatra and Virna Lisi’s yacht was sold (see image below)

Frank Sinatra YACHT

NORDIC STAR FORMERLY OWNED BY FRANK SINATRA AND COMMISSIONED NEW BY VIRNA LISI

If you are the owner of a vessel interested to sell through auction contact us directly Auctions@RodriquezConsulting.com or phone +44(0)7445308622


If you are an established broker or a marine professional and you would to establish a working relationship for multiple auctions where you are the presenting broker email Malta@yachtbid.com or phone  +31 (0) 20 8945579 

 

The yacht charter business is growing at an unprecedented level. Some sources report over 25% more sales this very season, it’s too early to say but we believe a 20% increase will be very realistic when we crunch the numbers at the end of the season. Surely there is an after effect of the COVID pandemic, after all being at sea is the ultimate luxurious isolation practice but there is more to it in our opinion.

Unless you live in a cave or haven’t been on land for months now, you may have heard about the TV series called Below Deck available on Amazon Prime. 

The show was developed by Mark Cronin, Rebecca Taylor Henning & Doug Henning who we publicly thank for the great idea and effort.

Are we fans? Of course we are. Not to mention we appreciate that the show does highlight for most viewers that running charter operations is a serious business and to do it right it takes effort and dedication like any other business. If you put aside for a moment the glamorous aspect of yachting, crewing and gathering to guests’ needs is a serious business and the crew has a key role in it.

Below Deck is now at Season 7

Yes there are 7 seasons already, we not experts in entertainment, but it seems clear to us that it’s a a successful series.

Let’s take at the yachts involved and shed some clarity to these vessels actual value in charter fees in case you are wondering, but also what would it take to purchase one of these vessels. 

Season Yacht Real Name Length Charter Rate
1 Honor Lumiere 163.8’ From $175,000/week
2 Ohana Rhino 154’ From $140,000/week
3 Eros Mustang Sally 161’ From €175,000/week
4 Valor BG 153.9’ Not Available
5 Valor BG 153.9’ Not Available
Mediterranean 1 Ionian Princess Ionian Princess 150’ From €145,000/week
Mediterranean 2 Sirocco Sirocco 154.2′ From €180,000/week
Mediterranean 3 Talisman Maiton Talisman Maiton 177.1′ From €231,000/week

All these fees usually come with a 20-30% APA which is a deposit to cover fuel and provisions and charter guests actually get reimbursed (if anything is left) of any amount of these funds that is not spent during their holiday aboard the yacht. This fund usually also covers mooring fees in destinations that are different from the home port where the vessel actually is based and will return to at the end of the charter period.

M/Y Luimiere (Honor in Below Deck) 50m Benetti 1999 – $175k/Week + Expenses

Motor Yacht Honor (Lumiere) from Below Deck

Motor Yacht Honor (Lumiere) from Below Deck

This vessel was built by Benetti 1999 – It seems that the vessel sold right after the show aired for an amount close to $15M USD. The new owner also has taken the yacht for a full refit. The Yacht is almost 50 meters in length and as a reference cost of a similar built in Italy (where Benetti is based) a new built would be costing in the area of USD 35-45 million depending on the specifications – As a reference project B.NOW due for launch in 2022 is priced at €32M (approx 38M USD)

In the second season the M/Y Ohana is actually a vessel called M/Y RHINO

M/Y RHINO (Ohana in Below Deck) 46.9m Admiral 1998 – $140k/Week + Expenses

M/Y Ohana (Rhino) from Below Deck

M/Y Ohana (Rhino) from Below Deck – Admiral built

Italian built M/Y Rhino from the second season of Below Deck is an Admiral yacht construction.

with some beautiful decks typical of Italian-built yachts and a horseshoe outdoor bar,  after the show aired in 2014, M/Y Rhino (Ohana in the Tv series)  underwent an extensive retrofit.

She now has an updated interior with a modern to it, as well as new hardware, including a state-of-the-art stabilisation system.

If we were to give an approximate value to this vessel (used) we would place it below the €20 milion mark.

M/Y MUSTANG SALLY (EROS in Below Deck) 49.07m Trinity Yacht 2008 -€175k per week

Trinity Yachts built Mustang Sally, is motor yacht EROS

Built in U.S. by Trinity Yachts despite its very European exterior lines, this nearly 50m yacht was not available for charter recently however, it is now at a published price of €175,000k per week. Originally built in 2008 it underwent a significant refit in 2015. With this yacht we are already in the $30M plus category in terms of new built .

M/Y VALOR (Real name M/Y BG CHARADE) Season 4,5 46.9m Feadship Yacht 1990


M/Y VALOR

This Feadship built yacht is what we consider a classic. Built originally in 1990 it carries its age beautifully. It’s part of Bobby Genovese’s group which also includes a Lazzara LSX75.  This is a very smart investment because its classic lines and its very roomy interior is the type of motor-yacht that you can acquire for a relatively low price and refit in a smart way so not to spend more than one should. The result is a a very sizeable yacht that charters well and delivers a charter experience that is not second to much more expensive and recent yachts.

The Yachts of Below Deck mediterranean:

 

M/Y Ionian Princess 45.72 Christensen/Palmer Johnson 45.72m  2005 – €145,000/week

If you ask us this Christensen/Palmer and Johnson is much older than 2005 as most resources seem to suggest. Its classic lines suggest a vessel that was designed in the early 1990 or so. However, U.S. built yachts tend to have a more classic look than European ones, therefore we are not surprised. As the name suggests this vessel is has Greece and Croatia as their main cruising grounds.

M/Y Scirocco 47m  Hessen 45.72m  2006 – €180,000/week

Currently for sale with a price tag of 17M euros this 2006 Hessen Yacht is a bit of a special one being entirely built in Aluminium. We highly appreciate Hessen yachts built quality their dutch based shipyard is as experienced as the others but with a special focus on more difficult materials such as aluminium.

M/Y Talisman 54.2m  Proteksan   2006 – €231,000/week

 

Below deck yacht talisman

Built in 2006 in Turkey by the well known Proteksan shipyard, then refitted in 2012 this Yacht is offered for charter and it is indeed the most expensive of the above mentioned and also the largest. Well above the 50 meters mark this is the biggest Yacth of the lot and seems to have a very reasonable fuel efficiency with  230liters/hour despite being not too young any more.

The Yacht of Below Deck – Sailing Yacht :

S/Y Parsifal III 54.2m  Perini Navi   2005 – $195,000/week

Parsifal 3 is the classic example of the lines that made Perini Navi (its builder) a world class builder of what we call super sailers. Superyacht that are NOT motor yacht are also a current trend, and a very smart choice for charter guests thanks to a much reduced fuel cost for longer cruises with speeds that are not that much below the Motor yacht ones.  A very similar Yacth in good condition would be between € 14-18m and a more recent one like the 58 meters 2015 built Perseus 3 has an asking price above €27 millions.

What other costs are paid by the Charter Guests other than the tips ?

Yachts of this size usually require an APA between 15 and 30% (of the overall charter cost) – this is a fund that the charter guests (client) pays upfront as a fund for mooring fees, food and drinks, fuel, and other ancillary costs that the crew will pay without disturbing the guests during the holiday. Whatever amounts are left are usually returned to the guests.

How long is a charter on Below Deck ?

Charters are mostly sold by week but may sometimes be as short as 1 day or a few days.

Is a yacht charter a profitable business ?

We have a full article on on this topic please click here 

 

 

You may have heard of it or not but if you are intrigued by water toys this is the king of them all well over $100,000 for a new one. The Seabreacher is the only mechanical dolphin made for 2 passengers there is out there that we know off.

We never heard anybody saying how boring it is, and although we realise it might not exactly be what you would define ‘useful’, it surely is a LOT of fun to play with. It’s also very rare to come by so in our view a very good toy to rent out if you are running charter operations.

It’s on all American product that doesn’t really have any competitors and truly packs up a lot of hydrodynamic smart engineering. See more at https://seabreacher.com

The specs and details of the unit that is going to be up for aucti0n:

Specifications

Model: Seabreacher Z
Shipyard
Innespace
Length (m):5.08 m
Width (m): 1.06 m
Draft max (m): 0.50 m
Cabins 1 – 2 seats
Hull material: GRP (Polyester)
Year built: 2018
Number of engines :1
Brand:Rotax 300 hp 300.00
Fuel: petrol
Berth:Netherlands
Seabreacher for sale on auction Seabreacher for sale

Contact us if you would like to present an offer: – Auction starts at €25’000

Planning to buy a yacht to start yacht/boat charter business can be very tricky. There is hardly a one-size-fits-all solution. For this reason we have created a Guide on how to choose your boat (Read this article) and if you want to crunch the numbers to charter your boat/s throughout the year we have developed a customisable Yacht Charter business plan [See Below] template on Excel (Click here to go to the product) which you can download and customise.

You could be choosing the yacht charter business as a lifestyle business or retirement plan or you maybe  you are planning to launch a new concept with innovative features to bring a breath of fresh air to the industry in any case we are here to help and always happy to hear from entrepreneurs and yachting enthusiasts.

Even with a fully developed excel model you can find it tricky to make it work, thus, we have decided to include in the price of the Yacht Charter Business Plan Template, a 30-minute consultation so that we can help you get started or check your plan once you have filled it in with your data. Once you purchased the Yacht Charter Business plan package that includes the consultation [See product description below] we will get in touch with you within 24hr from your purchase to make sure the consultation is on schedule at your most convenient time.

Take a look at the reviews on our Facebook business page

Rodriquez Consulting Facebook Page Reviews

Every area of the world is different and every boat has its own requirements, so among the many things we can check for you is the value of the vessel you have put your eyes on, your expectation as to how many weeks of charter you can expect to sell, the maintenance costs in the area you are planning to keep and/or operate the vessel, your crew costs and many other elements that can make your operations and business successful or not.]

Furthermore, we will point you in the right direction in terms of marketing tools, platforms that you can use to advertise your charter offering and tips on how to create a unique experience and stand out from all other boats offered in your area/s of choice. We will also be able to let you have discounted offer on marketing and advertising product that will enable you to get the word out fast.

Don’t miss the opportunity to have our experienced team check your business plan and advise you on a 1-1 basis on the best way to proceed, choose your boat, manage the vessel, and market your charter business efficiently.  A lot of yacht charter industry leaders have already used our services and have reached great results.

If instead you have quite a bit of experience in business planning and you feel you don’t need our support just now you can download our Yacht charter business plan Excel File-only version and get started. You can always get in touch with us later on in case you would like our help in one or more aspects of your yacht charter business.

 

The continuous growth in technology and globalization has led to numerous changes in the ways people do business, and this means that marketers need to be prepared for the change too. 

In this case, if you are that marine marketer who wants his 2019 to be successful, get to understand the following trends that will change your marketing experience. 

If you are writing your Yacht Charter Business Plan or another type of business plan in the yachting industry we are sure that taking into account these 4 trends will be helpful.

These changes include the growing cloud, artificial intelligence, machine learning, numerous app launches and the unexpected change in consumer preferences. Every marketer will have to consider all these trends to help them continue thriving in the changing business world. 

The Need for Better Customer Experience

Customer experience made a big difference in the year 2018, and it is obvious that it is going to do the same in the year 2019 for every marketer. 

Customer experience  where the marketer focuses on providing personalized customer experience while meeting their expectations rather than just selling products or services. 

When you, as a marine marketer, focus on putting the needs of the customers in all marketing channels first, it is guaranteed that you will attain their loyalty and retain them. 

Customers do not want to hear your selling pitch that only talks about your products and services, but they would like to know why and how these products will be of help to them. 

The main thing here is to ensure that your experience with customers is consistent and unified in all touch points and everything you use in your marketing campaign is relevant to them. 

The Power Of Word Of Mouth

In today’s digital world, a lot seems to happen on the internet including marketing. And while the internet can be a good channel to boost your marine marketing, some pitfalls come with it. 

For instance, most companies tend to send emails as a way of marketing and many consumers are blocking these emails and marking them as spam, which means the message never reaches them. Furthermore, research shows that internet users are finding ways to block ads and popups that show up when they are browsing because they feel like you are intruding and misusing their data. 

In this case, every marine marketer should consider using the traditional word of mouth marketing tactic together with online marketing techniques to optimize their marketing efforts. 

While people may trust online reviews left by consumers, referrals through word of mouth are also working as an added advantage. 

video for the yachting industry with drones
Photo by William Daigneault on Unsplash

The Demand For Video Marketing

Videos are becoming the newest favourite for consumers, and it is good for you too because you can now represent your products in a better way than ever before. 

They say that an image is worth a thousand words and this means that a video could be worth a million words. 

Video marketing is a popular trend in today’s digital world and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. 

All you need to do as a marine marketer is to make a quality video. If you do not have the skills or the equipment that can assist you businiess in this, you should consider working with a marketing consultant who values this popular marketing trend among other trends in 2019. Also, avoid making long marketing videos, ensure that they are hyper-focused and personalized to lure a specific audience. 

Embrace Artificial Intelligence

Personalization of marketing contents or campaigns has become the main thing in the business world, and you cannot ignore this aspect as a marine marketer. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are also becoming popular in most businesses for a good reason. 

One thing you need to know is that when technology keeps on growing, people’s expectations also change and you must keep them updated with these changes to meet their expectations. This is the part where you need to incorporate AI and machine learning to help you automate your marketing campaigns depending on your target audience. AI and machine learning are good for advanced data interpretation and segmentation and thereby automation of processes. 

2019 will be a better year for you as a marine marketer if you choose to consider these trends when preparing your marketing campaigns.

AuthorBio: Douglas Pitassi is a freelance writer and small business blogger

Yes! After many years we have finally given up to the dozens of requests we have received to build a comprehensive guide on How To set-up a successful yacht charter company and build your own charter business. Today, much more than 10 years ago, We are confident we can deliver a lot more value as the business of yacht charter is not only based on the experience on boats but also on how efficient and effective you are at winning new clients.

We are going to look at the business of yacht charter from the perspective of those who actually want to buy and manage a vessel and charter it . The mere yacht brokerage firm is a much simpler business model which are going to describe in details later on in the guide.

Whether you are approaching Yacht charter as a retirement plan and you are looking for an activity that is somewhat fun and offsets the cost of running your boat during your trip around the world or you are thinking of yacht charter as a business to grow and profit from we will try to cover all of the topics that we believe are appropriate:

If you don’t need our guide but you are ready to build a business plan save yourself days of work or expensive consulting fees to begin with and order our Yacht Charter Business Plan Template developed with Ms Excel from which you can easily build your plan. 

Order your Yacht Charter Business Plan and get a 1-hour consultation included 

Here it is a preliminary list of elements we are going to discuss:

  1. Finding the right boat/yacht
  2. Can I run a yacht charter business solo ?
  3. Motor vs sail, and monohull vs multihulls (catamarans)
  4. Contracts and service standards
  5. Geographic areas and extended charter seasons
  6. Crew, skippers, and flags/registrations
  7. Marketing common mistakes
  8. Itineraries
  9. Onboard equipments and amenities
  10. Bareboat vs Crewed + Bareboat with skippers
  11. Web Platform to market your boat
  12. Brokers, Central Agents, and how much you should give them
  13. Foreign Flags and U.S. waters
  14. Drugs onboard, international waters, capitan’s liability vs company liabilities
  15. Payment terms and methods
  16. Internet marketing DOs and Don’t

Please don’t forget to register your interest to be notified when we the guide is ready. 

UPDATE 22/June/2017: As we received plenty of requests we are also going to publish a Yacht Charter Business Template on Excel which takes into account a typical scenario of acquisition and refitting of a vessel and the charter operations. This is a very unique business model developed in Microsoft Excel which you can customise according to the type of vessel and expenses you are facing during the process. We have looked for something similar and we have not found anything useful for this purpose, therefore, for we have decided to build it for  you and make it available for purchase at a very competitive price.


Do you want to start Yacht Charter operations with your boat?

The yachting industry is changing significantly in the past 20-30 years. Boats and yachting holidays were predominantly something that was mostly considered by people who were exposed to a yachting culture of some kind. The internet, clearly changed this game and it keeps changing it at speed.

We recently wrote an article on the topic of how the ‘the airbnbs of yachting’ are going to chance and improve boat ownership, however, the game is changing for yacht charters and even smaller and local boat rentals (those hiring boats by the hour or day rather than the more standard charter week).

For over 15 years we have produced market research and analysis on the yachting industry observing how the demographic and the phsycographic of the yachting market was changing. On top of that we were always strongly involved in the more topographic analysis of users behaviour on a variety of websites and companies selling yachts, yacht charters, boat rentals, marine supplies etc..

The experience of these two combined analytical points of view enabled us to get to the point and write a simple list of the most common and most widespread mistakes done in the yacht charter business.

(The ones that follow are in no particular order of priority)

1) Underestimating the importance of the web

This is a common mistake for yacht charter companies that has been done and it is still done countless times. It goes from slow loading websites (See How to make it faster), to horrific user experience, all the way to terrible spelling or amateurish photography. Yachts and Yachting related services unlike many other products are simply not as easy to find in a physical shop the highest the internet penetration becomes and with the generational change this because a make or break element of a lot of yachting or boating related businesses both operating in B2C and in B2B. I can’t even being to tell you how many times we have heard the sentence, “my clients don’t buy a boat because they see it on the web“.  While this statement might have been somewhat true some time ago, it’s also true that when it comes to high ticket purchases no single source of information is the only one that makes a client purchase decision exclusively.

2) Assuming a certain degree of sailing knowledge for granted

Another very common mistake in the yacht charter business, we have made ourselves, is to assume that people that take an interest in yachting or boating have a certain degree of sailing or marine knowledge.  Everybody starts somewhere and in many countries more than others the last thing that you want to do is make a client feel dumb for not knowing something or worse assume and he/she/they will behave based on your assumption they know something that they might not. Simple example: You charter a big boat you can load 50 people on them.  No you don’t if it is a private yacht most likely you’ll be limited to 12 guests not matter how big it actually is. If you have worked with yacht charter I am sure you have answered this question hundreds of times.

Oyster Yachts in troubled waters

3) Selling the asset(boat) rental time instead of the experience of boating in the specific navigation area.

This is probably the most common mistake to date. Leisure boats are not cars people do not rent them to go from A to B and yet, there still are lots of sites out there that feature a list of boat and no mention of itinerary and the experience on board. Especially in the most commercial segment of the market.

4) Asking for large deposits

Nowadays insurance companies are very sophisticated and there is no reason why a deposit can’t be substituted by an insurance product. (Needless to say this point does not apply to crewed charter that won’t need a deposit bu only to bareboat charters). It surely will add to the overall cost but it will lower the barrier to purchase a week worth of charter especially in the mid/lower segment of the market of weekly charters in the £800-4500/week range.

Yacht Charter contract

5) Relying on non-digitalised legal contracts

Again we are in 2018 and a lot of yacht charter companies and operators already have this process in place. Digital legal charter contracts that is, it easier it is faster and it is very efficient if your clients are not sitting at their desk most of the time.

Yacht Charter Credit Card

6) Not accepting credit cards or using advanced consumer financing options

Accepting credit cards has a cost attached to it but it also makes it faster and easier for a client to book and deposit initial sums. Nowadays, credit card processing devices are mobile and incredibly inexpensive to acquire and set-up, and yet a lot of charter operators still do not accept them and make their sale process much longer and more difficult.

7) Choosing the wrong crew or skipper

On a crewed charter the crew makes a very significant part of the experience. Regardless, of whether it is only 1 skipper or a crew of 3 or more even the most discreet crew will always interact with the guests a great deal during any given charter period. The captain/skipper and his/her crew have a very delicate job as they have to reassure the guests about navigation even when the seas are rough but at the same time provide for all reasonable (and sometimes unconventional) requests. Languages are a big plus because a good knowledge of the guest language will assure nothing is lost in translation, but character is even more important especially for the crew members that are in charge and might have to take unpopular decision to avoid unnecessary risks when needed.

Boat Inspection

8) Little attention to details

It can be about things as small as a car charger (12 Volt lighter plug) for the iPhones to be available onboard so that guests don’t have to run the engine or the generator to charge their phones/mobile devices which costs virtually nothing but says a lot about the company’s attention to details. It can also be about the smaller maintenance issue like making sure the show filters are cleaned between a charter and the other, or even a first (food) provision that takes care of the vegetarian dietary needs of the guests. Small things add up like little gold coins to gain great feedback and happy guests which are without a doubt the best way to grow your yacht charter business.

Yacht Charter Guests

9) Not establishing guests priorities and preferences

The same navigation area can offer completely different experiences depending on what your preferences are. You can prefer to lay in the sun and swim to clubbing and fancy dining, or you might be more interested in discovering historical treasures and hidden spots. A yacht charter should always be a personalised experience (unless of course the route is pre-set) and the crew and the charter company should always take into consideration the specific interests of the people on board, all of them, not just the one signing the checks.

Yachting Images and Video production

10) Underestimating the power of videos

One specific yacht charter company’s marketing success is almost entirely based on videos and it proves this point exactly. The Yacht Week’s indeed is one

 

As every year we are preparing a 40 page comprehensive Yacht Market Analysis document on current status of the yachting industry as a whole and its outlook for the years to come.

The scope of this yacht market research paper is to enable companies operating in this industry, investors and entrepreneurs to have a comprehensive and detailed view of the industry and its trends.

The Yacht Market Analysis 2017-2018

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A brief outline of this Yacht Market Analysis and Report:

  1. ) Yachting Industry International Market Analysis 

1.1.) Introduction and general points

1.2) Current status of the global market

1.3) Composition of the value chain of global yachting industry

1.4) The top luxury industry and its trends, outlook and results

1.5) The market of large and super yachts

1.6) The refit and repair industry

2. ) Special Focus on: The U.S. market, and the northern European Market 

2.1) The growth of the U.S. market its drivers and its segmentation

2.2) An outlook of Europe vs the U.S. and their future trends

2.3) Market trends: Explorer Yachts and Large Sailing Yachts

3 ) Special Focus: Small Boats Industry in Italy

3.1) Definition of the value chain of the small yachts industry

3.2) The value chain and its structure

3.3) The main characteristics of the small yachts and small boats industry players

3.4) The geographic distribution of the players of the small boats industry

4) Special Focus: Flags, Brexit on Yachts, The Mediterranean Sea Economy, Legal Aspects of the yachting industry


Who is this document for:

This yacht market analysis is particularly useful to yacht builders, yacht brokers, design and engineering firms and service companies  component manufacturers and financial investors. 


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If you are considering investment in the yacht charter market you might be interested in this analytical article 

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