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The Charter Business

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by ADIDAY, Jul 29, 2008.

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  1. ADIDAY, Jul 29, 2008
    #1
    ADIDAY

    ADIDAY New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2008
    Messages:
    2
    Location:
    New York, NY
    Generally speaking I admire yachts from afar and look forward to the day I can own one, so my knowledge of the system is limited. That being said, everyone seems to say "charter before you buy", so I figured I'd get a really really early head start and poke around the megayacht-for-charter interweb world. I must say: "Uh...yikes"

    There seem to be literally thousands of companies proclaiming to be "The BEST in Luxury Yacht Charters", so how the heck does an owner of one of these fantastic vessels go about choosing a reputable company to represent them? Is it all just reputation and name recognition? How does a potential charter customer go about vetting various companies? Is it just pick a company with the nicest yachts and hope for the best?

    And secondly, I've come across some companies that own fleets of larger yachts for charter. Is there really any money in this kind of operation considering how expensive it is to operate these yachts? (I'd assume for individual owners, it's less about profit and more about offsetting costs of their own enjoyment)

    Thoughts on the above, along with personal tales of megayacht charter goodness/awfulness would be much appreciated.






    On a side note, I've been checking out the forums for awhile as a guest - love the reviews and the discussions. Go easy on me for my first post!
  2. yachtbrokerguy, Jul 30, 2008
    #2
    yachtbrokerguy

    yachtbrokerguy Guest

    The owners of charter yachts can pick a charter brokerage company to do their "charter management". The fleet managers then send the information on that yacht to all of the charter brokerage companies, and most of the yachts available for charter can be booked by any one of these brokers.
    The bigger fleet mangers are often affiliated with a brokerage house or a shipyard. They are larger organizations that have more than a rented office.

    The only "fleets" of charter boats that I know of in the U.S. are the larger inspected passenger vessels, the ones used for weddings and conventions and the four hour tour type charters. it is extremely rare for a luxury charter yacht to make a profit, however it is an excellent way to defray expenses on a yacht that would other wise be sitting in port.
  3. Loren Schweizer, Jul 30, 2008
    #3
    Loren Schweizer

    Loren Schweizer YF Associate Writer

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2004
    Messages:
    1,352
    Location:
    Coral Gables/Ft. Laud., FL
    Hi ADIDAY and welcome to YF.
    First off, full disclosure: I have never chartered a megayacht. But, I have spent a lot of time over the years onboard such vessels with a glass of Pinot in hand and having a hostess proffer exotic hors d'oeuvres whilst I am discussing odds & ends with the skipper. That's part of my job.
    From lowly dockhand to Captain and everyone in between, these people have the job of doing nothing but pleasing YOU.
    They are highly trained professionals who understand how to make YOU happy during your stay aboard.
    I have never heard of anyone's having a horror story of poor treatment on a yacht charter.
    'Course, if you show up at the dock with a huge lit Cohiba and wearing your golf cleats...