BlaBlaYachting: How the Internet is changing the rules of the yacht charter game

The ability to rent a yacht not from a charter company, but from other yacht owners directly, as well as the ability to rent out your yacht at a convenient schedule, seemed fantastic until recently. There were too many “buts” and “ifs”: customer search, payment security, insurance availability, etc. But in 2013, an online platform appeared Click & Boat, and within a few years they entered the market GetMyBoat, Boatsetter, Samboat, BoatAround, Boataffair, Borrow a boat, SeaRadar - the sphere of renting yachts directly from the owner is only gaining momentum. About where and how to rent a yacht "hand-held" and why the Internet makes yachting more accessible - in this article.

Sharing economy

There is a new trend in the world - sharing economy (from English to share - to share, to share)... We are increasingly taking fellow travelers on long journeys in order to reduce fuel costs, which became possible thanks to BlaBlaCar... Abroad, we can stay not in a hotel, but in an apartment or a private house. The service is responsible for this. Airbnb... You can rent a car, bicycle or, for example, household tools. The principle here is extremely simple: most of the time, we don't use many of our things to their fullest potential. This means that they can be taken in short-term lease. This is how everyone wins. The owner earns, and the tenant gets rid of the need to buy a thing that he rarely needs (or an expensive thing). A conditional seller of a service and a client find each other on the Internet, often on a special Internet platform.

Of course, something similar existed before, when we borrowed something from our neighbors or acquaintances. But thanks to the Internet, everyone has now become "neighbors". The Internet has solved another problem that has always been present in this area: the dishonest behavior of the parties to the transaction. Today, few people want to abandon their neighbor.

Trades are usually protected, and losses from a negative rating will often be much more significant than a one-time "win".

Sharing things beneficial from an environmental point of view - in this way we use the available resources more rationally.  Sharing economy so trending that back in 2010 the magazine TIME named joint consumption as one of the ideas that will change the world.

How explorer yachts are helping the superyacht market grow

Car, apartment, yacht

Success BlaBlaCar and Airbnb inspired many. At first, it might seem that people would be reluctant to share their cars or apartments with strangers. But the reality turned out to be different. Prejudice gave way to the onslaught of rational reasoning. It turned out to be profitable to share and - which is also extremely important - quite safe.

Renting something not from companies, but from owners is directly called Peer-to-peer or P2P: from user to user.

It took French entrepreneurs about five years Edouard Gurua and Jeremy Bismuth after the start Airbnbto develop the potential of the yachting sharing economy. So in the fall of 2013, a new specialized platform was born - Click & Boat - a service for those who want to rent a yacht or rent out their own (maybe even with them as a skipper). In 2018, a famous French yachtsman joined the company of investors, the winner Vendée Globe 2013 Francois Gabard, who also placed his yacht on a platform (9m Fora Marine RM 890).

5 ways to make money living on a yacht

By the end of 2018, the service database had about 30,000 different boats in 50 countries around the world. Services are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Greek, Dutch and Polish. A company that is a European leader in P2P renting yachts, does not hide his intentions: to become in the field "Yachtsharing" the same as Airbnb is in real estate.

How do such services work?

In an interview Edward Gurua said most yachts are only used 10 days a year. Everything else is simple, not relieving, however, the owner from the costs of maintaining the vessel. 

Additional income for some and the ability to reduce costs for others - this is “a universal recipe for the popularity of such services.

Whoever took a yacht from a charter company knows that it is necessary to take care of finding a vessel in advance, while there are more boats available and prices are lower. Then prices will rise, and the number of offers will decrease. Sometimes you can find a good boat for adequate money at the very last moment. But with a much greater probability you can find yourself in a situation of shortage, when the trip is already on the nose, and there are no worthwhile offers.

Services P2P in many respects solve this problem, because in the overall standings "private traders" can exhibit more different boats than charter ones (analogy from history: the imperial fleet could not cope with the evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk, but the "hole in capacity" was closed by private shipowners). In addition, the private owner does not have the costs of staff, advertising and operating activities, as companies do. It can compete on price, because if you don't need a boat for a period of time, then even a small profit is much better than just maintenance costs.

Renting a yacht from the owner directly can cost up to 35% less than similar offers from the charter.

This creates a counter movement that reduces costs. Airbnb and BlaBlaCar act according to the same scheme. Globally, large centralized players outperform small ones by providing more attractive terms at the expense of volume. But at the "micro" level, where people are able to interact directly, flexible individual players can be more effective than less agile companies.

In addition, when it comes to yachting, there is one more thing: marine brotherhood. When you take a boat with a company, you usually communicate with an impersonal system. But by "sharing" a private boat, you can also acquire communication with a like-minded person, and - who knows - perhaps a friend. Therefore, one of the metrics Click & Boat is not only 30,000 ships in 50 countries, but also 300,000 members of the global get-together - from simple sailors to professional yachtsmen.

Monohull vs catamaran: how to choose a charter boat?

I want to rent a yacht.

What to do?

As for the technical part, everything works according to the same principle as Airbnb or Booking... You enter the platform and set the most basic characteristics: direction and dates. After that, the service gives you all the currently available offers.

Further, you can refine the request. Boat type, with or without skipper, length, number of cabins and toilets, engine power, year of manufacture and manufacturer - platform designers include different filters that they think should make it easier for the client to find. Someone wants a cheaper boat, and someone only has a trusted owner with good reviews.

To book a yacht, you need to create your account with the usual form: name and surname, contact information. If you have any questions, you can ask the owner of the yacht through the site's messenger. Then you book your favorite boat and receive confirmation. After that, the required amount is frozen on your card, and you receive the contacts of the owner, with whom you agree on the time and place of receiving the boat, signing the contract and receiving the keys. The service will transfer your payment to the owner after you confirm that the yacht matches the description.

How to plan yacht charter routes

An additional bonus of booking a boat with the owner and not with the charter company is more flexible rental schedule... On a charter, clients are usually tied to Saturdays when they are "checked in" on board. Accordingly, boats are available for rent only for a multiple of a week. When renting directly from the owner, the terms can be much more flexible - from one day to "as agreed". And, what is nice, you can literally rent a boat from today to tomorrow - at least some offer on the service will almost certainly be there.

 I am a boat owner and would like to rent it out.

What to do?

Yacht owner creates an account on the platform with a description of his craft and photographs. Indicates the time the boat is available and the client's skipper qualifications (if the yacht is bareboat). It is also necessary to indicate what is included in the price, and what will have to be paid for separately. Here, too, everything is quite traditional and the tenant usually pays for the diesel, their parking costs in the marinas, cleaning (the amount is indicated in the ad) and the outboard motor for the dinghy (optional).

Everything is like housing: the more attractive - but also more truthful! - description and photos, the better the offer, the more chances that the boat will be in demand most of the time.

All yachts must be insured, this is a prerequisite for listing boats. Also, the owner of the yacht sets the desired deposit. Deposit recommendation - so that it is at least equal to the insurance deductible. The deposit is managed by the platform (although it is possible to transfer it to the owner in cash, but this method looks less reliable for customers), and it is charged in case of a substantiated claim.

After the end of the lease, usually within 24 hours, the owner of the yacht must report the detected damage by phone or email to the support service, or file a claim in his personal account. During the consideration of the claim, it is necessary to provide a rental agreement and a damage report along with photographs. It is assumed that people will seek to settle minor injuries on the spot (sort of like paying for a broken bumper on the road without calling the police), but if this does not happen, then the office will take over the issue.

Prices and cancellation

The prices are flexible. You can find both a small and not new monohull for a few tens of euros per day, and a luxury catamaran for a couple of thousand. Or a superyacht, whose price tag is already in the tens of thousands. Platforms usually strive to expand their offer, so houseboats, kayaks, RIBs and even jet skis are also available for rent.

Cancel Reservation depends on the conditions specified in the ad. For example, in Click & Boat there are several options. Flexible bookingwhere you can get money back (except for the commission of the platform itself) the day before the start of the lease. Moderate - 70% refundable if canceled 10 days before the start of the lease. And there is a strict one: 60% refund if canceled 30 days in advance, and nothing - if the withdrawal was made later. If the weather is bad and you can't get out, then you can try to negotiate with the owner to extend the lease. The rest is the same as with the charter: the sea is the sea and in a storm you can sit on the shore with a paid boat. However, there are also options for additional insurance that allow you to return part or all of the amount in case of certain force majeure.

Thus, the platform assumes the role of an arbiter in all subtle moments, striving to ensure that the deception is not beneficial to either side.

10 beautiful bays and bays in Mediterranean for an unforgettable sailing trip

Who is in the market?

https://www.clickandboat.comannounces 30,000 boats in 50 countries (the service is available in 9 languages, including Russian).

https://www.getmyboat.com, claiming 130,000 different boats in 184 countries.

https://www.samboat.com 30,000 boats worldwide.

https://borrowaboat.com with 13,000 boats in 60 countries.

Working the same way with charter companies https://www.boataround.com offers 12,000 yachts; the service is available in Ukrainian and Russian.

Concentrating more on the premium segment https://boataffair.com.

Russian-speaking registered in Estonia https://searadar.ru declares 15,000 yachts in the database (often freezes).

https://www.boatsetter.comoperating primarily in the United States.

The principle of operation is similar for all plus or minus. - the difference may be in the site interface, details and individual preferences. Most have mobile apps.

Pros and Risks

The advantages of P2P in yacht rental include:

• The ability to make money on your asset when it is idle (if you are a yacht owner);
• A price that can be up to a third less than a charter company (if you are a renter);
• More flexible lease terms and the ability to rent a yacht at the last moment;
• Communication with like-minded people, and not with a soulless company. And, as a result, the opportunity to acquire new acquaintances.

But there are also risks:

• Whatever one may say, you rent your boat to people about whom you know nothing - if you are the owner. How qualified the renter is as a skipper, how carefully he will treat your boat - these moments are always present in P2P yachting;
• Whatever one may say, you are renting a boat from a stranger - will it turn out on the spot that it is not at all the same as in the ad? Yes, the money can then be received back - but nerves, problems, and most importantly - a ruined vacation!
• Opportunity to get caught by an unscrupulous owner - companies that have been in the market for a long time will often value their reputation more than those for whom this is just a “seasonal earnings”.

Everything you need to know about a charter around Corsica + food and wine

Summary

Human nature is far from perfect, but growing popularity of sharing services suggests that the modern world has developed fairly reliable mechanisms to protect all parties involved in such transactions.

An unscrupulous tenant cannot substitute the owner by unexpectedly changing his plans - the amount frozen on the card will "burn". And it makes no sense for the lessor to deceive the client by embellishing his boat - he will receive money only if the client agrees that in life the yacht looks the same as in the description.

However, platform participants are protected not only financially... Of course, flaws and attempts at deception can occur from time to time. No such service is completely protected from this. But even among the charter companies, it happens that there are swindlers. Right there against unscrupulous participants also plays social rating... The worse the reviews, the less opportunities in the future to rent / rent a yacht.

Yes, you can fool someone - once or twice. You can drink too much and destroy the yacht. But then bad fame will spread throughout the system. What with modern means of communication means around the world.  Is a couple of hundred or even thousands of euros worth such a "ban"? The growing popularity of sharing platforms shows that it is not. This phenomenon is based on a simple social principle: most people want to play by the rules. And the system should effectively mark and isolate "violators". And then we will willingly share our things with others. Especially if it's profitable.

Interparus Yachting will help you organize an unforgettable sailing trip anywhere in the world! Call now +33644142168 WhatsApp, Alexander

25.10.2019