Setting up a Yacht Charter Broker Business – A Guide

If you are a yacht owner who is passionate about the industry, you have the foundation for setting up a yacht charter brokerage.ch The initial motivation to set up such a business is your vessel ownership; yacht owners are always looking to charter out their vessel when it is not in use, as yacht maintenance and mooring is very expensive and chartering is a way of generating revenue for the vessel owner.  Let’s take a look at the steps to take to start your own yacht charter brokerage business.

Leasing moorings and maintenance resources

In order to offer yacht owners a charter service, you need to have at least one site to moor and maintain vessels, plus the human resources to provide yacht maintenance and care. This means you would have to make a significant investment to set up a yacht brokerage and have the funds to support the business during the first year, when revenue would not be forthcoming. Click here to discover top vacation destinations for 2024.

It might take you a long time to find the right dock and if you are planning to expand, bear that in mind when looking at facilities. How many vessels do you plan on hosting at any given time?

Business registration

Of course, you have to register the business, which you might prefer to do here in the US, or perhaps offshore for tax incentives. You should consult with a commercial lawyer for the best advice regarding the type and location of the business; if you are planning to be based in the US, Miami would be the perfect location, which is well places for cruising the Caribbean and Central American countries.

Sourcing yacht owners

Once everything is up and running, you can start looking for yacht owners who wish to charter their vessels and moor at a suitable facility. Make good use of boat charter software that is designed to give you global access and hire a top-rated marketing agency that has experience in the yacht industry.

Competitive pricing

In order to be competitive, take a look at what other yacht charter brokers are offering in terms of charter rates and mooring and maintenance costs for the vessel owners. Yacht owners are smart people and will do their research before committing to a yacht broker, which means you have to offer attractive terms.

Maritime experts

In order to offer an efficient service to both vessel owners and customers who wish to charter yachts, you will need to employ a team of marine specialists, plus have access to yacht crews to sail the vessels on charter expeditions. Captains need to be registered and have relevant working experience, while crew members should also be certified and legally allowed to crew yachts. There is a lot of red tape in the maritime world and you have to comply fully, of course.

Yacht maintenance

This is one aspect of your business; yacht owners will expect work to carried out by certified craftsmen and depending on the number of vessels, you need teams of skilled workers who can work to a timeline. You also need access to crew and skippers; there are agencies that can meet your needs and most yacht charter brokers use such organisations to source HR.

Sales & marketing

This is the cutting edge of your business and you need to have a presence in the right circles in order to penetrate the market. Advertise in the top yachting magazines, set up booths at boat shows around the world and you need to build reliable teams; there are many aspects of this industry, you need sales & marketing, yacht maintenance, mooring, crewing and sourcing yachts to list in your books. Your marketing team would be taking care of potential clients and clients, which is a critical aspect of the business. They would be responsible for managing and scheduling maintenance, while yacht sales are another profitable avenue to explore. People go to brokers when they wish to buy or sell a yacht and you can use assessors who work on a commission basis.

Ideally, you would have many years of experience owning and crewing yachts and you have a deep understanding of the industry. To be successful, the business needs a strong leader, someone who can lead by example.

Click here for information about yacht registration in the US, which you should explore and understand. It is a very large project that would require considerable investment and the first thing to do is write a business plan. You probably would need a team of investors to fund the project, plus a very strong line of credit.