A new charter challenge
Six months into her new role at Dubois Yachts, Jacqui Lockhart's primary focus is developing the company's charter department. SuperyachtNews.com spoke to Lockhart at December's Antigua Charter Yacht Show about the department's progress and the current state of the charter market in the Caribbean.…
While still continuing her own company, Select Charter Services, Jacqui Lockhart recently joined the team at Dubois Yachts and now her main priority is to focus on redeveloping its charter department. Speaking exclusively to SuperyachtNews.com during December's Antigua Charter Yacht Show, Lockhart said she was positive about the direction that the department is heading in.
“What I have found interesting about Dubois is that a lot of people contact us through our site because they love Dubois-styled yachts,” she explained. “I find it particularly amazing because, with websites, companies have to spend a lot of time and money to rank highly in the search engines.
"But with Dubois, because of the naval architect side and the renowned name, people go out of their way to look for them and they will normally know which specific Dubois yachts they like. That is a new thing for me, which is great.
“Motoryacht Polly is a perfect example of this as there was a previous Dubois owner that wanted to charter her out purely for the fact that she was designed by Ed Dubois. So there is definitely a specific style that Dubois clients like and are looking for when they are choosing a charter, which is very valuable.”
One factor, however, that does make Lockhart’s job harder is a common characteristic of many Dubois clients that she has observed. “Another great thing that I have noticed about the Dubois yachts is that they cruise, they go sailing, they go around the world and the owners use them,” she explained. “The newly launched Escapade, for example, which was launched in spring 2014, is going around the world with the owner for two years. I keep getting people asking for the boat for charter but they are not ready for that, which is normal.”
Questioned about whether the charter market in the Caribbean is picking up, Lockhart remained cautious. “It used to be that boats would come to the Antigua charter show and then book a charter for the Christmas week, but now the market is hard and I think there are a lot of boats still available for the season,” she adds. “The Caribbean has always been a bit tricky and I think that, unless the owner wants to use the boat for a few weeks over here then the boat shouldn’t come. Boats used to be able to do 10 to 12 weeks in the season but that just doesn’t happen anymore. The market has changed so much; there are a lot of boats out there and probably not as many charter clients. So there is a lot of competition.”
“What I have found interesting about Dubois is that a lot of people contact us through our site because they love Dubois-styled yachts,” she explained. “I find it particularly amazing because, with websites, companies have to spend a lot of time and money to rank highly in the search engines.
"But with Dubois, because of the naval architect side and the renowned name, people go out of their way to look for them and they will normally know which specific Dubois yachts they like. That is a new thing for me, which is great.
“Motoryacht Polly is a perfect example of this as there was a previous Dubois owner that wanted to charter her out purely for the fact that she was designed by Ed Dubois. So there is definitely a specific style that Dubois clients like and are looking for when they are choosing a charter, which is very valuable.”
Jacqui Lockhart, Dubois Yachts
Lockhart said this valuable following is helping her build up momentum in the company’s charter department. “At the moment we just have Destination on our central agency because there are many other companies that are dealing with the other Dubois yachts. “But we are not necessarily looking to expand this, as our main focus is to keep in touch with the yachts. Slowly but surely things are picking up.”One factor, however, that does make Lockhart’s job harder is a common characteristic of many Dubois clients that she has observed. “Another great thing that I have noticed about the Dubois yachts is that they cruise, they go sailing, they go around the world and the owners use them,” she explained. “The newly launched Escapade, for example, which was launched in spring 2014, is going around the world with the owner for two years. I keep getting people asking for the boat for charter but they are not ready for that, which is normal.”
Questioned about whether the charter market in the Caribbean is picking up, Lockhart remained cautious. “It used to be that boats would come to the Antigua charter show and then book a charter for the Christmas week, but now the market is hard and I think there are a lot of boats still available for the season,” she adds. “The Caribbean has always been a bit tricky and I think that, unless the owner wants to use the boat for a few weeks over here then the boat shouldn’t come. Boats used to be able to do 10 to 12 weeks in the season but that just doesn’t happen anymore. The market has changed so much; there are a lot of boats out there and probably not as many charter clients. So there is a lot of competition.”
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