Marketing for charter success

There are more superyachts available for charter than ever before and as a result, the market is entirely saturated. The upshot is that marketing your yacht well is absolutely crucial to making it stand out from the crowd and securing bookings. While the temptation when times are tough is to cut costs, ask any charter broker and they will tell you that the importance of investing in quality marketing cannot be underestimated. A few of the industry’s charter brokers have shared some of their top marketing tips for owners wanting to make their yacht a charter success story.

Expectations

Starting out with realistic expectations can make all the difference. “Be aware of what fair market prices are,” says Tom DeBuse, charter manager at Y.CO. “Every owner loves their yacht and wants to get the highest price for a charter on it, but be realistic about your own expectations and you will get more charters.”

Photography

In the glory days, owners wouldn’t think twice about spending up to USD$10,000 on a really good photo shoot for their yacht. But many brokers tell us that this is something that many owners are increasingly reluctant to spend money on. “Only five per cent of the time a client will actually see the boat in person before chartering it and 95 per cent of the time they will not see it at all before stepping on board,” says Caroline Boisson from OceanStyle. “A good photo shoot can make all the difference in enticing clients.” 

Fam Trips

Allowing your CA to organise a familiarisation trip for brokers on your yacht can really reap rewards in the short term as well as in the long run. “One of the Fam trips that I set up brought in two direct bookings as a result and a year on it has still kept the yacht in the brokers’ minds,” says DeBuse. “In fact, I had one broker at MYBA come up to me and say that they still want to get the yacht a booking because it was such a fantastic trip.” After a Fam trip brokers will know the yacht inside out and be able to speak from experience about everything from the crew to tiny details that you wouldn’t get from a brochure.

Creative packages

Work with your CA on creating interesting packages for your yacht. “Working with your CA to come up with creative packages can really make a difference,” says Fiona Maureso, charter director at Northrop & johnson. “That might mean eight days for the price of seven, or free delivery to wherever the client wants to start, for example.”

Show presence

Showing your yacht at industry shows and events can be an extremely valuable marketing opportunity. Shows are the perfect chance to get your yacht noticed and to allow brokers and clients to get on board, see the yacht and chat to the crew. “When there are several Benettis available on the market, for example, it can give your yacht an edge” says DeBuse. “Obviously they all have their differences, but by showing it at shows you are making sure that the people who count understand the differences.”

Media Coverage

Being media friendly and open to your yacht—and even yourself—being featured in magazines is a great way to get free exposure. “It is important to get magazines and digital publications to cover the boat,” says Maureso. “Perhaps owners should be inviting journalists on board more and to encourage coverage that way.”

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