Try A New Niche: Yacht Charters

Agents might want to consider yacht charter vacations following Oracle Team USA’s dramatic comeback in the America’s Cup. With the increased interest in yacht racing, yacht charter vacations are a perfect—and profitable—fit for upscale agents.

Target clients include those with a sense of adventure and an interest in smaller cruise boats. Many who buy yacht charter vacations have some familiarity with sailing; for others it may be a first-time experience.

“It’s for everybody,” said Mary Crowley, founder and CEO of Sausalito, Calif.-based Ocean Voyages, which has been selling yacht charter vacations for 34 years.

“Yachts are great for families, extended families and groups of friends. It can be ideal for three or four or five couples who want to go off and share these wonderful trips together.”

Lucrative business
Yacht charters are profitable bookings for agents.Ocean Voyages pays 10% commissions on most yachts. (The commission rate is lower for its most expensive yachts.)

Yachting vacations are definitely high-end, with prices ranging from $200 or $300 per person, daily, including meals, to as high as $25,000 per person, according to Lisa Prosser, director of corporate travel management for The Travel Agent in Carmel, Ind., a Virtuoso agency.

“It’s not a vacation that a lot of people take, but once they do they’re hooked,” Prosser said. “It’s repeat business. I’ve had clients who charter every summer.”

A sense of adventure
Prosser  defined the yacht charter client as, “someone who likes a sense of adventure and enjoys the water.”

“Demographically it would be people with an average annual household income of no less than about $80,000 to $90,000,” she said.

“Most of the people I have dealt with have had some introduction to sailing, but not necessarily a lot. Maybe some people were in the Navy or they have a friend with a boat.”

Group yacht charters
In addition to offering vacations, companies use yacht charters for high-end incentive groups, board meetings and executive brainstorming sessions.

One of Prosser’s clients, a company CEO, was considering a significant acquisition and decided to do some serious brainstorming with his four key principals by chartering a yacht for four days. They had their own masseuse and chef on board.

“He said it was one of the most effective strategic brainstorming session they had ever had,” she said.

Popular destinations
The most popular destinations for Prosser’s clients are French Polynesia and the Caribbean, which is accessible by direct flight for her Midwestern clients.

Crowley said there’s virtually no limitations to the destinations for charter yachting.

One of the most popular destinations is the Galapagos. The Mediterranean – France, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey – are rapidly growing in popularity.

Her company also does yacht charters in off-the-beaten track destinations like Antarctica and the Arctic as well as French Polynesia, Fiji, Indonesia and Thailand.

Typical charters are for seven or eight days, Crowley said. But she also sells charters for as long as three to six weeks and even 12 to 18 months.