WHY DO I NEED A BROKER AT ALL?
Every luxury yacht has a managing company that engages in the questions of its rent by the assignment of proprietor. Knowing this, you might ask, why do I need a broker at all?
Let's just find out who owns a boat and save on the commissions.
The answer is very clear. Broker will insure that you have a safe and lucky holiday.
The managing company protects the interests of the owners of the boats, while a self-determined broker takes care after the customer and his agent.
Good broker perfectly knows about the majority of boats on the market available and can provide all necessary information about the crew, services and boats
condition. In the occasion, when the broker didn’t have personal experience with the certain yacht, he always can contact his colleagues for the references and provide you with detailed information.
Besides finding the optimal offers for the customer, a broker plays an important part in case of problems before, while and after the charter. Any yacht is a very difficult engineering construction, located in unstable environment with a human factor over all - crew for a long time is in a limited space and the probability of unforeseen problems is higher than on standard holidays on land.
That’s why every rent contract is signed between four sides: the owner of the yacht, the managing company, the charterer and the broker. In this process, the managing company protects the interests of the owner, and the broker the interests of the customer. In spite of how big is a problem, an experienced broker can find a solution in any case.
In the worse case, he will find a substitute boat, if needed because of a serious damage or unavailability.
You can face different problems. Without a broker, you run the risk that your interests would be considered
after the interests of the yachts owner and the managing company. After all, having bad holidays- would be a very high price for a little saving in price, if at all.
CHARTER PRICES & DISCOUNTS
The owner of the yacht always settles the charter price by himself and although big variations are not to expect,, it is always alright to ask about discount, especially when it is not a hot season time, so not about June or July in the Mediterranean sea or about winter holidays in tropics.
To get the maximally profitable conditions, it is better to make a reservation a very long time before the charter date and make it with your usual broker. As we said before, he could maximize your interests.
Every customer needs to know that it is very important to cooperate with your permanent and one broker. When the bargain is from two or more sources , the owner loses
the motivation to give any discount: he understands that the customer is interested only in his boat and would hardly give any important discount. If you try to get discount from your broker, keep in mind that the broker’s commission is normally just a very small part of the charter price and that your broker would not be able to provide you with big discounts. It is much better to get a discount from the owner.
In conclusion, find the one broker that you like and trust and enjoy the booking process.
CHARTER RATE
The financial part:
The weekly rates for the yacht rent are default. To calculate your price for less or more days, you should use this rule:
Charter period 8 or more days: divide the weekly rate by 7 and multiply by the number of days
Charter period 6 or fewer days: divide the weekly rate by 6 and multiply by the number of days.
The crew needs to prepare the yacht for each charter, does not matter how long it will be. Depending on the size of the boat, it needs from 24 to 72 hours for the "turnover" between the charters.
The charter rate includes: yacht rent with the crew and all equipment, food for the crew, insurance of the yacht and crew, fees for parking international marinas. In Greece, there are many national marinas, however in other countries they are mostly private.
The charter rate does NOT include: VAT, fuel, food for the passengers, alcohol and non-alcohol drinks, fuel for the water toys, payment for the canal entrance, taxes for foreign waters and fees for parking in private marinas, communication, laundry and others costs as well as gratefulness for crew (5-15%).
АРА
In general, by paying the charter rate you are allowed to use the yacht like a hotel. The crew will greet you and you can sleep in your cabin or enjoy the deck. However, if you want some service like meals etc. you need to pay more.
That’s why in addition to the charter rate, customers need to pay a deposit for their expenses before and during the charter (A.P.A. ó Advance Provisioning Allowance)
The Advanced Provisioning Allowance (APA) includes fuel, food, drinks, port and anchoring fees, other personal costs and should be paid in advance per bank transfer or directly at check-in. The APA amount is estimated to 30% of the charter price. After the charter, the captain provides the bills for all costs and expenditures done while the charter. Should the expenditures be higher than the paid APA amount, the client shall pay the difference. Should the expenditures result to be lower than the paid APA amount, the clients gets back the difference.
BOOKING & PAYMENT
A booking is completed only when the customer and the yacht owner sign a standard contract in MYBA (Mediterranean Yacht Broker Association) form and the customer makes a deposit payment.
Approximately a month before the charter, the customer has to pay the rest oft he charter rate , VAT( if applicable), delivery fee (if applicable) and APA.
VAT
The necessity of VAT payment depends from the chosen yacht and region of the voyage. Out of the EU, yachts usually are free from VAT, but within the EU (in the majority of the EU countries in the Mediterranean sea), the VAT amount depends n the freight.
DELIVERY FEES
Practically every yacht has its port of registration, where it stays when not on charter. If you want to start or end your charter out of the home port, you will need to pay for the delivery of the yacht to your desired port. The delivery fee is calculated out of 2 parts: fuel price and the daily rate for days needed to deliver the yacht.
ONE-DAY & SHORT CHARTERS
One day and weekend charters are very popular nowadays. However, not all the yachts want to make this kind of charters instead oft he normal weekly charters. Therefore, these reservations should be made some weeks before the charter begin.
GRATITUTE TO THE CREW
Every guest can decide to leave a gratuity for the crew for its nice service and care. In Europe, it is usually 5-10% of the charter rate. In the USA and the Caribbean sea, it could be up to 15-20%.
Good crew is working on the yacht during the whole year and keeps the yacht always in perfect condition. During the charter the crew members are far away from their families and are always ready to work. So, your gratuity would be a nice touch to appreciate all these additional efforts of the crew.
It is important to understand that it is at your own. The best way to make it is to give an envelope to the captain at the last day.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If you have chosen a yacht for your journey, be ready to give the information about your previous charter experience.
The majority of big yachts owners inquire recommendations to make sure about the charterer. Usually they want the names of previous yachts you have travelled with and the dates of travelling. Also owners of not so big yachts can inquire this type of information.
Every owner can refuse to give you his yacht because of serious lacks in your history of charters or its lack at all.
CHARTER CANCELLATION
After signing up a charter deal, the charterer has the right to cancel it with every reason he might have.
If the charterer decided to cancel his charter and notified the owner before the charter, the owner has the right to keep the money as follows: 50% from the charter price if he was notified more than a month before, and 100% if he was notified less than a month before the charter.
ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR SIGNED CHARTER CONTRACT HAS LEGAL EFFECTS.
EVENT CHARTERS
Event yacht tourism is an opportunity to take part in the greatest events of the world. This unique atmosphere combined with privacy of your own yacht and unforgettable impressions.
The most popular annual events are for example the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco and the Cannes film festival These events attract many celebrities . There are a lot of side events and parties.
Surely, you can impress others by your magnificent yacht. Staying on a yacht gives you many other advantages, too.
At the famous Grand Prix, the berths for yachts are located in some metres from the track. You can enjoy watching the race from your own yacht! The festival film place of Cannes is situated in the very centre of the old port where you will have the opportunity to participate in the hottest parties or organise your own at your yacht!
CORPORATE CHARTERS
In the modern working culture, holidays and celebrations with your team is as important as working together. Nowadays, these additional events for the members of a company are part of the business. A corporate charter is a chance to come together in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere and to strengthen business and personal relations.
Inviting your business partners TO a yacht is not only the best way to show that you are financially reliable, but also to show that you take care about your partners and are ready to cooperate with them.
Corporate charters are also a great to create reciprocity, trust and strong team spirit in your company. And finally, a luxury dinner will impress your partners totally and at the end guarantee successful business for you.
Our brokers will help you to organize your luxury yacht charter in the best way according to your wishes. We provide for the best service for any kind of your yacht charter event - from a cocktail party on board till long-term cruises.