by Robin Amster
Last updated: 11:30 AM ET, Tue December 22, 2015
PHOTO: Steffen Brunn, CEO of Yachtico. (Photo courtesy of Yachtico)
A new app in the Sabre Travel Network is aimed at boosting travel agent bookings for chartered yacht and boat vacations.
Florida-based Yachtico launched the app which is available through the Sabre Red App Centre. It allows agents to book an inventory of some 16,000 professionally operated motorboats, sailboats and houseboats around the world.
That's a market not generally booked by agents. The segment hasn't been aggressively marketed to agents, many companies don't pay agent commissions, and these kinds of vacations appeal more to special interest clients.
Yachtico founder and CEO Steffen Brunn said this is the first time the company has worked with agents. Consumers can book directly on Yachtico.com.
But Brunn calls boat and yacht charters "a popular and lucrative market segment."
"This app will take boat charters to a different level, as agents who choose the Yachtico app can easily offer travelers a unique, on-the-water experience as an alternative to the on-land vacation," said Brunn.
"We all know travel agents can recite land-based vacation itineraries in their sleep," Brunn said. "When it comes to planning and booking an on-the-water vacation, however, knowledge is lacking simply because of inexperience.
"That's why we created this app, to give agents a quick, seamless way to offer their clients a different vacation experience, one they'll remember forever."
Yachtico offers agents 4 percent commission on bookings. Costs for yacht vacations vary, ranging from $800 per week for a four-person canal boat/houseboat up to $65,000 per week for a crewed 87-foot motor yacht. The average rate for a week-long yacht vacation is about $5,000 from Saturday to Saturday, which includes a captain for six people.
Brunn notes that Yachtico lists only boats from professional charter operators, not individual owners, which greatly reduces the risks associated with boat shares and peer-to-peer trading-a la Airbnb.
These vacations are geared to couples of all ages and families with kids, who are looking to go snorkeling and swimming, said Brunn. Often they'll do so on a catamaran. Then there are groups of friends who enjoy being on the water together and have the experience to skipper the boat themselves.
Yachtico's international destinations include Croatia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Thailand, Australia, and the Caribbean, especially The Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. In the U.S. they include Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West.
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