What already works well on land can work on the water too: renting out, or chartering out, living space to vacationers. If you have bought a yacht, you should consider chartering out your own yacht for the first five years, not least for tax reasons. But is it really as uncomplicated as renting out your own four walls? Whether you rent out your yacht yourself or choose a professional charter company, we have summarized the most important information for you.

What are the requirements?

Even though chartering out your own yacht is interesting for many boat owners, the organizational side has to be sorted out first. To be able to charge a fee for its use, you have to ask the relevant authority about the right applications. That can involve a relatively large effort, as you should expect a long wait while the data is processed. Alternatively, a charter company offers various models. In any case, all the formalities are included.

charter out your own yacht

Which charter model is the right one?

A French company called Click&Boat, modeled on Airbnb in concept, is currently conquering the market. What is new here is that all the required boat data, as well as your own, can first be stored on an online portal. The data is then verified and can be viewed by anyone. For this you create an account, much like in online shopping, followed by a listing. If a charterer wants to use the offer, the so-called owner can then decide whether they really want to charter out their own yacht to that crew or person. Only then is a contract concluded between the two parties. For the owner it is important that a potential customer has good access to all the data. If you take care in choosing the right photos, you will certainly get clicked on more often. But watch out: what seems so simple at first can bring a complication or two.

This very personal "peer to peer" model also requires a personal handover, and thus makes the owner responsible for the relevant safety briefing. That is especially important because the yacht is often already in the middle of the sea when questions come up. Another drawback: if there is any damage, the boat owner has to deal with the booking company and the insurer personally. This model is therefore better suited to owners who are organizationally experienced, as it involves a lot of responsibility and work. On the other hand, it allows flexibility when chartering out your own yacht, since everyone decides for themselves and spontaneously when to make the yacht available. Another advantage is that you can also offer your boat exclusively as overnight accommodation. In this case the yacht stays in the harbor, which not only minimizes the risk of damage but also spares you the extensive briefing on the technology and safety precautions.

charter out your own yacht

Chartering out through a company

If you would rather put the responsibility in professional hands, you choose a charter company. Boat maintenance, booking schedule, safety check and listing creation are included and are then deducted from the profit. To sum up: chartering out your own yacht makes perfect sense.

How to charter out?

  • charter out personally
  • rent out with the help of a company