Spring 2011
Frustration At Any Rate
Mar 1st
the mid-2000s, Samuel Le Gall helped to get the fledgling Azimut Charter Club of the ground. The charter agency was a partner to industry powerhouse Fraser Yachts Worldwide, with the new group focusing on Azimut-built yachts in the 60- to 100-foot range. Le Gall and his colleagues created easy-to-sell, prepackaged experiences – the spa charter, the golf charter, that sort of thing – and calculated the engine hours needed to complete each itinerary. They then came up with all-inclusive pricing that would appeal to clients most likely to charter yachts in the Azimut size and price range, meaning primarily first-timers who were completely new to the yachting industry.
“We thought it would get a new market segment: travel agencies,” Le Gall recalls. “They may have qualifiedclients, but they don’t know how to sell yachts. To sell yachts side-by-side with cruise ships, when the agent presents the pricing, the yacht sounds like a scandal.”
The Azimut Charter Club did not survive, but the con-cept did. It’s now being tested in the form of Neo Yachting, a year-old company based in Nice, France, where Le Gall is a key player along with former Azimut Charter Club executive Nicolas Valin. Many of the yachts advertised More >
Chef’s Competitions: Are There Politics behind the Plating
Mar 1st
Who the judges are, and who the winners are, continues to foment behind-the-scenes gossip year afteryear. Charter Index Editor Kim Kavin talks with first-time entrants, past winners, and one leading organizer about how chefs’ contests are organized and judged.
When a longtime charter fleetmanager talks about a particular chefs’ competition from the mid-2000s, he describes it with the clarity of a person remembering where he was the day two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center. ”
I was standing there at the awards ceremony, listening to the winners’ names being announced,” says the manager, who asked to remain anonymous. “Of course, I’m rooting for our chef, but then I watched the announcer open the envelope, and I felt that something very wrong had happened. As the announcer looked at the results, she smiled and said, ‘Ah, the winner is so-and-so, and I’d just like to personally thank the captain for the wonderful dinner and wine that I enjoyed onboard last night.’ She didn’t even take a breath in between. It appeared so obvious that the two things were connected.”
The manager’s attitude toward chefs’ contests is not exclusive to him alone. Countless captains, chefs, and charter yacht managers have complained in years More >
How to go organic – Online
Mar 1st
When a potential client types the phrase “luxury yacht charter” into the Google search engine, two types of results appear on their computer screen. The ones at the top (with a faint color wash in the background) and along the right hand side are paid search results. The rest, which make up the bulk of the screen, are called organic – and are far more trustworthy in the minds of many online shoppers.
Paid search results are just what they sound like. Companies pay Google – sometimes tens of thousands of dollars each month – so that when a chosen search phrase is input, their company’s website will be listed first.Phrases highly coveted by paid search clients in the charter industry include “luxury yacht charter,” “yacht charter Mediterranean,” and “yacht charter Caribbean.” The price for these terms is set not by Google, but by charter companies themselves. It’s a winner-take-all game with the key slots going to the highest bidders (and Google winning all the money).
Organic search results are different.They are the websites that show up in the middle of the results screen, and they cannot be bought directly. Instead, Google uses a secret algorithm to determine which websites are truly More >
What are the best and worst things about boat shows?
Mar 1st
Retail Broker: Beverly Parsons,
Interpac Yachts
Boat shows are a vital part of the charter industry. They provide an opportunity for brokers to visit the destinations we offerand to learn the unique details and features of the yachts we represent. For the most part, we see the yachts “charter ready,” just as our clients do when they board, complete with fresh linens, table settings, and floralarrangements. Charter shows also provide a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the cuisine offeredon many of the yachts (through lunches and culinary competitions), to get a sense of the atmosphere onboard, and to see how well each crew is working together as a team. The shows also allow for attedance at great seminars, broker association meetings, and networking with other agents. Overall, boat shows are a very positive experience.
The only negatives are the thousands of dollars we must spend each year to attendthese shows, and the time that must be spent away from home and officeThis time and money, however, is an excellent investment and is crucial to staying current in an everchanging industry.
Central Agent: Els Bucknell,
Churchill Yacht Partners
Charter brokers are our clients. We need to sell our products to charter brokers in order More >
Henry Stainton > Yacht Marketing: Great article, Search engine optimisation can often be extremely difficult for independent yacht...
Nigel James: That sounds like shooting yourself in the foot with a gun firing blanks - lots of noise & smoke...
Charter Specialists: While I agree printed brochures are becoming obsolete for the most part, there is something to be...
Digital or Printed Brochures: [...] Are printed brochures obsolete? [...]
