DEDICATED TO ALL YACHT OWNERS WILLING TO HIRE THEIR OWN YACHT
Private yacht charter is an experience unlike any other; it’s a luxury lifestyle that offers unparalleled accommodations and gives access to spectaculars sceneries, always better seen from the sea.
From the yacht owner’s perspective, it’s the opportunity to turn an investment in pleasure into a flourishing business; maybe the best decision you can make after purchasing your yacht! Placing your yacht in charter service can substantially reduce the cost of ownership and generate revenue.
HOW WE GENERATE REVENUE
From the moment we are appointed as the charter yacht broker for a yacht, we waste no time and start to offer on the marketplace. Whether your yacht is offered for a limited period or for the whole year, you will enjoy the benefits to deal with an energetic and motivated team.
Our Charter Division utilizes marketing techniques coming from in-depth industry knowledge to create charter opportunities for your yacht. Our marketing strategies are proactive, dynamic and international in scope; we utilize many promotional tools like Internet, catalogs, advertising in nautical reviews and e-newsletters. Levante Yachts also established many relationships with the top charter yacht brokers around the world—an incomparable tool for booking charters.
GETTING READY TO CHARTER
In order to make your private yacht and crew charter ready, there are a few things to do before you can launch your international yacht charter business. Levante Yachts can help you to create and maintain a successful business:
Agreement between Owner and Yacht Broker – Outlines the responsibilities of Levante Yachts as Yacht Broker and yours as yacht Owner.
Brochure – We will assist you with the production of an appropriate and professional brochure to promote your yacht and crew to clients. A high resolution brochure is needed to reach your desired market niche; it contains quality photos and a professional layout increasing the charter opportunities your yacht will receive. We are also experiencing over the last years how useful a well-done crew profile (with each member’s picture) can be; this helps a potential Charterer to know the type of crew he will spend his cruise with and choose his yacht on this basis too. The Chef will be asked to set a sample menu expressing his cuisine “spirit”, listing his favourite recipes etc … ; this is also a very important selling tool
Virtual tours – Virtual tours are an extremely engaging means of capturing a potential charter guest. For added online exposure, Levante Yachts central agents can arrange cost-effective virtual tours of the yacht in a timely fashion to assure ample marketing use.
Rates – Levante Yachts will support you to determine the right weekly rate for your yacht’s hire continually analyzing the international yacht charter rates of vessels with similar accommodation and features.
Crew guidelines: We encourage yacht charter crew, particularly the Captain, to play an active role and use their past experiences to let guests enjoy the yacht and her professional crew. We will ask the crew to set in advance some sample itineraries and some sample menus. The Myba.net publishes the guidelines for yacht charter Captains; these are very helpful both for Captains and Owners, being a real “vademecum” and helping the crew to avoid any possible misunderstanding with clients.
Specifications – Completed by the Captain, a list of amenities and special features are an integral part of our marketing international yacht charters. Private yacht crew profiles are created and maintained by the Captain, and are an important tool of the booking process for both international yacht brokers and charter clients.
OUR OFFER:
THE LEVANTE YACHTS TEAM: Our team dealing with yachts for charter has the duty to promote your yacht to the international marketplace (and brokerage industry) as part of Levante Yachts charter fleet.
Our charter broker work closely with you and your captain to achieve the goals that you have set for your charter yacht.
Our Sales Division “Levante Mare” often “catches” clients for yacht charters too; maybe clients who have just sold their own yacht and are not in time to buy for the next season; clients willing to try a cruise before buying their own yacht; clients who decided not to purchase but simply charter a yacht. Our team is at your disposal for any information, any advice, any consulting.
Platforms and International Brokers Association: Your yacht will be placed on MYBA.net/YACHTFOLIO, the largest luxury charter yacht database – available to international yacht brokers and charter brokers. YACHTFOLIO is where we maintain your private yacht’s master calendar, e-brochures, specs, rates, seasonal bases and crew profiles; an indispensable instrument to internationally advertise our Central Agency yachts for charter. An advanced database system with access to over 800 charter companies around the world. This ensures that your vessel receives in-depth exposure to thousands of charter brokers and booking agents in virtually any continent of the world. Your dedicated charter manager will ensure constant communication to these firms in order to ensure that your yacht gets booked on time, hassle-free and for the best possible rate. We rarely use other platforms such as Centralyachtagent.com or CharterIndex; these are also important brokers databases but they mainly work for the American market whilst the YACHTFOLIO works all over the world.
Charter Boat Shows – Your yacht’s attendance at one of the major charter trade shows enables international yacht brokers to personally inspect your private yacht and meet the crew. It seems not so important but for a yacht broker, knowing a yacht’s crew means a lot; he will then offer the yacht with belief and knowledge.
Yacht Familiarization Trips – Yacht familiarization trips are organized for a select group of professional brokers and the media so they can experience the amenities provided on board first-hand. “Fam trips” are highly effective since they generate a positive buzz in the brokerage community and encourage journalists to write positively about the yacht.
Global intelligence tool – Information is power. Levante Yachts has harnessed this power with the most advanced CRM and CMS system available. Our extensive database allows for instantaneous communication with clients whose profile requests a charter yacht like yours.
CHARTER TERMS AND AGREEMENTS
The best yachtcharter Agreement in the world is the MYBA Charter Agreement for sure, published and certified by the Worldwide Yacht Brokers Association. A yacht which can be chartered with this contract is certified by the association and this is a first warrantee itself.
The Myba Charter Agreement states very specific conditions called WMT (Western Mediterranean Terms). Charter rates paid by clients (the Charterer) include: yacht’s hire (fully equipped), crew, yacht’s insurance, crew’s food. Charter rates do not include: fuel for the yacht, for generators, for tenders and toys; guests’ food and drinks; port fees and taxes if any; water and electricity ashore; personal laundry, personal communication costs (including wi-fi) and everything not mentioned in “rates include”.
In East Mediterranean the usual conditions are called SEMT o EMT (Standard Eastern Mediterranean Terms), usually applicable in Greece and Turkey. In this case rates include: yacht’s hire (fully equipped), crew, insurance, crew’s food, fuel for 4 or 5 hours per day, port fees and taxes if any (Corinth Canal fees are never included in rates). Often, but not always, rates also include water and electricity. Rates do not include: fuel for the yacht over 4 or 5 sailing hours per day, fuel for tenders, generator(s) and toys, private marina fees, guest’s food and drinks, communications costs and personal laundry.
Standard Caribbean Terms (SCT) are usually applicable in the Caribbean area and they state that charter rates include: yacht’s hire (fully equipped), crew, insurance, guests’ food, crew’s food, fuel for a number of hours often changing from a yacht to another. Drinks are extras together with personal communication costs, personal laundry, port fees.
VAT IN ITALY AND IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA
In Italy, from 2002, the law allows yachts for charter to apply reduced VAT. As many charter yachts carry out their charter activity either in UE or in extra UE waters (Tunisia, Croatia, etc…), Italian Government decided that who charters a yacht and cruises UE and extra UE waters can pay the usual VAT percentage on a part of the Charter Fee only. The VAT percentage applicable to each yacht for charter is inversely proportional to the yacht’s dimensions.
Hereinafter the VAT percentages applicable in case during the charter period the yacht cruises in International waters too:
– Motoryachts or Sailingyachts over 24 meters lenght 6,60%
– Sailingyachts between 20.01 and 24 mt lenght and Motoryachts between 16,01 and 24 mt lenght 8,80%
– Sailingyachts between 10,01 and 20 mt lenght and Motoryachts between 12,01 and 16 mt length 11%
All Italian yachts regularly licensed for charter can buy duty free fuel, cheaper than full price.
In other Mediterranean Countries, the applicable VAT percentages are different from Country to Country. Hereinafter some examples:
– Charters starting in French ports: 20% o 10% VAT depending on the itinerary
– Charters starting in Spanish ports: 21% VAT
– Charters starting in Greek ports: 12% VAT
– Charters starting in Turkish ports: 18% VAT
– Charters starting in Croatian ports: 21% VAT
– Charter starting in Montenegro ports are VAT exempt ***
VAT applicability and percentages are to be confirmed time after time cause exceptions can be endless
*** Montenegro is a VAT exempt Country as it is not part of European Community; so charters can be considered exempt from VAT. But in 2017 Croatian Government imposed to all yachts starting charters in Montenegro to pay Croatian VAT pro-rata for every single day spent cruising Croatian waters.
VAT is applicable depending on the port of delivery, where the charter commences. If, for example, the port of delivery is in Italy, then Italian VAT is applicable; if the charter starts in Croatia, Croatian VAT is applicable.
A yacht has to be registered in each Country where his charter contracts start. This means that if an Italian flagged yacht has to start a charter in France (or in Croatia, in Greece, in Spain….etc…) the Owner Company will have to register in that Country electing fiscal domicile and obtaining a VAT number.
Our staff will guide and help you to fulfill the complete paperwork, trying to make everything as simple and fast as possible.