CHART ERING
T HE PERFECT
HOLIDAY
Imagine the most secluded seven-star hotel in the world,
serving your favourite foods, your favourite wines and
where you are surrounded only by friends and family of your
choosing. Abi Butcher discovers this hotel offers an endless
choice of stunning but deserted beaches and a different view
from your bedroom window every morning
uch a hotel does exist, only
it floats — not a cruise ship
but a luxury yacht charter,
one of the most flexible
holidays in the world. The problem is,
few people know about yacht chartering
or if they do, how to go about chartering
— or what is exactly involved.
“The first thing to know is that you can
go anywhere in the world and you don’t
need to find your own crew,” says Mark
Duncan, group commercial director of
Yachting Partners International (YPI),
which operates globally. A yacht charter
broker is the equivalent of a luxury travel
agent, and will work with a client to find
a vacation to suit exact tastes and budget.
S
G UA R D S P O LO C LU B
But how to find one? Many newcomers
to yacht chartering find a broker through
personal recommendation or by visiting
a boat show but typing “luxury yacht
charter” into a search engine is as good a
way as any to approach the subject.
Just make sure that whichever compa-
ny you choose is a member of the MYBA
(see DOs and DON’Ts on page.99) to en-
sure the yacht will meet desired standards.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness for
a yacht charter, as is a crew with great
hospitality skills, smiles every day, a
welcoming attitude and a genuine desire
to please,” says Tom Collins, a charter
broker with the worldwide Burgess,
based in Miami.
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