Airbnb for boats in South Florida? Learn about boat sharing for short-term rentals
Daniel Olsak, a Miami real estate agent by trade and a longtime boater, had always dreamed of owning a yacht. But the price of buying the yacht, a marina slip and maintenance was out of his price range.
In 2019, Olsak was able to buy a 44-foot SeaRay Sundancer motor yacht, which he rents three to four times a week to offset the cost with the help of new peer-to-peer models for boat rentals. Think of it as boat sharing.
“For me, renting it out is the only way I can have this kind of boat,” Olsak said.
He uses platforms like Click&Boat, a French company that’s trying to expand in the U.S. market and recently opened its U.S. office in Miami, and Sailo, a New York-based firm started in 2015 that also gives boat owners the opportunity to list their vessels for rent.
Both companies market themselves as the “Airbnb of the Seas,” enticing customers with an easy, all-in-one platform to find boats and captains.
On a typical Saturday or Sunday, a steady stream of boats like Olsak’s funnel through the mouth of the Miami River and into Biscayne Bay. Daily or afternoon boat rides have become a popular tourist attraction in Miam, and scores of local users celebrating a special occasion or looking for a way to get on the water and companies introducing “sharing economy” models for boating have helped expand availability for customers.
“South Florida is a massive market for us; it’s a huge portion of our business,” said Steven Landau, the lead account manager for Click&Boat’s U.S. market, which originally launched its website in 2017 and is a leading peer-to-peer boat rental platform in Europe. To penetrate the U.S. market, Click&Boat partnered last year with Miami-based Boats Group, which owns boating marketplaces and does boating-focused advertising.
Similar to websites like Airbnb, Click&Boat allows people to list their boats on its website for free and then takes 18% of the proceeds when a customer rents via the platform. Boats usually come with a captain (often the owner of the boat) or people with proof of a captain’s license can rent bareboat (when the boat doesn’t come with a captain). Boat owners manage their own listings and set their own prices — giving owners flexibility to block off dates for personal use and adjust prices based on factors like time of year, day of the week and fuel prices.
In addition to individual owners, local brick-and-mortar boat rental companies can use the platform to book as well. Boat renters leave reviews of captains and rate their experiences on a one to five star scale. They can also message the boat owners with questions, special requests or to try to negotiate the price, similar to Airbnb, the short-term home and vacation rental digital platform.
While the company’s main market for European boaters are multiday trips on sailboats around the Mediterranean, Landau said its market in South Florida consists mostly of full- or half-day rentals on motorboats.
“It’s South Florida, people love to be out on the water here, but of course owning a boat is really expensive,” Landau said. “We’re giving consumers more options and hopefully making it more accessible.”
Olsak, the boat owner, charges $1,100 for four hours on his SeaRay Sundancer with up to 13 passengers. He said his gross income from rentals is $12,000 to $15,000 a month, chipping away at the investment of buying the boat and the $3,000 to $4,000 he spends on fuel, insurance, a marina slip and maintenance. He estimates 70% of his customers are tourists from out of town.
Boat-sharing platforms like Click&Boat and Sailo join longtime boating businesses in South Florida like Freedom and Carefree, popular boat clubs in which people pay membership fees and are able to rent and take out boats themselves. But boat clubs are focused on residents, while peer-to-peer digital platforms make boat rentals in South Florida more accessible for one-time rentals for outsiders visiting.
“One thing about boat rentals is that it’s a good way to get boaters into the industry because it’s a test experience,” said Patience Cohn, the industry liaison for the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. “But there are very specific rules about renting boats under the Coast Guard regulations, so with a platform like that, renters should be careful that owners are fully compliant.”
Landau said Click&Boat vets the boat owners using its platform and requires they show proof of insurance. Captains, however, are responsible for following Coast Guard regulations and for arranging logistics if the boat leaves U.S. waters.
“The core of this platform is that it’s the self-service model, ala Airbnb,” he said. “We offer the platform, and a concierge-type booking assistance for longer trips, but it’s really a peer-to-peer model.”
