European Yacht-Charter Marketplace

Key results

Unified Marketplace

Fleet operators and private owners under a single booking flow.

Trust Layer in Place

ID / skipper-license / insurance verification, escrow-style payments with split payouts.

Ancillary Commerce

On-trip services with attach tracking; now contributing ~10% of total revenue.

Planning Assistance

Route suggestions tailored to vessel constraints and traveler intent, plus contextual offers.

yacht booking case study

Summary

Our client owns a seamless European yacht-charter platform for travelers who value ease, transparency, and a premium booking experience.
The solution unites real-time availability, dynamic pricing, and a streamlined checkout to serve families, friend groups, and licensed skippers — enabling safe, confident bookings while expanding reach and revenue.
With 15+ years in high-end, tailor-made charters, a team of professional captains and specialists orchestrates every detail of each stay, delivering a genuinely five-star experience.
The fleet is carefully curated and includes luxury and mega-yachts from renowned shipyards.
Services
Web Development
Industry
Hospitality
Location
Europe
yachts

Business Challenge

  • Operate two supply lines as one experience: Different onboarding, documentation, pricing/negotiation, commissions, and payout rules for without fragmenting UX.
  • Cold-start for AI: Launch useful recommendations with limited historical data and without heavy manual upkeep.
  • Prevent conflicts: Eliminate double-booking and pricing mismatches; support seasonal and owner-specific rules in one engine.
  • Maintain trust at scale: Verify people, licenses, insurance, and vessel condition with minimal operational load.

Solutions

  • 1

    Marketplace & Roles

    • Unified supply: Fleets and Private owners in one flow with role-based permissions and economics.
    • Admin controls: Central settings for fees/commissions, tax/fee rules, dispute tooling, and vendor management.

  • 2

    Discovery & Booking

    • High-intent search: Location/dates, vessel class/berths, skipper required/own license, amenities; map & marina view.
    • Live availability & pricing: Real-time calendars with seasonal logic, deposits, and fees.
    • Verified checkout: Quote → verification → escrow → e-contract → pre-departure checklist.

  • 3

    Trust & Compliance

    • KYC/KYB & safety: ID + skipper-license checks, insurance validation, vessel docs; audit trails.
    • Dual ratings: Separate vessel and owner scores to surface quality consistently.

  • 4

    AI Features

    • Route Advisor: Itineraries that respect vessel constraints (length/beam/draft) and marina access; intent wizard (Relax/Family/Fishing/Party).
    • Add-On Recommender: Contextual services by party profile and route (chef, cleaning, transfers, provisioning, entertainment, kids’ kits).
    • Cold-start ready: Rules/bundles on day one; models improve via telemetry.

  • 5

    Add-On Services Marketplace

    • Vendors & bundles: Provisioning, chefs, entertainers, marina cleaning, transfers; week-long and turn-day packs.
    • Placement: Checkout, confirmation, and itinerary touchpoints; SLA + review loops for vendors.

    Why it matters: New margin streams without owner overhead.

  • 6

    Payments & Payouts

    • Escrow & split payouts on check-in confirmation; commission tiers by supply type; FX for cross-border.
    • Chargeback & dispute flows aligned with verification data.

  • 7

    Tech Stack

    • Frontend: Next.js/React (SSR), map/marina UI components.
    • Backend: Node.js (TypeScript), Postgres, Redis (queues/cache), REST/GraphQL APIs.
    • Integrations: Payments (escrow/split/FX), ID & license verification, insurance, GIS/marina data, email/SMS/OTP.
    • AI/ML: Python services for recommenders; vector search for itineraries/content retrieval.
    • Analytics: Event pipeline for utilization, add-on attach rate, disputes, repeat bookings.

Delivery & Team

  • 1

    Phased Rollout

    Fleets → P2P owners → AI features & vendor marketplace.

  • 2

    Team (8–10 FTEs)

    PM, Architect, 2×BE, 2×FE, QA, BA/UX, DevOps; +2 Data Scientists for AI delivery.

Outcomes

Broader inventory & pricing coverage
by combining fleets with P2P owners.
Tighter utilization
through instant-book (fleets) and negotiable requests (P2P).
New margin streams
via contextual add-ons (chef, cleaning, entertainment, provisioning).
Lower manual workload
from verification flows, standardized handovers, and in-app comms.
Higher renter confidence
with dual ratings and constraint-aware route guidance.