Sharing economy for boats redefined: Boataffair launched a platform that enables boat owners to rent out their boats, and create "experiences" for boat renters including island cruises, learning to sail or Yoga on water. The startup completed its seed round to fund its marketing activities and further internationalisation. Boataffair is currently listing boats in 12 countries.
Boats are an under-utilised asset and are sitting in the ports worldwide unused most of the time. In effort to solve this problem, the co-founders, Adrian Walker and Natalya Zubova designed a platform based on trust and quality to enable boat owners to rent out their boats. This would allow boat owners to earn extra income while meeting new people. The platform also eliminates the middleman (the centralised travel agency) by facilitating direct communication between the boat renters and boat owners. Thanks to their new concept, the startup redefines the sharing economy for boats.
Boataffair was officially launched in spring 2017 as a controlled marketplace designed to provide a valuable service to boat renters. To deliver on their promise, the Boataffair team screens every listing boat before it is made live on the website. Factors such as insurance, age and how the vessel has been looked after are investigated. “We go the extra mile to identify boat owners who want to list with us for the right reasons like quality and the personal, authentic approach. This is a major differentiator”, says Walker.
Additionally, the platform allows boat owners to showcase what they offer in a dedicated space. In autumn 2017, a separate experience page was launched for boat owners to create experiences for the renters. It also allows renters to browse experiences by categories, such as "Island Cruise, learning to sail, sunset cruise, Yoga and sailing, among others". Every experience links directly to the boat that offers it.
In December the startup successfully closed a seed round of CHF 100'000 with three private investors who will actively help to grow the company internationally. The funds will be used to further expand Boataffair’s presence internationally and fund marketing activities.
The platform has already enabled boat renting in four countries and is currently extending its reach to over 12 countries. “Boats are being added on a daily basis in various countries by boat owners and our supply is constantly growing therefore”, said Walker.
(ran)
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