78Isea&iISPRING-SUMMER 2012and crew turnover was high as crew switched from one yachtto another between seasons. As a consequence of the reces-sion, many yachts have laid off staff during the winter seasonand the resulting oversupply has meant that crew with jobs arehappy to have them and will stay in their positions for longer.Needless to say, service standards remain as high as ever. Demarchelier agrees, "Price is still up there as a key consid-eration, but crew, especially chefs, are of huge importance tothe charterer. Deck spaces and interior décor are other impor-tant factors for many." A DIFFERENT MARKET"With regards to the future of the charter industry there is littlemore that we can actively do to improve charter business aswe are dependent on external forces," admits Kiernan. "Oncecharterers regain confidence in the financial stability of theirbusinesses and the economy, we'll see a more significantupturn in the charter sector."Dawson says that it is sometimes hard to know which crisesmight affect the yachting market. "The first shock of the globalfinancial crises seems to be past us, but we are still sufferingfrom the aftermath, including confidence in the future," shesays. "The recent unrest in Greece, the Middle and Far East andthe effect on oil prices and stock markets all affect thecharter market."Dawson says that the enquiries pick-up in the early partof 2012 is largely due to a general increase in confidence, pri-marily from the US market. "We have seen a lot of interestin the Mediterranean this summer, and clients who stayedclose to home last year are now considering more distanttravel again, so the US market is travelling to theMediterranean for summer charters." Kiernan concludes, "Although we've noticed a recovery tosome degree, there is no question that the recession contin-ues to impact on the charter market. The key to the health of ourindustry overall is to find new charter clients. This will lead tonew owners and more business for everyone."Dawson agrees with Kiernan. "Attracting new clients to thecharter market is more important than ever in order to introducenew blood to the industry. Many of my clients have charteredthree or four times and then gone on to become an owner them-selves, and this is how the industry should work." Dawson does,however, go on to say that throughout the downturn the mainfocus has been to keep existing clients. "As brokers, we havehad to work harder to secure bookings from existing clients andas a result have become a lot more creative in our approach.Many of my clients are adventurous types and by finding a yachtin a new location I have been able to secure charter bookingsfor some very happy clients who may not otherwise havechartered this year." Demarchelier believes that there is always room for improve-ment and this especially rings true with the yacht charter indus-try. "In addition to catering to the existing yacht-savvy individ-uals (those who have chartered before), at Camper & Nicholsonswe are continually working on concepts to introduce luxury yachtcharter to all high net worth and ultra-high net-worth individu-als and their families, friends and colleagues," she says. Dawson backs this up, "There are still many people who areunaware of yacht charter and the considerable benefits it offerscompared to a hotel or villa holiday." She goes on to point outthat whether or not a client has been affected by the financialcrisis, many still perceive chartering a yacht as being the bestpossible way to ensure a successful, quality holiday. "For thosewho are having to work considerably harder during these times,a successful holiday is even more important than ever before,"she says. FUTURE FOCUS The charter market relies heavily on repeat clients and refer-rals. The majority of established brokerage houses have an80/20 split when it comes to repeat and new clients. But asDawson stressed, the market needs to attract new clients tofeed other sectors of the industry - from new build to bro-kerage and management. The outlook for many repeat clients changes with time asthey are able to move on to bigger yachts and so the repeatclients become new clients in the large-yacht sector.Dawson has a number of repeat charter clients and over theyears they have typically moved up to increasingly largeryachts. "There are certain clients with whom I have dealt forseveral years and the majority step up to bigger yachts eachtime they charter." Dawson has noticed that the age of herWhether or not a client has been affected by the financialcrisis, many still perceive chartering a yacht as being the best way to ensure a successful, quality holiday

SPRING-SUMMER 2012I sea&iI79chartermarketclients has decreased. "The average age of my clients hasdecreased from mid-60s to early 40s, proving that new clientsare entering the charter market. What I am more surprised atis that there is not yet a strong trend for clients from emergingcountries enquiring and chartering yachts."Kiernan has noted the same trends, "We are definitely see-ing younger clients entering the charter market. The Russiansand Ukrainians have returned, having all but disappeared fora short time. The Europeans are more active now, and theAmericans are also coming back in force. There is a lot of talkabout emerging markets but we are yet to see a definite trend."Demarchelier goes on to add, however, that they are expe-riencing more interest from Asian countries that are new toyachting. "For the moment it is existing clients, or new clientswith a similar profile, who provide the majority of our busi-ness," she says. "But the industry needs to encourage the newbreed of clients from emerging countries." "Our new charter clients at Camper & Nicholsons are younger,"says Kiernan. "We have had a few coming from emerging coun-tries like Brazil, India and China but they are not yet significantin number. It is no secret that Russians have been very active char-terers for some time, and although they have been quieter than inthe boom years they continue to book the bigger yachts for two-week charters. The bulk of our charter clients are still Americanand British, while the French and the Swiss are not far behind theRussians in terms of the number of charters booked." What Camper & Nicholsons has seen is a younger clientele."We are seeing younger, internet savvy, charterers who surf theweb for charters." Added to this, Demarchelier has a few newclients that are the offspring of their 'chartering' parents. "Talkabout creating a new generation of charterers," she says. Demarchelier believes that as the division of wealth altersaround the world, and the younger generation become poten-tial charterers, it is up to a well-established, highly experiencedteam to attract the new breed of clients. "The best way to enticenew business is to employ only highly experienced staff in everydepartment: charter, brokerage and yacht management," shesays. "Camper & Nicholsons appreciated this early on and thisis why we have been successful."In conclusion, it appears that the market has changed, not justfrom 2005 to 2008, when it was at its zenith, but also from 2009to 2011. It is now neither a sellers' nor a buyers' market, but some-where in between. All the brokerage houses suffered during theeconomic downturn and the upshot of this is an alternativeapproach from all. Supply continues to outstrip demand in someareas but not to the same extent as in recent years. Prices seemto be balancing out and owners are realistic about what they canexpect. What is evident is the need for new blood in the market andthe need for the industry to find innovative ways to attract it. nMaking a splash aboard Big Aron