Fractional Chartering

Chartering a yacht is designed to be a luxury experience. Guest satisfaction is of paramount importance and from start to finish the process of chartering a yacht can be fully tailored to maximise their experience on board. A high level of service along-side the high value of the yachts themselves means that chartering a yacht is a popular holiday choice for many but often comes with a premium price tag to match. The concept of fractional costing is not new and has been used in the fractional ownership of yachts for many years. The principal is basic and seeks to spread the costs involved across all parties, lowering the cost for a single party. Fractional chartering works in the same way as fractional ownership, by spreading the cost of charter across all guests on board on a price per head basis.

When might I use a Fractional Charter?

Traditionally when chartering a yacht, one principle charter guest will be responsible for all payments and signatures required to charter the yacht, and therefore payment will be taken from this one individual. Often for larger, non-family groups, the price to charter a yacht may not seem like a worthwhile outlay and maybe not be affordable for this one principal charterer. In a fractional charter scenario, the charter price would be divided on a per head basis and equally spread across all guests making affordability of high end charters available to a wider market.

Fractional chartering can be used in a variety of situations, but is most effective in friendly groups comprised of couples, multi-family trips or groups of individuals. It allows guests to expand the opportunities in yachting holiday by efficiently spreading the financial costs and may allow for guests to charter larger and more expensive yachts than they could individually.

Do I get the same experience when on board?

In a simple answer, yes. The experience on board is exactly the same and all guests will be treated with the same level of dedication and luxury as they would normally. Nor does a fractional charter affect the guests use of a yacht. Despite the cost being divided per head, the whole yacht and its auxiliaries are at the disposal of the guests on board the same as any other charter.

Organising a Fractional Charter

When chartering a yacht there always has to be a principle charterer, otherwise known as a primary charter guest. This still applies with fractional charters and must be confirmed before the charter can take place. On paying the sum for the charter fee, the principal charter guest will be required to provide only one set of payment to be used to pay the charter fee. A broker can facilitate the calculation of the fractional price per head of the charter, which can then be utilised to determine the amount payable by each party involved in the charter to the principal charterer.

If all parties are contributing to the holiday financially, it may also discourage a sense of a ‘free’ holiday, equally it may benefit the guests by creating a sense that all parties are contributing equally to the enjoyment of the holiday.