Dream Yacht achieves a record season
Sept 19, 2022
The world’s leading yacht charter company announces solid results and launches new Fractional Yacht Ownership program.
The Cannes Yachting Festival provided an opportunity for the Dream Yacht Group, the world’s leading yacht charter company, headed by Loïc Bonnet for 22 years, to take stock of the last twelve months and a true post-Covid year. The company has a full order book of boats, good prospects and is continuing its environmental commitment.
A record season for yacht charter
It has been a successful season for Dream Yacht Charter with excellent sales on offerings including sailing holidays with or without a skipper, crewed yachts and cabin cruises. Occupancy rates approached 100% during the very high season in mid-June through early September, continuing the positive trends prior to Covid. Along with higher occupancy rates, the business is seeing an extended season in the Mediterranean, with bookings starting much earlier, from April-May, and ending with the beginning of winter. The Mediterranean bases remain the most popular.
“This summer, holidaymakers are choosing sailing in record numbers, driven by a real need to get away from it all, to enjoy the peace and quiet, far from the worries of Covid or the crisis”, says Loïc Bonnet. The best-selling destinations are Croatia, Greece and the West Indies. The season was a real success for exotic destinations as well, with very good booking levels, especially in Martinique, French Polynesia, and the Seychelles.
The Group will generate more income with 850 boats in 2021 than with 1050 in 2019. This is indicative of the return of Dream Yacht Charter’s regular customer base, along with an influx of new enthusiasts, attracted by the ease of chartering with a skipper or full crew option. Skippered and crewed charters have increased by more than 20% in one year.
In order to continue this dynamic, Dream Yacht is launching more than 150 new boats for the coming season, of which nearly 80% are catamarans.
Access to boat ownership – a busy order book
With the largest historical pre-booking book of boat deliveries (monohulls and catamarans) from the largest French shipyards, Dream Yacht is in a central position on the market for unit acquisitions. The year 2022 is a concrete sign of commercial recovery and forecasts for 2023 are already equivalent, with over 160 boats to be sold by Dream Yacht Group next year.
Every boat marketed for charter via Dream Yacht Group or sold for private use comes from French shipyards, with 3/4 of the orders dedicated to Bali, Fountaine-Pajot and Lagoon brand catamarans, and 1/4 to monohulls. Deliveries are mainly planned for exotic destinations (including Seychelles, Thailand, and French Polynesia) and the United States, while 1/3 are for the Mediterranean.
Group news
New boat offers for 2023: The catalog of Dream Yacht offerings is growing with new models including Bali 4.4, Lagoon 51, and Excess 14 catamarans, which were on display at the Cannes Yachting Festival, as well as the Bali Catsmart.
Private ownership solutions: Several new programs are being launched. The latest offering is a shared Fractional ownership program. In response to strong customer demand, Dream Yacht is innovating and providing up-to-the-minute services that meet the expectations of the sharing economy.
External growth, new acquisition for Dream Yacht Charter: Partners for many years, the Dream Yacht UK franchise has recently joined the parent company. The team remains the same and joins the group. Dream Yacht will participate at the Southampton Boat Show from 16 to 25 September.
Dream Yacht Sales, new Excess Catamarans dealer in the West Indies: Dream Yacht Sales, the boat sales division of the Dream Yacht Group, has become a dealer for Excess Catamarans, the Bénéteau Group’s cruising catamaran manufacturer and brand for the French West Indies. The Excess 14 was exhibited in Cannes as a world premiere.
The Dream Yacht Group is committed to the environment: The group has launched a total rethink of its carbon footprint in 2022 and will launch a major corporate project in 2023 with very ambitious targets.
Loïc Bonnet: “This season has been particularly intense in the Mediterranean, with Dream Yacht showing positive growth and continuing its good commercial performance in boat ownership, confirming the strength of its model. This good commercial dynamic is the result of the mobilization of our teams. At the same time, I am pleased to announce the arrival of the DY UK franchise teams in the Group. Finally, we are working on our CSR commitments, to propose an ambitious sustainable boating industry.”
Meet the Dream Yacht teams in Annapolis
Dream Yacht Charter will once again exhibit at the United States Sailboat show, October 13-17, 2022, at City Dock, Annapolis, MD.
