Why are luxury superyacht charters suddenly so popular? Not just for celebs like Elon Musk and Beyoncé, America’s richest are replacing Russians as the most likely to rent a megayacht post pandemic

Sep 9 , 2022

A smaller boat idles beside the 126-metre Octopus superyacht, once owned by Microsoft’s Paul Allen. Photo: Camper & Nicholsons

Late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s yacht, the 126-metre-long Octopus, costs US$2.2 million a week to rent – and is already booked up for winter

There are only 3,100 private yachts available for charter in the world, and even fewer now those owned by the likes of Dmitry Pumpyansky are out of service

Stacy Fischer-Rosenthal and her 30-strong team have had a busy summer booking private yachts for bankers, CEOs and other high fliers now liberated from the shackles of Covid-19 and willing to pay millions of dollars for week-long luxury cruises.

Bookings for superyachts through Fischer Travel Enterprises, where Fischer-Rosenthal is president, have spiked 20 per cent this year from already high levels in 2021, a trend also seen by other companies chartering out luxury vessels that come with all the frills – from Michelin-starred cuisine to cinemas and submarines.

“Yacht charters are very popular because our clients want the privacy, security and flexibility that it gives them,” Fischer-Rosenthal said. Her company charges US$150,000 just to join its members only service, through which superyachts can be chartered anywhere in the world. “They want to have a luxurious experience.”

American celebrities and bankers on superyachts

The Ritz-Carlton’s new Evrima yacht offers people with lower budgets a taste of the luxury yachting life. Photo: Ritz-Carlton

Americans are a growing client base, helping to fill gaps left by wealthy Russians who aren’t travelling as much due to restrictions following the invasion of Ukraine. And it’s not just the likes of Elon Musk or Beyoncé and Jay-Z hiring out these glitzy floating palaces. Fischer-Rosenthal said a couple from the US enjoyed their cruise in Greece and Türkiye in July so much they booked another in Italy soon after and invited friends along.

Fraser Yachts, which sells and manages superyachts as well as arranging charters, booked nearly 500 private trips in the first half of 2022, according to director of marketing and business development Mark Duncan. Bookings are up 32 per cent from last year, and again most of the growth is being driven by Americans, many of whom are renting for the first time, said Duncan, who is based in Monaco. Among the megayachts the company hires out is Wheels, a 75-metre-long vessel with a gym and a nightclub.

The number of Americans with a net worth of between US$1 million and US$5 million grew 8 per cent in 2021 to more than 12 million households, while those worth US$25 million or more climbed 18 per cent, according to research firm Spectrem Group.

The boom in luxury cruises after Covid-19

Several luxury yachts were on show during the Cannes Yachting Festival 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

“Our clients are high net worth individuals, running banks and hedge funds,” Fischer-Rosenthal said. “They’ve made a lot of money in the last few years. Now they want to travel again and they want the best.”

Customers are also getting younger, now averaging in their 50s rather than the 60-65 age bracket of the last two decades, Duncan said. This year, about 35 per cent of Fraser’s clients are new to yachting, compared with up to 15 per cent previously, he said. Cruises involving several generations from the same family are also more popular.

“During the pandemic, people couldn’t be with their families,” Duncan said. “Yachts can be big enough for all to be together. Unlike a home, you’re not stuck in one place. And you can control the environment and test everyone for Covid-19 if that’s a concern.”

Tourists party on a yacht in Dubai in 2021, after the city became one of the world’s first destinations to open up for tourism during Covid-19. Photo: AP