Yachting Made Easy – Revolutionising The Industry With Ian Malouf
Ian Malouf has brought the efficiency of digital technology to the yachting world with his innovative chartering service, the Ahoy Club.
The process of chartering a luxury yacht can sometimes be ponderous and inefficient, often taking days or even weeks — disappointing, given today’s instantaneous technologies.
The Ahoy Club, the world’s first bespoke luxury yacht charter service, has now changed the game, transforming the global yacht charter market with the world’s first automated luxury yacht platform. Launched in May 2018 by founder Ian Malouf, the Ahoy Club uses the latest in pioneering digital technology to allow charterers to book a yacht within minutes. This service replaces the now-outdated manual process, lowering the cost by approximately 13 per cent and making chartering accessible to a wider market. This translates to more revenue for super-yacht owners.
Malouf knows a thing or two about yachting and the passion many have for this certain brand of luxury, with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry as both an owner and a guest. As the owner of the 54-metre super-yacht Mischief, Malouf has experienced every aspect of chartering. He recognized an opportunity to improve the chartering business by bringing together a team of professionals with the expertise necessary to create a completely new concept with Ahoy Club.
“The chartering business has been much harder and more expensive than it needs to be,” says Malouf about the three years of development for the new concept. “I wanted to make the experience quicker, more informative and more fun. Ahoy Club will allow you to book a yacht in less than three minutes and save money. We are delivering more choice, more value and more freedom — for less.”
Once a yacht has been requested by a charter guest on the app, an owner’s acceptance generates a digital contract, and a 25 per cent deposit is immediately accepted via credit card, instead of the 50 per cent deposit required by bank transfer in the past, which could take weeks.
Ahoy Club’s expert personal concierge and charter agent teams are then available 24-7 to assist customers with selections and itineraries. Ahoy Club’s new automation also allows yacht owners to set prices instantly for specific periods, lengthening the yacht season beyond the current peak of three summer months.
Ahoy Club also offers the innovative YOTSWAP feature for owners. For example, an owner with a yacht currently in the Caribbean could swap with an owner whose yacht is in the Mediterranean, saving substantial fuel and relocation costs for both owners.
Ahoy Club realizes yacht ownership and chartering are exclusive lifestyle choices. And it has cleverly applied the latest in technology to make that exclusive lifestyle more accessible and approachable than ever before.
