- Last instalment transferred by the agency to the fleet operator one hour before departure
- Charter crew is fobbed off with a smaller catamaran on site
- Agency only reacts to massive pressure from customers
- Events are reminiscent of the major charter bankruptcy two years ago
- Charter fleet operators want to defend themselves against the discount battle
- One provider had already discontinued its collaboration with Boataround
- Charter insurer Yacht-Pool rejects policies for dubious companies
- Charter agency is apparently heavily indebted
Marcus Neumüller wanted to spend another week on the water with three friends in mid-October. Back in August, he had found a 40-foot Beneteau near Athens that was only a year old online; it was supposed to cost 2,600 euros, including the SUP. "You can't go wrong," thought the Austrian, who lives south of Steyr. He booked directly and transferred the full charter amount on 24 August after receiving the booking confirmation.
However, six weeks later, just one day before his departure, he received some disturbing news out of the blue. A fellow sailor who had travelled there in advance had been told by the fleet operator in Alimos that the ship would not be released. The reason: Boataround, the online agency through which Neumüller had booked, had not paid the final instalment of 1,200 euros, even though it had long been due. Apparently a common practice, as the head of the charter base noted: "We often have this kind of trouble with them."
Last instalment transferred by the agency to the fleet operator one hour before departure
What followed for Marcus Neumüller and his crew member was a race against time, accompanied by anger, rage and the worry of having to pay the final instalment again in order to get the charter yacht. By email, telephone and via the fleet operator, he demanded that Boataround fulfil its contractual obligation immediately. The pressure had an effect. In the afternoon, the Slovakian online agency finally transferred the outstanding amount - just one hour before the final deadline expired.
"Nobody needs that kind of stress!" says the doctor looking back. After his recent experience, he "certainly won't be booking with Boataround again". There are plenty of other agencies that are known for their quality and are also certified. "We were simply blinded by the favourable price".
Neumüller and his crew were still lucky. Other Boataround customers have been hit harder recently: sometimes the yachts booked and promised were not available at all, sometimes the agency failed to make payments or refunds for months, sometimes the discounts advertised on the homepage did not even come close to the discounts actually offered.
Charter crew is fobbed off with a smaller catamaran on site
Nico Gast from Neuenhagen near Berlin experienced a whole cascade of unpleasant surprises. He had booked and paid for a 14-metre catamaran via Boataround for a trip in September. As it was not available at the desired time, he was offered a competitor's model of the same size as a replacement. Guest paid the last two charter rates in July and August and arrived on 27 September "full of anticipation".
However, he and his crew were also denied the replacement boat because, as in the case of Marcus Neumüller, the final instalment had not been forwarded. The base manager then cancelled the contract and chartered the 46-foot cat elsewhere.
Boataround only offered a much smaller 40-foot cat as a replacement, which would not be available until the following day and was also around 350 kilometres away. In his predicament, Nico Gast was forced to agree to another swap, rented a car and set off with his crew.
Agency only reacts to massive pressure from customers
The additional costs for the car and the lost sailing day were not credited to him. Boataround even failed to reimburse the difference of 906 euros for the charter for weeks. The agency only responded when Gast set a deadline until the end of October and threatened to file for insolvency if the deadline was not met.
On Trustpilot, a leading customer satisfaction portal, the company, which was founded in 2016, continues to enjoy a good rating. Boataround itself advertises its service with 4.5 out of 5 possible stars. The most recent reviews, often submitted anonymously, are all outstanding. However, anyone who takes the trouble to look at the one-star ratings will find dozens of scathing reviews, with a significant increase since August.
Events are reminiscent of the major charter bankruptcy two years ago
The events are reminiscent of the final phase of another online agency that was launched with tens of millions in investor money and high standards: Zizoo. The start-up company with headquarters in Vienna and management in Berlin withheld charter fees from customers for months in 2023 before the fraud was uncovered at the beginning of last year and insolvency proceedings were initiated at both locations.
Zizoo had also set out to monopolise the small-scale market for charter boat brokerage, which is still dominated by many family businesses, in a similar way to how Booking.com dominates the global travel market. With an easy-to-use website, aggressive marketing and high discounts, they wanted to steal a march on traditional agencies and fleet operators. But they burnt through money faster than they gained market share.
The Zizoo case:
There is now growing concern in the industry that Boataround could be in similar difficulties. At the boat show in Biograd at the end of October, representatives of several charter companies therefore met to jointly oppose the discount strategy, which is eroding the already tight profit margins. Many of them are cooperating with the online agency in order to improve their fleet utilisation. However, they are all aware that negative experiences such as those of Marcus Neumüller or Nico Gast can also damage their own reputation.
Charter fleet operators want to defend themselves against the discount battle
Some are already considering cancelling the collaboration with Boataround altogether. This is because the Slovakian company has recently shown itself to be very inventive when it comes to undercutting list prices. Before the early booking discounts that are now being advertised, they were promoting so-called "secret deals" of up to 50 per cent - an offer in which the customer could only specify the type of boat, area and duration of the trip, but had no guarantee as to which boat they would actually get in the end and from which base - a kind of blind date with a boat.
Resistance to this form of marketing quickly developed because the fleet operators felt they were being played off against each other. Customers also reported some problematic experiences. In the meantime, the bargains have disappeared from the website. Specific search engine hits that still exist no longer lead to the "Secret Deal", but only to the homepage.
One provider had already discontinued its collaboration with Boataround
Simone Morelli, head of North Sardinia Sail, has long taken the Slovakian discount battle too far. At the beginning of the year, he decided to stop the collaboration altogether. In January, he wrote to his other marketing partners: "No more discount sales!" Boataround's business principle was "unscrupulous, questionable and exclusively discount-driven". He also criticised the fact that some providers were highlighted by the online agency as "valued partners" without customers being able to understand the criteria on which this distinction was based.
Morelli's tough stance could set a precedent. Numerous charter companies are already discussing how they can curb the price war with a kind of voluntary commitment. They are considering setting a limit for the agencies, which would include uncoordinated discounts. It would be a small revolution.
Friedrich Schöchl, head of the insurer Yacht-Pool, is involved in the talks. He has been committed to greater transparency and reliability in the charter market for years. To this end, he has established the recognised quality seal "Checked & Trusted", which not only evaluates customer satisfaction, but also checks the balance sheet figures of agencies and fleet operators. It is only awarded for one year at a time in order to take current developments into account.
Charter insurer Yacht-Pool rejects policies for dubious companies
Schöchl told YACHT: "Online agencies such as Boataround, supported by venture capitalists from outside the industry, sometimes have financial circumstances that would never stand up to a credit check according to the criteria of the Yacht Pool seal." Schöchl even refuses to broker charter insurance for some companies so as not to be associated with their business practices.
According to the industry expert, it is particularly problematic when advance payments from charter customers are used to finance ongoing business operations. "That may work in the short term. But the advance payments are only given to the agencies in trust. At the latest, if they fail to fulfil their obligation to forward them on time, this is a misappropriation - with far-reaching consequences for the charter customers."
The Myrentboat case:
Is Boataround using the advance payments improperly as bridging finance? Or are the numerous incidents in recent months merely due to negligence and system errors? This cannot be conclusively assessed at present. On Trustpilot, the Slovakian company usually only explains in the case of critical entries that they always endeavour to provide the best customer service and that refunds are already being processed. So is everything okay?
Charter agency is apparently heavily indebted
The balance sheets of "Boataround.com a.s.", which is registered as a public limited company, do indeed give rise to scepticism. give cause for scepticism. According to figures from Finstat, the leading online platform for financial information on Slovakian companies, the charter agency is heavily indebted. It has accumulated around 5.8 million euros in liabilities by the end of 2023 and is even in debt to the state due to unpaid social security contributions.
In the 2023 financial year alone, Boataround reported a loss of 1.07 million euros. More recent key figures are not available. The Executive Board has not yet published a balance sheet for 2024 and ignored the last submission deadline in September. The company remains silent as to why. Boataround also did not respond to repeated enquiries from YACHT about the latest developments.
With this in mind, Friedrich Schöchl from Yacht-Pool recommends that charter customers thoroughly scrutinise supposedly unbeatable early booking rates. "Anyone booking today is sometimes putting thousands of euros forward in good faith for more than half a year. A risk that every sensible person should think twice about."
