The sharing economy is revolutionising luxury yacht ownership, and it’s unusually well-suited to the luxury yacht sector. So how is yacht sharing helping to drive different ownership models and consumer behaviour in our sector, and why is it proving so popular? As it turns out, it’s a collaborative consumption thing.
Humanity has been consuming things collaboratively for thousands of years, a co-operative impulse that probably contributed to our survival. Technology has redefined traditional sharing, bartering, lending and trading, making it easier than ever for people to prioritise access over ownership. In 2015 the term sharing economy appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary for the first time, proving how the digital version of this ancient practice is here to stay.
Wikipedia defines collaborative consumption as ‘the set of those resource circulation systems in which consumers both obtain and provide, temporarily or permanently, valuable resources or services through direct interaction with other consumers or through a mediator. ’ So collaborative consumption basically means the sharing something with other people.
In our context instead of individuals buying their own boat exclusively for themselves and paying all the costs, several people have access to it and share the cost. Rather than one owner with an expensive and highly desirable yet underused asset you have a group of owners, each paying less for an asset that’s used as it’s meant to be – frequently, for pleasure and adventure and fun.
A lot of time, skill and craftsmanship goes into creating these craft, neatly summing up the ultimate in human creativity and ingenuity. It seems a shame to buy one, then leave it unused and empty for most of the year. The beautiful result of all that hard work, dedication, time and attention to detail deserves enjoying, showing off and sharing, a nod of respect to the talented people responsible for making her.
Happiness sits at the heart of luxury yacht sharing, something else that’s enhanced by collaborative consumption. The same yacht can either make one person or family happy or bring joy to many more people. The money side of things can’t be faulted either. It costs a lot less to join a yacht share syndicate, berth and maintain the craft than it does to buy your own and keep it shipshape.
Because each syndicate member spends less on their share than they would spend on buying an entire vessel, together you can afford a much bigger or better yacht. You instantly open up a whole new world of excitement, upping the ante into rarefied air. If you’re not au fait with yacht brands, think cars: less of a Fiat 500, more of a Ferrari!
Collaborative yacht consumption has brought the delights of life at sea to more people than ever before, an unusually accessible route to a lifestyle once only available to the ultra-wealthy. The demand for more yachts to share helps drive the luxury yacht-building industry onto greater things. If there ever was a case of a virtuous circle, this is it. If you’d like to explore the details with an expert, give us a call.
