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As
America’s businessmen have been saying since the days when they first
sold their wares at county fairs: You’ve got to get ’em in the
tent—then keep ’em there.
Such is the philosophy
behind the new Hargrave Charter Fleet, created by the boatbuilder to help
owners put their yachts into charter without having to work through other
companies. “The decision is being driven by the shortcomings in the
charter industry,” says Mike Joyce, president and CEO of Hargrave
Custom Yachts. “We’re not doing this because we think we can
make a lot [of money] in the charter industry. Our customers have told
us they’re not getting what they were told they would get when they
put their boats into charter. It came back to us as a problem. We’re
trying to solve the problem.”
To begin that process,
Joyce hired Lynette Hendry as director of charter operations. Hendry,
who previously held top positions in charter management with the much-larger
Camper & Nicholsons International and Bob Saxon & Associates,
says she expects the Hargrave fleet to be small and therefore manageable
in terms of quality control.
Joyce expects to have
about ten boats in the fleet, most in the Bahamas and Florida—and
none more than about three years old. He intends to create a separate
charter division for older models, to preserve the new fleet’s image.
“No dinosaurs in this operation,” he quips.
Rates will be all-inclusive
with at least three levels of service priced accordingly, from five-star
to family-style to captain/mate only, Joyce says. At presstime, he was
in negotiations to purchase an eight-passenger, twin-engine airplane to
help facilitate one-way charters and further the all-inclusive package
options.
Joyce hopes the in-house
charter operation will help to maintain and even increase Hargrave’s
40-percent repeat client base in new-yacht construction—getting more
people into the Hargrave tent and keeping them there as they move up in
the line. “The definition in the future is going to be, Tell me what
you can do besides sell me a boat,” he says. “And you’d
better have a good answer.”
You also had better
offer the same good service for the people buying a week of charter, Hargrave
owners or not. We hope to have a firsthand look at that side of the equation
soon. —K.K.
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