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Charter Itinerary is revolutionising the preparation and execution of yacht charters by streamlining and automating all crucial steps via a B2B SaaS solution. In 2023, the startup has plans to continue expanding on its full-stack service offering, answering the pain points of every single charter broker and Captain in the industry.
Despite having only launched in 2021, Charter Itinerary has experienced remarkable growth with revenues growing at an impressive 180% rate in Q4 of 2022 versus the previous 2021 Q4. The team has now onboarded +80 charter companies (including 9 out of 12 of the largest superyacht companies) and will soon announce two new strategic partnerships as they continue to acquire market share this year.
Growth isn’t just in terms of revenue – Charter Itinerary has also expanded its team, bringing on board Malek Amro as Head of Marketing and Sasha Curti as Head of Sales. Malek previously led marketing & growth roles at several prominent yachting companies, whilst Sasha previously led sales for a venture-backed, travel-tech startup in Barcelona.
Commenting on the recent hires, co-founder Candice Christiansen said:
“In line with our continued evolution as a software, we are thrilled to have Malek and Sasha onboard to manage and expand their respective departments, the synergy of which has already proved incredibly successful. Their expertise, enthusiasm and dedication round off our fantastic team, and fit perfectly with Charter Itinerary’s ethos.”
The Itinerary module
For years, brokers and stakeholders involved in the planning of a charter were required to use antiquated documents and software to painstakingly and repetitively edit multiple versions of an itinerary. Recognising this, Charter Itinerary has transformed the itinerary creation process with a fast and easy-to-use platform that breaks the process down into seven steps and fundamentally saves an incredible amount of time.
Alice Newnham, a Charter Broker at IYC, explains, “I can now create itineraries in minutes and thoroughly enjoy the process. It has saved my colleagues and me so much time; it is truly game-changing. The itineraries are a great tool as it provides a clear feel of how the charter will run, including the cruising times.”
Brokers and Captains can now create bespoke and professional itineraries using auto-generated AI content and interactive maps. Alternatively, they can also choose from one of the hundreds of sample itineraries that Charter Itinerary have created for their users.
Michele Flandin, Charter Assistant at Northrop & Johnson, explains, “Charter Itinerary is very easy to use and saves us so much time. For each destination, there is well-written content that can also be amended if necessary, and it is also possible to add links to recommended spots such as local, top-rated restaurants.”
Charter clients and yacht owners expect top-notch service and plans can change at the last minute. All the content within an itinerary built by Charter Itinerary is editable, allowing amendments to the plans at any point and automatically recalculating the time and distances between destinations.
Captain Owain Rowlands from the 45m charter yacht M/Y Gladiator explains, “Charter Itinerary saves so much time; simplicity is its best feature. We work in a fast-paced environment that changes every hour, so being able to change things with the click of a button and have something right for the client is a game changer.”
Once an itinerary is ready, it can easily be sent to clients for review and there are comment boxes to transform the planning-process into a truly collaborative experience that the charterer and/or yacht owner can get excited about. Users are notified when their client requests a change, and can respond immediately – revolutionising the customer experience and replacing the need to re-do a whole itinerary.
“It has added a more professional side to charter planning; it looks very professional when sent over. Rather than an excel or word document, this interactive planner is there that clients can use and check out,” says Capt. Rowlands. Flandin says, “The final presentation is very high-quality and professional, and we have had a lot of positive feedback from Captains.”
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The new Proposal module launch
After the success and positive feedback on the Itinerary module, Charter Itinerary continues to build out their platform into a holistic 360 degree booking solution for the yacht charter market. In January this year, they launched a new Proposal module – this allows charter brokers to send clients a selection of available yachts to browse through during the initial stages of an enquiry.
As with the Itinerary module, the details of the proposal and selection of yachts are editable as needed and sent to the client as an interactive brochure that they can comment on directly. This simplifies the old-fashioned and impersonal process of long and clunky email chains with large attachments.
The future
Charter Itinerary has big expansion plans in 2023 and a vision to create a one-stop-shop for all stakeholders involved in the charter preparation process. The team will continue to update the platform consistently with unique tools and features to enhance the user experience, whilst also focusing on building out a complete booking management tool.
The booking manager will launch in May, alongside a preference sheet generator, APA calculator and a contract management module. Users can expect a global dashboard with an entire client space, where each party can access all the information they might need to execute a successful charter. These developments will soon consolidate the whole charter process into one platform for everyone.
