Owner services
Charter management.
Positioning a private yacht into the charter market: itinerary, pricing, central agency and the season calendar.
The relationship
Commercial without compromise.
Charter management puts a private yacht to work when her owner is not aboard. Charter income can offset a meaningful part of the running costs, but only if the yacht is positioned, priced and run as a charter yacht, without compromising the weeks the owner keeps for their own use.
It starts with the yacht's status. To charter, a yacht must be registered and equipped for commercial use under her flag's code, with a crew certified for it, and the tax treatment of charters in each cruising area has to be understood before the first week is offered. Where the yacht is not yet coded for charter, we plan the work with her flag, her class society and her management.
Then the market. The rate is set against comparable yachts in the same cruising area and season, the calendar is planned around the owner's own weeks and the yacht's yard periods, and the yacht is presented to the charter broker network through a central agent, with photography, specifications and crew profiles that brokers can work from. In Dubai, where Balthazar is headquartered, day charters and events add a shorter, more frequent rhythm to the year.
On each charter, the contract, the advance provisioning allowance, the crew briefing and the guests' preferences are handled before embarkation, and the accounts are reconciled afterwards. The owner sees each charter, with its income and its costs, in the regular reporting.
What we cover
What the brief covers.
01Step 01
Status
Flag, commercial coding, crew certification and the tax position for each cruising area.
02Step 02
Positioning
Rate, season calendar, cruising areas and the owner's own weeks, set against comparable yachts.
03Step 03
Marketing
Central agency, presentation to the broker network, photography, specification and crew profiles.
04Step 04
Operation and accounts
Contracts, APA, crew briefing, and income and costs reported charter by charter.
Related services
Related owner services.
New build & refit advisory
Owner-side advisory across new-build briefs, shipyard selection and refit programmes.
Private owner support
On-the-day, owner-ready support during cruising weeks and major events.
Yacht management
Day-to-day yacht management: crew, accounts, technical oversight and ISM/MLC compliance.
Field notes
Related reading.
Events
Cannes Yachting Festival.
Europe's season-opening show fills the Vieux Port and Port Canto each September. Attending by yacht, what berthing that week realistically involves, viewing yachts with an advisor, and folding the festival into a Riviera cruise.
Jul 2026
Events
Monaco Yacht Show.
The Monaco Yacht Show is the one week of the year when Port Hercule is the exhibition: where owners, charterers, shipyards and brokers meet, and how an advisor prepares a client for it.
Jun 2026
Frequently asked
Practical questions.
- Does chartering cover a yacht's running costs?
- Rarely in full. Charter income usually offsets part of the running costs; how much depends on the yacht, her rate, her cruising area and the number of weeks chartered. Chartering also adds costs and wear, so we set out the expected net figure before the owner decides.
- What does a yacht need in order to charter?
- Registration and equipment for commercial use under her flag's code, a crew certified for commercial operation, insurance that covers charter, and a clear tax position in the waters where she will charter. The requirements vary with size and flag, and moving from private to commercial status can involve works.
- Can the owner keep weeks for private use?
- Yes, and they are planned first. The charter calendar is built around the owner's own weeks and the yacht's yard periods, and the owner approves it before it opens to the market.
- How are charter brokers paid?
- By commission on the charter fee, paid from the charter income and usually shared between the central agent and the broker who brings the client, on the terms of the standard charter contracts used in the market. We explain each line of the charter accounts before the season starts.
- What is a central agent?
- The broker who holds a yacht's charter listing: setting the rate with the owner, keeping the calendar, presenting the yacht to the charter broker network and contracting the charters. Most charter yachts work with one central agent, who coordinates with the brokers who bring the clients.
- Can a yacht charter in Dubai?
- Yes, with the local registration and licences required for commercial operation. Dubai's season runs from October to April, with day charters and events through the week, a different rhythm from the weekly charters of the Mediterranean. We manage charter programmes in Dubai from our headquarters there.
Plan
Brief charter management.
A private advisor returns a short, considered reply within the hour.