A Good Yacht Charter Broker is like a Good Real Estate Agent.

You don't pay any commissions to charter a private yacht.

Your yacht charter broker is a person who needs to be fully knowledgeable of the entire yacht industry. A yacht broker is a person who you know has a few good years as being a captain in the charter industry. So ask lots of questions.

• Why is this yacht charter broker better than the others?
• Is it possible to get references from the broker you are working with?
• How well does this yacht charter broker know the location you are going to be chartering in during your cruise or sailing vacation?
• Is this yacht broker giving you ideas on why to select certain dates during each month?
• Is the month you are wanting to charter part of the rain period for your annual yacht charter vacation?
• What is the difference between a power boat charter and a sailing charter?
• Catamarans have elevated this industry far more than any other vessel worldwide; what is driving them, and what are the latest ideas catamarans bring to the passionate charter guests?
• Why are monohulls/sailing yachts cheaper than the traditional catamaran?

See our video about why Barrington Hall is your best Broker

All good yacht brokers realize that motor yachts are more expensive to maintain. Fuel is a factor, but power boats need to be larger to sleep 6 or 8 guests, so just purchasing a luxury power boat means more funds to outlay because it is larger. Motor yachts in chartering definitely have a higher maintenance account each season.

Catamarans have changed immensely since 1980, 1990 and again in 2007. It is these huge catamaran changes which have influenced our industry tenfold. A professional yacht charter broker has his finger on the pulse of each change. Your professional broker knows the very best one week of the year to enjoy your yacht charter for any location in the world.

We explain these details to our guests so they can make smarter decisions for their charter experiences. Explaining why one week in a month is better than the next comes from us being captains in various locations worldwide, and this impacts our guest’s vacation.

Sure, you may not be able to move your date, but it is the information you do need to hear to actually make that decision. Many of my clients have said to me, “Andrew our dates are firm!” OK, I get this, but I do need to share this information, and 95% of all these guests have changed their dates. This is exactly what working with this yacht charter broker is all about; we know we can make your vacation - better.

Once guests are working with us, it is our duty to share with them how to go about selecting where to go and what to do during their vacations, so we first send out a picture example itinerary.

Once the contract is signed and the deposit paid, all our Caribbean guests enjoy a complimentary glossy color cruising guide of the area where they will be cruising. This 400 page book is full of beautiful pictures of various anchorages and bays; it also has write-ups about all of them our guests are about to enjoy. Thirdly, we ask our guests to call and speak with our staff personally regarding where they wish to go and what their party wishes to do.

This means we have covered the guest’s itinerary three ways, giving our guests magnificent knowledge of what they can get done. Their captain will ask them the question, “Where do you wish to go?” Now you can answer that with confidence, and he would oblige you. Your itinerary can be altered at any time; nothing is written in stone. It is critical for your yacht charter broker to have first-hand knowledge of every island in your cruising area.

Crew and your yacht: Yes, many vessels and crew teams look good on the internet; it is your yacht charter broker who has the responsibility to know all the vessels and all the crews, so we can guide our guests to the right vessel and the right crew team. There is only one way for a professional yacht broker to do this and that is to go to all the yacht charter broker annual boat shows around the world.

We not only do this but, on every yacht we board, we take our own internal pictures of every vessel we board plus the crew. We do not treat this lightly; it is not by accident that Barrington-Hall will book over 100 one-week yacht charters in 2013. We can toot our own horn, just a tad, but we do like working with clients who become wonderfully happy guests.

As the owners of Barrington Hall Yacht Charters, Andrew & Gaile Buys, captained our own Caribbean catamaran sailboat for charter in the British Virgin Islands for over five years. We were the first catamaran sailboat to offer charters in the BVI, starting in 1990 - after sailing across the Atlantic from their native South Africa a voyage of 6,000 miles.

We can offer you straight forward, unbiased advice based on first hand experience, and extensive local knowledge since we have lived, chartered our own private catamaran sailboat for 5 years and in the last 18 years arranged many, many memorable luxury charters for families and companies alike in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Greece and Mediterranean.

With our unique perspective we are able to offer insights and share experiences with our clients to assist them in selecting the best vessels and destinations. For additional information, kindly contact us toll free on 800-478-2029 or outside the USA on 954-720-0475.