This used to be me on Check-in days… Looks familiar?

This was me not too long ago (hence the COVID mask) on a chaotic Saturday check-in day. I worked for a very large flotilla company and busy Saturdays managing 100+ skippers and hosts in multiple locations was all too familiar.

One of the biggest challenges was being able to coordinate with all the fleet operators as the yachts would be ready at any time of the day - in busy summer periods from as early as 11am to as late as 9pm.

While coordinating all the different staff for the week, I would spend my entire Saturdays at the marina, saving a spot in the base office queue to save time for the skippers while they would entertain the guests. I would hop in the marina office every other hour to check which yachts were ready, trying to find the technicians to direct them to each yacht for our crew all while making a million phone calls at the same time - in the hot mediterranean sun. It was intense!

If there was anything faulty or missing on the yacht, it was another ordeal as we’d have to once again find the technician, try to speed things up in order to complete the check-in and welcome the guests on board. A process that could last hours and take precious holiday time away from the guests!

After 7 summers, I decided it was time for a change. I believed there could be a better solution than how I experienced those check-in days thus far.

That’s when I started speaking with Cindy, whom I met a few years ago while she was working for that same flotilla as a skipper - and when she showed me that she had created a much needed solution - Floatist.

Now we are heading together in the direction of the digitalisation for everything check-in day related (and beyond). So many of my previous challenges would have been made easier - for myself, the skippers/hosts and the guests. A real game changer, if you ask me.

The key solutions Floatist is now bringing are:

• Easier communication within charter companies: between their own base staff, office staff and skippers / guests
• Live updates on booking progress and status - visible for the staff and skipper
• Detailed interactive checklist for skipper - including images, videos, text and the possibility to add remarks with comments and photos from the skipper
• All of the digital instructions and troubleshooting explanation available while on charter

Not to mention the unlimited possibilities for the base staff to save time and enable data analysis when going digital.

These are all reasons are why I want to be a part of revolutionising the yacht charter industry, and helping fleet operators in the process!