According to the latest research, all boats (starting with simple kayaks and ending with the most luxurious yachts) are used by their owners only 8% of the year. This means that most of the time, all boat owners only have to invest in their floating property, paying for the maintenance and staying in a dock or marina.
At the same time, people travel all year round, and many may be interested in renting a boat and exploring new places. Since there is a demand for this service, boat owners are granted an opportunity to earn a great deal of money.
Thus, Uber for boats is a great platform that connects renters and boat owners. So check out what you should definitely take into account if you consider developing your own app for on-demand boat renting services.
Business opportunities
There are about 12 million registered boats in the U.S., according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association report. Most of them are private vessels, and about 100 thousand are yachts.
Sadly, in most cases, these ships are idle and moored to the shore for most of their lifespan. Obviously, some boat owners would gladly rent or share their vessels to cover maintenance expenses. Likewise, in the U.S., an Uberboat service can get much attention among European yacht owners, especially those in the Mediterranean Sea.
By the way, we've made a similar geolocational web service for private yacht owners called SeaGuide.
Another great opportunity lies in developing a boat booking app that will ease public transportation in cities situated on the shore. Such apps can monetise through ads and transaction fees that will be charged for boat ticket purchases.
For example, there are more than 70 inter-regional ferry lines in Japan. The island country, as well as Norway, boasts one of the most developed water transportation networks. Developing an app that locates and schedules a water trip may be extremely helpful and popular among locals.
In addition, don't forget about water cities and tourist centres like Venice, Miami, Chicago, Paris, Wuzhen, Shanghai, Hamburg, Amsterdam, etc. Each can be a good place to start the boat booking company operation.
Here is one great example for you proving that building Uber for boats is a brilliant idea. Have you heard about an app called Get My Boat?
This is a huge platform for providing boat renting services. It was launched in 2013, and now, thanks to this app, people can rent boats in the USA, Mexico, Canada, France, Holland, Colombia, and the UAE. It is present in 184 countries overall and covers over 9000 destinations. People can find vessels of various sizes and types with captains or other personnel. As you can understand, the revenue of this platform owner is huge. And the benefits of Uber for boats are mutual for both renters and boat owners.
One more thing to consider for you is Airbnb for boats. It is a solution similar to Uber for boats, but owners provide yacht-as-apartment services instead of boat rentals for sea exploration. So renters can find a vessel they like and settle on it for their vacation. It will be popular among people who cannot ride the yacht, do not want to hire the captain or simply have a seasick but still want to have that luxury experience of being on the boat.
The possibilities are endless, and Uber for boats will become extremely popular in the near future because this is the most convenient way to connect boat owners with renters and provide services. Uber for boats is investment-worthy idea.
Hot locations providing boat rental services
TOP5 in U.S.A:
- Florida
- Massachusetts
- Illinois
- Washington
- New York
Worldwide Markets:
- Croatia
- Australia
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Portugal
- Egypt
- France
How to develop your own boat rental app?
Still, Uber hasn't captured the best part about water rides. This app should be made for rich people who are spontaneous in their wants and interested in quick and effortless boat service. Thanks to such a lucrative targeted audience, yacht lovers, the app doesn't necessarily need to gain mass popularity to get a stable income.
Boat Sharing App can be easily monetised and become profitable without covering a wide audience.
Boat rentals & yacht charter app features
- Rides Request – This feature will suit any travel app and those tourists who are looking for a private voyage with a professional captain.
- Boat Locator – It may be hard to find your boat if you're unfamiliar with a pier or port.
- Internal Messenger – Prompt communication with the boat owner may be extremely helpful if you're not familiar with a yacht and her “character”.
- Boat Booking – The most common use of Uber for boat apps is the ability to share or rent for a day trip.
- Nautical Maps – For those who prefer to be a true captain on board. We adore the aesthetics of nautical maps and will be pleased to integrate this feature again like we did for Drophook app.
- Weather Forecast – Some extra support for travellers. You definitely don't want to rent a yacht on storm day.
- Feedback – This feature will allow all renters to check out whether the boat is really good and whether they should rent it based on the experience of other people who already used the service.
How much does it cost?
Uber for boats is a holistic solution, and it should be of a high quality. Therefore, you need a team of qualified specialists to build it for you. As the development cycle is a complex procedure, you will need a range of tech takes, starting with developers and testers and ending with designers and business analysts. Each specialist plays an important part in building your app from scratch.
Usually, software development companies offer the discovery stage (market research), full development cycle, UI and UX design and software maintenance. Every qualified specialist has an hourly rate. So, the cost of your app will depend on its complexity, set of desired features and development hours.
On average, Uber's price for boats starts at $30K per platform (iOS or Android), and it can increase depending on the company you choose. However, there is a way to reduce your costs. For example, you can choose a company, like Altamira, with ready-made developed modules and extensive experience in making similar applications.
