It’s been a busy summer for Stacey Fischer-Rosendaal and her crew of 30, who charter private yachts for bankers, executives and other wealthy and successful people, now freed from coronavirus restrictions and willing to pay millions of dollars for a luxury yacht. – weekly cruises. Superyacht bookings through Fischer Travel Enterprises, of which Fischer-Roosendahl is president, are up 20% this year from 2021 highs, a trend that is being seen by other luxury charter companies as well. “Yacht charter is particularly popular because our clients want the privacy, security and flexibility they provide,” says Fischer-Roosendahl. Her company charges $150,000 just to sign up for a members-only service that lets you charter superyachts anywhere in the world.

Americans are a key customer, filling the void left by wealthy Russians who no longer travel as much due to restrictions imposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For example, Fischer-Rosendahl mentioned that an American couple enjoyed their Greece and Turkey cruise last July so much that they almost immediately booked a trip to Italy, inviting their friends over. Fisher-Yachts, which sells, manages and charters superyachts, chartered about 500 private yachts in the first half of the year, according to director of marketing and business development Mark Duncan. Bookings are up 32 percent from last year, with most of the increase coming from Americans, many of whom he says are first-time yacht charters. It is noted that, according to Spectrem Group, the number of Americans with assets of 1 to 5 million increased by 8% in 2021 and now affects more than 12 million households, and the number of those with assets of 25 million or more increased by 18 %.

“Our clients are wealthy people who run banks and hedge funds,” said Fischer-Rosendahl. “They have made quite a lot of money in recent years. Now they want to travel again and want the best.” Clients are also younger now, with an average age approaching 50, compared with 60-65 years in the last two decades, Mr. Duncan said. This year, about 35% of customers were new, compared to about 15% earlier.

Intergenerational family cruises are also very popular. “During the pandemic, people couldn’t be with their families,” Mr Duncan said. “The yachts are big enough for everyone to be together. That is, unlike at home, here you don’t stick around in one place, while you can control the environment, as well as test everyone for the coronavirus if there are concerns, ”he added.