The Moorings returns to Abacos, Bahamas
Premier yacht charter company The Moorings will resume charter operations in The Abacos, Bahamas, in Dec. as the islands and cays have recovered from the impact of Hurricane Dorian.
Now based at the Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour, The Moorings fleet will consist of three and four-cabin power and sailing catamarans.
To find out more about what’s new and what’s selling well, Travel Courier caught up with The Moorings’ Senior Marketing Manager Ian Pedersen. Come sail away!
First off, let’s get into what’s new in terms of destinations like the return to Abacos?
Photo courtesy: Emily Sipe
The newest destinations available with The Moorings are the Abacos, as mentioned previously, and Key West, FL. Both destinations were launched in an effort to provide closer-to-home charter options to our guests in response to travel uncertainty due to Covid.
Even during a pandemic, sailing operations are doing incredibly well since these types of vacations are well suited for social distancing. Can you share some insights into the past year and into future bookings?
Yes, a combination of factors are resulting in near-record levels of bookings for 2022, even surpassing our 2019 numbers. This is due to pent-up demand among existing customers, loosening travel restrictions, more widespread vaccination rates, as well as new travellers discovering yacht charter vacations for the first time. Most notably, those travellers who would otherwise have booked a cruise are now looking into alternative options such as yacht charters.
How far out are bookings? Is this different from pre-pandemic?
It depends on the destination — we have 19 from which to choose and each has different seasonality, peak dates, etc — however, on average, bookings are about six-eight months out, currently. Pre-pandemic, that average booking window was closer to four-six months, so we highly encourage our guests to book ahead to ensure they can reserve the yacht they want.
How has The Moorings adapted during the pandemic?
We were forced to close one destination (Mallorca) due to widespread travel restrictions and high operating costs, however, we were able to keep all other charter locations running through the pandemic, and have been able to accommodate charters on a limited basis for most of the past year. Rather than scaling back, we took the opportunity to invest in the business and took advantage of the lull in travel to make upgrades to our various marinas, receive new shipments of yachts, and hire new staff to ensure we are operating at 100% when the numbers return to normal.
Is there anything surprising or notable you are seeing about the comeback of travel?
Surprising is perhaps not the right word, but I am very encouraged by the demand and overall positive outlook many of our guests seem to have regarding the near future, despite some challenges that continue to affect global travel as a whole. We absolutely expected a strong rebound after so many of our guests were forced to cancel plans and stay home last year, but what is surprising is the number of completely new customers we are seeing, with upwards of 80% of our web users being first-time visitors to our website. This trend could act as a catalyst for the charter industry as a whole for years to come.
What’s selling well in terms of destinations? Where do people want to go?
People overall are looking for short-haul travel options. For North Americans, they are predominantly looking at our Caribbean destinations such as the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, and St. Martin, while our customers in Europe are more interested in chartering closer to home in places like Italy, Croatia or Greece – places they could realistically drive to if necessary.
Why are you optimistic about the future?
Speaking with our customers, there is an unbridled sense of optimism for the future. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that sailors will find a way to get on the water – the call of the sea is a strong one, and no true boater can resist it for long. The charter industry has been perhaps the best-kept secret of the boating community for over 50 years, and now more than ever it seems we are being discovered by mainstream travellers looking for new, unique, exciting, and immersive vacation options.
Many of our readers are travel agents and trade professionals. I know The Moorings works with the trade. What can you share about commissions and partnerships?
We do offer commission and work regularly with Travel Agents and Brokers. I would welcome any agents to contact us to begin a conversation for future partnership and training.
