Anchor Yacht Charters

What Anchor Yacht Charters does

Anchor Yacht Charters, operating legally as Anchor Technologies, LLC, is a peer-to-peer marketplace platform that connects private yacht owners, licensed captains, and renters of leisure boating experiences. Founded in 2016 by Zach Hatraf and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, the company operates across 40+ markets in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, and the UAE, listing 10,000+ yachts with a network of approximately 7,500 captains. Its product surface consists of a web and mobile marketplace (the Anchor Yacht Rental Platform, the Anchor Captain mobile app, and the Anchor Owner Dashboard), supported by managed service layers including Yacht Management, Charter Expert concierge support, an Omni-Channel Distribution engine that syndicates listings to 50+ third-party booking sites such as Boatsetter, GetMyBoat, Sailo, and Batch, and a Captain Affiliate broker program. Technology components include a calendar recognition algorithm that auto-fills charter gaps from external Google Calendar or API sources, Stripe-based payment processing and identity verification, and CometChat-powered real-time messaging with AI-driven multilingual translation.

The company earns revenue through a take-rate model: 15% commission on the retail charter amount and 20% commission on required additional fees and optional add-ons, with no monthly fees or long-term contracts. Its three primary customer segments are private boat and yacht owners seeking to monetize their vessels, USCG- and RYA-licensed captains seeking gig work, and individual leisure consumers booking charters for events, celebrations, and cruises. Anchor has raised $2.5M in seed funding (August 2021, led by Silverton Partners) and $1.8M in an undisclosed round (January 2024), for cumulative funding of approximately $4.3M. The platform differentiates on three axes: (1) a regulatory moat positioning Anchor as the only US-compliant platform for day charters via multi-party automated payouts; (2) an omni-channel distribution advantage not replicated by single-channel competitors; and (3) a 30% higher earnings claim for boat owners relative to alternative platforms, supported by managed Charter Expert services.

Name

Anchor Yacht Charters

Legal name

Anchor Technologies, LLC

Website

https://anchorrides.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Anchor Yacht Charters is a peer-to-peer marketplace platform connecting 10,000+ private yacht owners, ~7,500 licensed captains, and leisure renters across 40+ US and international markets, earning commission on charter bookings and syndicated distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Yacht Charter Marketplace

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Marinas (71393)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, Nec (7359)

akta.pro primary industry

Crewed Yacht Charters (Luxury Crewed) (THAEAEAA)

Keywords

• Yacht charter marketplace
• Boat rental platform
• Yacht management services
• Charter booking platform
• Maritime hospitality

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices34 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Commission on Charter Bookings: Anchor charges 15% commission on the retail charter amount (total of Boat, Captain, Crew, and Fuel charged to renter) and 20% commission on required additional fees and optional add-ons. No monthly fees or long-term contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Anchor Yacht Charters operates a managed marketplace technology platform that connects yacht and boat owners with licensed captains and renters, enabling peer-to-peer charter bookings. The platform provides accompanying vessel management services, marketing, distribution, and a multi-party payout system to onboard new vessels and run charters at scale.

Product overview

Anchor Yacht Charters operates a peer-to-peer marketplace platform that connects yacht owners with renters through licensed Captains. The core offering consists of the Anchor Yacht Rental Platform for booking and coordination, supported by the Anchor Captain Mobile App for captains to manage gigs and the Anchor Owner Dashboard for vessel management. Additional services include Yacht Management for maintenance, Charter Expert Services for customer support, Omni-Channel Distribution connecting to 50+ third-party booking sites, an Affiliate Program for referral commissions, and a Multi-Party Payout System. The platform also includes CometChat-powered real-time messaging with AI translation capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Anchor Captain Mobile App Mobile application designed for licensed boat captains to discover, accept, and run charter assignments, communicate with renters, and manage trip execution through Anchor's marketplace.
• Anchor Owner Dashboard Web-based dashboard that enables yacht and boat owners to list vessels, manage availability, view bookings, track payouts, and oversee the performance of their charter assets.
• Yacht Management Services Full-service vessel management offering that handles onboarding, maintenance, compliance, insurance coordination, captain recruitment, and operations support for owners listing on the platform.
• Charter Expert Services Concierge charter planning service that assists renters in selecting vessels, designing experiences, and coordinating bookings for events and leisure outings.
• Omni-Channel Distribution Distribution service that syndicates charter listings across Anchor's web platform, mobile apps, and external partner channels to maximize renter reach and booking conversion.
• Affiliate Program Partner program that allows affiliates to refer bookings to Anchor and earn commissions on resulting yacht charters.
• Multi-Party Payout System Payment infrastructure that automatically splits charter revenue among vessel owners, captains, and Anchor according to configured rules.
• Real-Time Messaging In-platform messaging service that enables renters, owners, and captains to communicate directly during the booking, pre-trip, and trip phases.

Quantifiable outcome

• Boat owners earn 30% more than on other platforms
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party payment processor handling all transactions. Stripe processes payments, refunds, and account verifications. Also used for identity verification services.
• BoatsetterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPeer-to-peer boat rental platform where Anchor distributes listings. One of 50+ third-party booking sites in Anchor's distribution network.
• GetMyBoatminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPeer-to-peer boat rental platform where Anchor distributes listings. One of 50+ third-party booking sites in Anchor's distribution network.
• SailominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPeer-to-peer boat rental platform where Anchor distributes listings. One of 50+ third-party booking sites in Anchor's distribution network.
• BatchminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBoat rental platform where Anchor distributes listings. One of 50+ third-party booking sites in Anchor's distribution network.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boatsetter: Boatsetter is the largest US peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace, offering captained and bareboat charters across the same geographies as Anchor. It is both a direct competitor and one of Anchor's 50+ distribution partners, creating direct overlap on supply, demand, and take-rate model.
• GetMyBoat: GetMyBoat is a global peer-to-peer boat and yacht rental marketplace with comparable inventory, captain-matching, and pricing structure. It is explicitly named as one of Anchor's distribution partners but competes head-to-head for the same renter and owner cohorts.
• Sailo: Sailo is a yacht charter marketplace focused on crewed sailing and motor yacht rentals, with overlapping inventory in the same coastal US markets Anchor serves. Also a listed Anchor distribution partner, Sailo competes on the same luxury leisure charter use cases.
• SamBoat: SamBoat is a European peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace operating across the Mediterranean with a similar commission-based model. It is comparable in business model and category to Anchor and signals the international expansion playbook Anchor may follow.
• Click&Boat: Click&Boat is a peer-to-peer and professional boat rental marketplace operating across Europe and the Caribbean. It offers a captained-charter product comparable to Anchor's, including owner-managed listings and online booking.
• Nautal: Nautal is an online yacht and boat rental marketplace operating across Spain, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. It is comparable in target customer (leisure renters), supply model (private owners + fleet operators), and category.

Emerging players

• Yachtico: Yachtico is a smaller European yacht charter marketplace aggregating bareboat and crewed yacht inventory. It is comparable as an online charter marketplace targeting leisure renters with owner-supplied inventory, though it is more bareboat-focused than Anchor's crewed model.
• Fever: Fever is a marketplace for local experiences and events, increasingly including boat tours and luxury leisure activities. It is comparable as a curated leisure-experience marketplace serving similar renter demographics, though it does not own or specialize in yacht supply.

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb's Experiences offering (including boat charters in many of the same cities Anchor serves) is a broad incumbent that captures leisure experiential demand. It is comparable as a marketplace for bookable leisure experiences but does not specialize in yachts or crewed charter.
• Camper & Nicholsons: Camper & Nicholsons is a long-established luxury yacht charter broker offering crewed yacht charters in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and US. It is comparable in category (luxury crewed yacht charters) but operates a high-touch, full-service brokerage model rather than a self-serve marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/anchorridesapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anchor Yacht Charters