What KUHNLE-TOURS does

KUHNLE-TOURS is a German houseboat and motor yacht charter operator that rents license-free boats to leisure travelers across European inland waterways. Founded in 1981 and headquartered at Hafendorf Müritz in Rechlin, the company is a private GmbH operating under the Kuhnle Group parent. Its core offering is houseboat rental with a minimum booking of three nights, supported by free on-board training and a charter certificate that enables inexperienced customers to operate vessels in regulated German waters without a boating license.

The company operates six charter stations across Germany (Hafendorf Müritz, Priepert, Zehdenick–Mildenberg, Zeuthen, Malchin) and France (Niderviller), with additional cruising access to the Czech Republic via the Moldau/Prague region. The fleet spans eight categories — Kormorane, Boutique-Boote, Riverlodge, Comfort-Boote, Motoryachten, Budget Boote, Sportboote, and floating apartments — covering price points from budget to premium and use cases ranging from multi-day family cruises to day charters, fishing trips, workations, and school excursions. Marketing runs through a German/English/French website with online booking, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, email newsletter, and printed catalogs, while distribution is direct-to-consumer via the website and physical charter stations.

Revenue is generated primarily through per-charter rentals of three nights or longer, with additional streams from end cleaning, bed linen, fuel, damage deposits, day charters, floating apartment stays, and gift vouchers. Discounts of up to 40% are used for demand shaping. The company is led by Managing Director Harald Kuhnle (Dipl.-Ing.) and operates alongside wholly-owned Kuhnle Group brands covering marina services, events, secondary boat sales, boatyard maintenance, and recruitment.

Name

KUHNLE-TOURS

Legal name

Kuhnle-Tours GmbH

Website

https://kuhnle-tours.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Short description

KUHNLE-TOURS is a German houseboat and yacht charter operator offering license-free boat rentals across Germany, France, and Czech Republic, serving leisure travelers, families, couples, groups, anglers, and workation customers through six physical charter bases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Boat Charters & Houseboat Rentals

NAICS

Marinas (71393), RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps (72121)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Charters & Yacht Experiences (Crewed, Bareboat, Day Charters) (THAJAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Boutique Small-Ship River Cruises (THAEACAC), River Cruise Charters (Private/Group) (THAEACAE)

Keywords

• Houseboat rentals
• Boat charters
• Waterway vacations
• Floating apartments
• License-free boating

Headquarters

HQ city

Rechlin (Müritz)

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Houseboat Rental/Charter: The primary revenue stream comes from renting houseboats to customers for vacation purposes. Customers pay for boat rental based on duration (minimum 3 nights), boat type, and season. Additional revenue comes from optional services such as end cleaning, bed linen, damage deposit reduction, and fuel charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KUHNLE-TOURS rents license-free houseboats, yachts, and bungalow boats to vacationers across European waterways in Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. The company operates six charter stations and a diverse fleet (Kormorane, Boutique-Boote, Riverlodge, Comfort-Boote, Motoryachten, Budget Boote, Sportboote) accessible without a boating license, with free charter certification training included. Additional offerings include heated floating apartments at select marinas, themed vacation arrangements (Arrangements), and gift vouchers.

Product overview

KUHNLE-TOURS operates as a houseboat and motor yacht charter company offering rental services across European cruising regions in Germany, France, and Czech Republic. The product portfolio centers on the core houseboat rental service (Hausboot mieten) supplemented by diverse boat types including Kormorane, Boutique-Boote, Riverlodge, Comfort-Boote, Motoryachten, Budget Boote, and Sportboote. Additional offerings include Floating Apartments at select marina locations, day charter services, and themed vacation arrangements (Arrangements) catering to beginners, couples, families, groups, anglers, active travelers, workation seekers, school groups, and pet owners. The company provides license-free boating options with complimentary charter certificate training, operates multiple charter stations across its cruising regions (Reviere), and offers supplementary services such as gift vouchers and accessibility accommodations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kormorane: Houseboat model category offered by Kuhnle-Tours.
• Boutique-Boote
• Riverlodge
• Comfort-Boote
• Motoryachten
• Budget Boote

Products and services

• Hausboot mieten (Houseboat Rental) Core houseboat rental service allowing customers to rent houseboats without a boating license across multiple European cruising regions in Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. Target customers are individual vacationers, families, and groups seeking self-guided waterway holidays.
• Kormorane Houseboats Specific houseboat model category in the Kuhnle-Tours fleet available for rental across charter stations.
• Boutique-Boote Premium boutique-style houseboats available for rental, offering higher-end amenities and design.
• Riverlodge Boats River lodge houseboat models available for rental, designed for river cruising.
• Comfort-Boote Comfort-class houseboats offering enhanced amenities for rental.
• Motoryachten (Motor Yachts) Motor yachts available for charter, offering faster cruising options for travelers.
• Budget Boote Economy-priced houseboats for budget-conscious renters seeking affordable waterway vacations.
• Sportboote (Sport Boats) Daily sport boat rentals available for 4 or 8 hours from Hafendorf Müritz and Niderviller locations, excluding Sundays, for shorter excursions without overnight stays.
• Floating Apartments Heated floating apartments available at Hafendorf Müritz, Zeuthen, and Niderviller locations for stationary overnight stays on the water without boat operation.
• Themed Arrangements (Vacation Packages) Curated themed vacation packages including Hausboot-Neuling (beginners), Zeit zu zweit (couples), Familien-Urlaub (family), Gruppen (groups), Aktiv-Urlaub (active), Angelurlaub (fishing), Workation, Schülerexkursionen (school trips), Living on the water, and Boot & Hund (dogs welcome).
• European Cruising Regions (Reviere) Cruising regions across Germany (Elsass-Lothringen/Mosel/Saar, Berlin & Potsdam, Dahme/Oder/Spree, Havel/Elbe/Elde, Nord-Brandenburg, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, Müritz Plus, Peene & Usedom), France (Niderviller), and Czech Republic (Moldau – Prag).
• Gutscheine (Gift Vouchers) Gift vouchers available for purchase as presents for houseboat vacation experiences, suitable for gift occasions.

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• SamBoat: European peer-to-peer boat rental platform — competes indirectly with traditional houseboat operators by enabling private owners to rent boats directly to consumers.
• Yachtico (formerly BootsCharter): Online marketplace aggregator for boat and yacht charters across Europe — overlaps with KUHNLE-TOURS as a digital booking channel for inland houseboat vacations and could substitute for direct bookings.

Direct peers

• Locaboat Holidays: French-owned self-skippered houseboat and small cruiser charter company operating across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Hungary and Ireland. Closely comparable offering of license-free boating and similar cruising regions.
• Nicols: French houseboat charter and builder ('Nicols Yacht') operating fleet rentals across France and several European waterways. Directly competes in the same license-free canal/river houseboat segment.
• Confort Yacht: German-based houseboat charter operator active on Mecklenburg and Brandenburg waterways — geographic overlap with KUHNLE-TOURS' core cruising regions (Müritz, Havel, Elbe).
• Le Boat: Largest European houseboat charter operator with bases across France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Poland and beyond. Directly comparable to KUHNLE-TOURS on license-free/small-cabin cruising on inland waterways across multiple countries.
• France Passion Fluviale: French houseboat rental operator with bases in Alsace-Lorraine, directly competing with KUHNLE-TOURS' Niderviller station and Moselle/Saar cruising region.

Broad incumbents

• Dream Yacht Charter: Global yacht charter company offering bareboat and crewed yacht charters across many regions; broader and more international in scope than KUHNLE-TOURS, but overlapping on bareboat inland/sightseeing charters.
• The Moorings: Established international yacht charter brand (part of Travelopia, same group as Le Boat); comparable to KUHNLE-TOURS on bareboat chartering but at a much larger and more diversified scale.

Regional players

• Marinaforum / Hafendorf Müritz peers: Other German marina/houseboat operators along the Müritz and Mecklenburgische Seenplatte waterways (e.g., Müritz-Marina, Marina Eldenburg) competing with KUHNLE-TOURS for the same regional cruising customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kuhnletours
• Facebookfacebook.com/kuhnletours
• Instagraminstagram.com/bootsurlauber
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kuhnle-tours-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 KUHNLE-TOURS