Favorable tide is helping both big players, such as BR Marinas, and newcomers, such as Fleetss

07/25/2022

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Isabella Salomão — Foto: Leo Pinheiro/Valor

The Brazilian journalist and advertising professional Isabella Salomão noticed one day that the winds were blowing in favor of the nautical sector and had an idea. She then developed an application that is intended to become, as she says, the “Airbnb of the seas”. Named Fleetss, the app focuses on the rental of boats, done safely for owners and users through a collaborative economy platform, with reviews of tours and boats.

The favorable tide is also helping the big players in the sector: BR Marinas plans to install its first unit outside Rio de Janeiro soon. The company had a revenue increase of 17% in 2021. It reported growth during the pandemic, which, unlike other sectors, stimulated the sector.

According to the Brazilian Association of Boat Builders and their Implements (Acobar), the segment closed the year 2021 with a growth of approximately 20% (the Brazilian GDP that year had a high of 4.6%, after a fall of 3.9% in 2020).

According to the creator of Fleetss, the application is already available for registration of boat owners and to be downloaded by users. “Initially, we gave priority to the prospection of boats and adjustments to the system. On July 10, we started to rent the boats”, says Ms. Salomão.

One of Fleetss’ goals is to serve a growing market and, at the same time, offer security to boat owners and users. The model adopted, and the inspiration for the application, is Airbnb. When closing the use of a boat, the client pays the rent — which is retained and released only at the end of the tour. This way, the user has the guarantee that he will not be the victim of a scam, while the owner of the boat knows that she will be paid for the service offered.

“We had a good surprise: we were aiming for 150 registrations, but we already have 290 boats in the system. The application with the largest number of boats and the only one with national coverage [17 states]. We are an Airbnb exclusively for boats, of various types, sizes, and capacities, such as catamarans, speedboats, yachts, and sailboats,” says Ms. Salomão.

Owners need to provide a sailor to navigate. But, in many cases, as the owners have a driving license, they prefer to be the tour guides. The rentals vary greatly in price, from R$600 to approximately R$25,000 in the case of yachts.

Fleetss has currently 2,000 users registered to rent the boats. Ms. Salomão explains that the idea is to use the concept of the collaborative economy: “The application has space for a description of the boat, with photos and comments from customers. After the tour, the owner receives an evaluation. The goal is to make something safe for both parties.”

The app receives 5% of the rent, while the fee for users is 10%. “What is left for Fleetss is 15%, a rate that we consider fair in the market, in which other companies have been charging more,” says the creator. In the future, the goal is to expand the service to other countries, starting with Mexico and the United States. In addition, Ms. Salomão is thinking about creating a project for the sale of boats.

*By Denis Kuck — Rio de Janeiro

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/