What: Rent out your watercraft by the hour and/or advertise your water sport lessons
Expected pay: $100+ per hour for renting watercraft with an engine; less for paddle boards & kayaks/ $60 + per hour for lessons
Husl$core: $$$$
Commissions & fees: owner pays 7% of the rental amount for domestic bookings; 10% for international charters. (The site charges renters identical commissions too)
Where: Waterways in most major U.S. cities, as well as 184 countries around the world
Requirements: A boat, jet ski, paddle board or kayak to rent; the ability to provide lessons, tours or charters on some water sport, from surfing to deep-water fishing; a smart phone
Review: GetMyBoat is one of several sites that aim to be the Airbnb of boat rentals. The theory is that you already have the boat — and are probably paying dearly to keep it in good shape and in a nice slip — so why not rent it out when you’re not using it?
Boat rentals are usually arranged by the hour and can include a captain, if the renter (or boat owner) so desires. Where GetMyBoat is a bit different than the other sites is that it does not provide any insurance coverage for your boat, though it can refer owners to commercial liability insurers that owners can contract with separately. (Definitely check your own boat insurance to see if it covers commercial rentals; if it doesn’t, you would want to secure a commercial rider or coverage in some way to protect your boat from damage and you from liability.)
The site also has owners and renters strike separate contracts for the use of their boat. Boat owners are expected to decide on a rental price, determine whether they want a security deposit, decide on cancellation terms (GetMyBoat has three options), and be responsible for making sure that your boat is both seaworthy when it’s rented out and is returned in the same condition.
GetMyBoat is used simply to market the availability of your watercraft and collect payment. Because it includes less in the package, it also appears to be less expensive than some of the other services. However, that may be misleading, depending on what it costs for you to get insurance on your own, for example. Still, the site’s main competitor, Boatsetter, charges a 35% commission for those who need commercial coverage and 15% to those who already have it — about twice the commission charged by GetMyBoat. Payments are made to boat owners within 10 days of the completion of the rental, generally by direct deposit.
The one more thing to be aware of: If you cancel a rental, you’re going to get hit with a cancellation fee that will include the transaction fees, plus $5 to $50. And some users say the phone app is buggy.
What their users say (from iTunes)
This app charges a lot of fees to connect you with boat owners. They charge the customer as well as the boat owner such a large fee that it isn’t even worth it. Communication can only be done through the app and is very slow…won’t allow you to contact the customer until they rent. I lost a lot of business due to the fees and the response time of the app
A brilliant way to rent your boat to people. Had a great trip recently teaching people to sail. Easy to use, simple to book
The app give you almost no options or opportunity to control your listsings data. For instance, they auto place a 5-day grace/cancellation period that you cannot change. he app must be designed by bots as you have almost no control to do anything with it. Then come to find out my first customer who appeared to be real was one of their bots faking an interest in my boat. Is bs. COMPANY RESPONSE: We have substantially improved our options for controlling your listing data on our web platform. Please check it out again and we hope to connect you with some customers soon. We are not bots. I promise.
