Watch: Sunreef Yachts’ Robert Riva & The Yacht Guy’s Luxury Yachting Webinar

Photo Credit: Haute Time

Robert Riva, Sunreef Yachts’ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Sales Director and social media sensation Alex Jimenez aka @theyachtguy, joined Haute Yachts for an interactive webinar discussing the current state of the luxury yachting industry. The conversation was moderated by Haute Living Manager Editor, Paige Mastrandrea, and touched on key topics such as yacht shows going digital, predictions on whether the Monaco Yacht Show will take place this year as brands have started pulling out, trends of the industry and the increased demand to own a yacht, as well as some of Sunreef’s greatest success stories throughout this time.

Watch the full discussion below:

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

ON TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRY DURING THIS TIME 

“Broader term, I’m super fortunate to be working with the leader of luxury catamaran manufacturing and design because that’s the fastest-growing segment of the pleasure boat industry, hands down. I’ve found people are looking at catamarans because of value. You’re getting double the amount of space for the same price, so that is always attractive. Sometimes you may have one spouse who is a boat person and another spouse who isn’t and the other is. When you board a catamaran, they’ll see it more as a floating apartment and it becomes the perfect compromise vessel for both,” says Robert Riva. “I’ve seen a crazy spike in private-use inquiries versus commercial, which I think is a sign of people having more time on their hands.”

“This has opened up a lot of eyes to ‘tomorrow’s not a promise, focus on today,’ type thinking to do things now. That falls in all categories—to the super, super rich, who are saying they’re going to buy this 300-foot yacht that they’ve always wanted. To the moderately wealthy luxury market who are saying, ‘hey, let’s go out and buy 100-foot, let’s just do this and get out.’ The second thing is the media is saying there will be a second wave, a third wave coming—so people are saying the second time around, ‘I’m not staying home, I want to be on my own boat,’ especially since so many people were not chartering during this time. They want to have their own yacht so no one can tell them ‘no,'” said The Yacht Guy.

ON THE MONACO YACHT SHOW 

“I get so excited about this show. This show is the show of all shows, I get most excited for it. I did get the news that some big brands are pulling out. And these are safety concerns, not for just the people attending the shows, but the crew members and captains. There is a big worry that the shows are not yet equipped or trained enough to handle these size crowds. My experience with the yacht shows have always been shaking hands—now in the future, that is going to have to change,” noted The Yacht Guy.

“How they’ll manage the social distancing and enforcing guidelines and people’s willingness, it will be tough to predict that. But one thing is for sure—the people who are there are serious. So, I’ll be very excited to be there because those people are ready to write a check that day!” noted Riva.

ON THE INDUSTRY GOING VIRTUAL 

“This is a much-needed catalyst for an industry-shift to leveraging technology for sales. The yacht industry typically lacks in that. We’ve been doing some virtual yacht shows, but I expect that technology to build and build fast,” said Riva.

“The yachting industry has been doing some virtual yacht shows. For the foreseeable future, people are going to be hammering the online resources. Those who have audio explanation of key features in the boat. The more real you can make it, the more you will win. There’s no substitute for an in-person meeting, but I expect that to be the last 5-percent of the process,” said Robert Riva.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA 

“People are starting to plan for the future, looking ahead and not waiting. Any companies not using social media to produce their marketing are really falling behind,” noted The Yacht Guy.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE REST OF 2020

“The question is who can pivot and make things happen vs. those who find their teams are struggling. A strong team will be already pivoting and planning for the future and seeing how they’ll make this work because the future is obviously going to change. Those who think they’ll ride this out and this will pass, will not see such success.”

“The smart money is buying right now for two reasons: 1. They know they have the leverage—cash is king in any potential crisis. 2. By the time their boat is built in a year from now, whether it’s for private use or if it’s for commercial use, you have a hell of a lot of pent up demand coming to fruition right now, assuming there is a vaccine and people feel safe—which we expect to happen in a year’s time. There will be a lot of people looking to go on a yacht and go on vacation in the summer next year….The rest of 2020 is preparing for 2021, that’s the motive and that’s the motto for any smart money in 2020.”