5 Ways To Maintain A Good Business Relationship With Your Yacht Co-Owners
Some people say that relationships are hard. Not only romantic and personal ones, but almost every human relations can be tough at times. Most especially if two parties do not share the same values, goals, and plans.
In business, partnerships tend to fall apart due to a lack of communication. Or even worse, due to betrayal. It’s hard to maintain a good and professional relationship with the people you work with. Especially when money, time, and commitment is involved.
For a more ideal financial investment, people usually go for co-ownership. One of the popular types of a shared investment is yacht syndication. A type of partnership where several co-owners legally own a share of a yacht.
Yacht management and use can be hard if co-owners don’t plan and make arrangements beforehand. To maintain a good business relationship with your co-owners, here are 5 ways that you can do and implement in your partnership now.
1. Set a quarterly or yearly meeting
To avoid the ‘lack of communication’ excuse, the first and basic thing that you can do with your co-owners is to set a quarterly or yearly meeting. Aside from basic courtesy, meetings can be a way of building a better relationship with your co-owners.
You get to hear about their recent yacht travel experiences and the places they visited. Meetings can be a good way of asking for their suggestions to a new yacht route that you haven’t coursed before. Or learn about a new activity that they tried out in the yacht for you to try too.
Some people dread meetings even though it is necessary. Their reason is that things that will be discussed can be done via email or text messages. But, it is undeniable that communication is better when it is done verbally. It’s often hard to express your main points and share your opinions through email and written communication only.
Video calls are a great way of communicating if you truly can’t meet in person. Use your meetings to communicate and share issues that you have. That way, you get to hear the concerns of your co-owners. Their opinions and feedback will help you to raise those concerns better to your fractional yacht ownership manager.
2. Set house rules and yacht regulations for onboard activities
Rules are important in every aspect of a business. In investment, it is the same. Since you are in a shared yacht ownership arrangement, rules serve as the anchor of a good partnership. With rules, you get to set boundaries to the things that can be done in the yacht and the activities to be implemented onboard.
If you have a co-owner who often uses the yacht for parties, this is very vital. It’s important to discuss with your partners the dos and don’ts when hosting a yacht party. Keep in mind, that when there’s alcohol on board, there’s a possibility that things might get out of control.
Specify the maximum number of guests that you are willing to have on board. Discuss the process you’d like to have if the yacht will be taken to a different location. These simple regulations will help all of the owners have equal control over how the yacht is being managed.
Keep in mind that you are not the only owner of the yacht. You have co-owners who have the same benefits and authority that you have. Keep an open mind and be ready to make amendments and compromise to a rule that will benefit all.
3. Have a regular schedule for yacht cleaning and condition check-up
Some shared yacht ownership arrangements include a perk where the management will take care of the maintenance and cleaning of the yacht. But, some don’t. If you’re one of the lucky ones who have chosen a fractional yacht ownership arrangement that includes maintenance perks, maybe you can skip this point. Unless you still want to implement a separate one with your co-owners, then read on.
As each owner take turns with the yacht, its condition will surely need cleaning and maintenance. That’s why it’s important to set a regular check-up of the property. In relation to point number 2, maybe you should include in your rules that the yacht needs to be cleaned every after use.
Having a regular yacht check-up will also avoid any small issues to build up and accumulate to bigger ones in the future. Also, this is a great way to prevent any pinpoints of “I did not do that” or “The yacht was working perfectly well when I used it.”
Those accusations will only lead to bad blood and will only make the matter worse than it is. That’s why implementing a regular schedule for the yacht to be cleaned and checked should be a must. With this, you all get to use the yacht like it’s brand new and enjoy its great condition for a long time.
4. Plan about budgets, fees, and insurance plans (if you intend to have one)
One critical factor in shared investments is money. Anything that involves money tends to be a sensitive topic that divides the co-owners. When you bring an issue about an expense for chipping-in, some might say that there’s no need for that, or it’s not a critical issue anyway so it can be disregarded for some other time.
To avoid this, from the very beginning of the partnership, be transparent about budgets and expenses. If you’ve been with partners for quite some time now, share your thoughts on property insurance if you intend to have one for the yacht. Or about a budget for repairs that you’d like to be done.
Some fractional yacht ownership arrangements have a manager who handles the budgets, expenses, and insurance plans. For some, the company already offers an insurance plan that comes with your yacht investment. If your arrangement has one already, maybe you can discuss with your partners about insurance plan upgrades.
If your arrangement doesn’t have one, be open to sharing your thoughts on this. After all, it’s all for the yacht and all of the owners best. Include allocation of budgets in your quarterly or yearly meeting. If you discuss money regularly and transparently, you tend to avoid future misunderstandings that involve finances.
5. Be open about your plans to sell or upgrade your investment share
It’s hard to tell if 10 years from now, you still find your yacht investment a good one. Others might want to move forward and put their money in another type of investment. Some might have other plans by then.
Every year or two, ask for your partners’ thoughts and plans for the yacht. Some arrangements allow the owners to continue their investment even if one decides to sell his part. However, this might mean that the existing owners might have to shoulder the amount that the past co-owner will sell.
Some arrangements, depending on the company, still maintain the amount that each owner has to chip in even though one is to sell his part. They allow this because they will open that share for sale to another potential co-owner.
If that’s not the case with your yacht syndication arrangement, give your partners a heads-up about your plans a year or two before you decide to sell your share. This will help them discuss and prepare arrangements that need to be done beforehand. Who knows, maybe they also want to sell their shares as well? Again, open and honest communication is the key.
To cap it off,
In every aspect of our lives, communication will fix so many issues and open us to better opportunities. Just like in any relationship, you tend to prosper better when you work together with your partners. Communication will not only bond you but also help build a healthy, long-lasting partnership.
Discuss and be transparent with your concerns. Give each owner their time for their voice to be heard. Remember, it is not only your yacht, it is also theirs. A unified plan and decision will surely lead to a well-managed yacht investment.
About the author:
Bianca Banda is a writer for MIY Yacht Share which offers Yacht Co-Ownership for sale, leaving the hassle of sole ownership behind by providing a cheaper yet luxurious yacht that is your own. She is a massive lover of Japanese cuisine and enjoys binge-watching comedies or variety shows.
