Back in 2020, billionaire superyacht owners like business tycoon and producer David Geffen were utter contempt They went into hiding with their full service crew while the rest of the world was in lockdown. (Geffen bought his yacht from Oracle founder Larry Ellison for Reported $590 million; Jeff Bezos photographed on board in 2019. ) While we face a very different world today than it did back then, this was the beginning of a shift in the way shipowners spend their time on board – especially during the working day.
Richard Lambert, head of sales at Burgess Yachts, said the pandemic had brought about a “real explosion” of yachting interest as the super-rich turned to yachting as a means of escape wealth. That interest hasn’t waned as the rise of remote work removes the need for them to attend mandatory face-to-face meetings. Lambert said the ultra-wealthy are spending more time than ever on superyachts, but “these are self-made successful business people who need to be able to turn things around and actually run their own businesses.”
As a result, the yacht has transformed from pure leisure time to a space that accommodates everything, including Zoom calls. “Our clients stay on board for up to four months a year and are able to run their business really efficiently,” Lambert said.
Of course, before the pandemic, it’s not as if business meetings never took place, or emails were never sent from yachts. But part of sailing the high seas is going off the grid. In the past, working on ships was “very difficult” because the communications technology infrastructure was “nowhere near as good as what we have today,” Lambert said. Boat owners, for example, now enjoy vastly improved internet access, which used to be prohibitively expensive and hard to come by (although Lambert notes that for yacht owners, cost is second only to reliability and speed).
Now, a “really important part” of extending time on board is being able to stay in touch with business on land, whether it’s a Zoom call or a quick email. The end result, says Lambert, is that “people are actually using yachts more than ever before.”
new design standard
As a result of this change, Lambert and his team have seen subtle changes in yacht design to accommodate more everyday demands. These include demand from younger customers, who may have a new degree of freedom to work at sea – an option previously largely offered to older, more qualified workers with sufficient flexibility.
Steve Gorman, sales manager for maritime communications technology and services company KVH Superyacht Group, writes for Yachting Jobs magazine that the trend of working on yachts is accelerating rapidly. superyacht trade publications Pier Walk, and not just superyacht owners. During the lockdown, the young children on board needed to connect to Zoom schools and everyone is used to it by now.
As more homeowners spend more time with their families, the design goes beyond the office to focus on meeting the needs of all ages. “It’s not necessarily about remote work, but I think we’ve seen a slight shift in design that makes it more appealing from a multigenerational standpoint,” Lambert said. “A lot of the design is built around the water. Maybe the younger generation is doing water sports in the water, (and) the area is perfect for a slightly older generation – maybe retired grandparents or the owners themselves.”
For working owners, many new superyachts are equipped with full home offices, representing an evolution in yacht architecture. Kate Lardy reports that first-time yacht buyers entering the market during the pandemic are particularly focused on functionality rather than “Instagram appeal”, seeking Zoom rooms and an equal amount of space to relax and exercise . ship international. Space that can accommodate extended stays has become more important than ostentatious luxury.
work for fun
As for why yachting – the pinnacle of leisure – as a workplace attracts those who can certainly afford it no At work, Lambert insists, many bosses don’t know how to get offline, or may not want to.
“For many of these owners, work is part of their DNA and their passion,” he said. “A lot of them are very successful business people, their businesses have been established for many, many years. They have a sense of pride that it’s part of them. It’s not just seen as a job, it’s part of them Purpose“.
These floating behemoths have become the remote offices of the elite, which may explain why yachting is in its heyday.as New Yorker The number of US billionaires has risen from 66 in 1990 to more than 700, Palm Beach reported last year, while the number of yachts longer than 250 feet (a superyacht is often defined as the length of a megayacht) has also increased – has grown from single digits to over 170.
But it’s not all plain sailing; the percentage of billionaires who own yachts has been declining since 2017. That could be linked to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to at least one report. Berenberg Bank Research Report, the report found that there was “low interest from the financial community, linked to the yacht’s apparent influence from Russian clients” among luxury yacht builders.Nevertheless, according to the latest Global Order BookThere will be a 17.5% increase in the number of superyachts in production in 2022 compared to a year ago.
And, Lambert says, the rush to work on yachts looks less like a trend and more like a permanent state, especially with the advent of generative artificial intelligence. “It’s a technological revolution; we’re going to see a huge change in the way we work over the next 10 to 20 years. It’s an evolving, dynamic situation, but it’s here to stay.”
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