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A complete client journey
For more traditional cruising destinations, Yomira offers hidden gems which are usually excluded from ‘milk run’ itineraries.
INSPIRED BY EVOLVING CLIENT EXPECTATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES, THE VISION OF YOMIRA’S FOUNDING PARTNERS IS A TURNING POINT FOR THE FUTURE OF YACHT CHARTER.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOMIRA. With almost 50 years of collective experience in the superyacht charter sector, founding partners Neil Hornsby and Amanda Armstrong launched Yomira in the last quarter of 2020 to offer a highly bespoke consultancy approach to charters, with the 360º client journey at its heart.
Time for an update
2020 will be remembered as a transformational year in which we saw the world come to a virtual standstill, with superyacht charters along with the travel industry especially afficted. On the positive side, clients are recalibrating their lifestyle priorities by demonstrating a strong appetite to travel and go yachting again. This is fuelled by the overriding desire to enjoy fulflling, expertly curated experiences shared with family and friends. “High-end travel clients have been well served over the last decade by a new breed of exclusive travel consultancies specialising in a very personalised proposition for the entire client experience”, says Mr Hornsby. Surprisingly, the yacht charter service model has hardly advanced at all, remaining somewhat archaic and formulaic. “We were therefore motivated to modernise and breathe new life into the charter process with Yomira, going the extra mile in designing life-enhancing superyacht
Founding partners Amanda Armstrong and Neil Hornsby launched Yomira in the last quarter of 2020.
experiences to become more relevant in a changing world”, Mr Hornsby adds.
Superyachting as a lifestyle
Yomira not only dives deeper into understanding the vacation aspirations of clients by applying perception and insight to foster enduring professional relationships, the company also simplifes cumbersome procedural complexities and ensures transparency. Even experienced charter clients begrudge the convoluted booking process and want a more streamlined system that is faster and more effcient. “This is a critical factor in being able to attract new clients to the concept of chartering a yacht, especially next-generation clients”, says Ms Armstrong. Yomira positions itself as an approachable, highly discrete, and trusted resource, promoting superyachting as a lifestyle choice rather than a stereotypical status symbol. “We aim to build a more favourable perception of the yacht charter by making it more appealing and accessible to a wider audience in order to grow the market”, Ms Armstrong adds. According to Yomira, clients today yearn for more immersive experiential travel opportunities, and Yomira’s consultancy service is designed to guide clients through the limitless scope offered by chartered yachts.
Elevating the experience
For clients with wanderlust, Yomira’s options include stay and sail programmes in the Maldives incorporating a private island, spa, and wellbeing cruises in Indonesia, diving trips in French Polynesia’s Tuamotu Archipelago, bone fshing in the Bahamas, arctic expeditions, and a variety of naturalist voyages in Australia, including whale watching and participation in reef projects. For the more traditional cruising destinations, Yomira offers hidden gems which are usually excluded from ‘milk run’ itineraries such as the Southern Grenadines, the Southern Exumas, the Aeolian Islands, and the Northern Sporades.
Customised offerings range from special nutritional programmes coordinated with superyacht chefs and staging blow-your-mind parties on board complete with DJs and live music, to arranging activity schemes for children of all ages, private tours of Tuscan vineyards, coral safaris to Australia’s Outer Barrier Reef, sourcing archaeology or marine biology guides, and much more. Yomira’s vast insider knowledge and expertise of the charter market accumulated over decades combined with being a specialised bespoke consultancy gives the company the agility to innovate and break new ground. “Our mission is to elevate the experience that clients can enjoy on a charter, and we very much see our role as providing the inspiration and logistics to make this happen”, Mr Hornsby explains.
Going forward
Yomira is confdent that the charter industry will gradually recover its ground once travel restrictions are relaxed. In the meantime, the company exercises in-depth due diligence to reassure clients regarding health, safety, and travel protocols during these continuing uncertain times. Equally importantly, Yomira is committed to supporting sustainable yachting, from promoting the often-underestimated pleasures of chartering a sailing yacht to engaging in carbon footprint reduction initiatives. “We also foresee increasing interest from clients in ocean conservation projects going forward, and we will be developing some exciting voyages with customised aspects to meet this demand”, says Ms Armstrong.
