Boat rentals float the Airbnb business model

Days before boarding a plane to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., resident Jonathan Benny has already made the call to Reuben Pasandi for his boat in Newport Beach.

Benny works in property management and splits his time between both cities. And whenever he is on the West Coast, Benny is likely to be on Pasandi’s boat, cruising around the Newport Beach Harbor or heading to Catalina. Here, he can cruise to Emerald Bay to bask in the sun or park his boat at a waterfront restaurant where a server will take his order at the vessel and bring the food to him.

“I’m on a boat 98% of the time I’m in California,” said the East Coast native, who found Pasandi two years ago through the online rental booking platform GetMyBoat, a kind of Airbnb for boats.

“The boating in D.C. isn’t what it is in California,” Benny said. “I grew up in D.C. In the summer, it’s too hot and humid, and in the winter it’s just too cold. And then there’s the lifestyle of Newport Beach. Everyone loves being on a boat.”

Pasandi, who considers Benny one of his best clients, can hardly blame him.

“Everytime I come here, it just amazes me,” Pasandi said as he cruised past boats parked in front of a row of grand waterfront homes, some already decorated for the holidays. “It’s as if I’m seeing it for the first time.”

Every month, thousands search GetMyBoat to book sailboats, yachts and other watercraft in Newport Beach, considered a top search destination for the San Francisco-based company, which offers 40,000 boats in 143 countries.

“Newport Beach is one of our top locations, not only in the U.S. but internationally,” said Bryan Petro, GetMyBoat’s chief information officer. “It’s certainly unique in terms of offerings. Newport Beach has something for everybody — pontoons, paddleboats, yachts. It’s not only a beautiful area but a big draw for the general population.”

Pasandi, who bought his first boat two years ago, saw the demand firsthand.

“I got an email asking if I would be interested in renting my boat out, and I thought, ‘That’s a good idea,’” said Pasandi, who owns a credit card processing company. “Most of the time, the boat is in the slip. I figured, ‘Why not? Let’s try it.’ I listed the boat and all of a sudden I got so much traffic. People were calling me left and right, wanting to rent the boat.”

Rental demand was so high that Pasandi has created a small business from it, Captain Newport luxury boat rentals. He has bought two more boats and is considering another.

Pasandi is currently booking his boats for the holiday season, whether for viewing the annual Newport Beach Boat Parade or cruising the harbor looking at holiday-decked homes.

“People can enjoy it and they don’t have to spend the money to buy a boat, because they’re so expensive,” Pasandi said.

With maintenance, taxes, boat slip rental and other expenses, a small boat could cost owners like Pasandi anywhere between $15,000 to $20,000 a month.

The company, GetMyBoat, was founded by Sascha Mornell and Raf Collado 15 years ago, when the two saw boats sitting in marinas unused, Petro said.

“These boats cost a lot of money and there had to be something in the marketplace,” Petro said. “This model where you can share your boat to others was ripe. However, back then the timing wasn’t right.”

The company went live in 2013, following the success of other online booking platforms, Petro said.

“The emergence of Airbnb and Uber really laid the groundwork for GetMyBoat to really thrive,” he said. “It made it more acceptable.”

Petro said the company is working to replicate its Newport Beach success at other locations.

“We’re trying to grow boating in general,” Petro said. “GetMyBoat isn’t just for the diehard salty sailors. It’s also for the recreational boater who wants to get their feet wet and just experience being on the water.”