Any move by Uber is surrounded by controversy. And the
launching of the new service in the yacht charter market in Ibiza
seems not to be the exception. As announced by the multinational in a statement, the passenger transport company born in 2010 will start in August in Ibiza a new line of business with the introduction in the nautical market of the island of a yacht that can be hired with skipper for tourist trips of eight hours .
One more operator in the very mature yacht charter market. The boat, Sunseeker brand , will serve groups of up to eight passengers at a price of 200 euros per person, which means 1,600 euros per day. It will offer midday departures from the port of Ibiza with skipper service, a bottle of champagne and snacks, as well as transfer to and from the boat from anywhere on the island.
“From exploring the crystal clear waters of Formentera to sunsets on the legendary rock of Es Vedrà, Uber Yacht will be available for pre-booking through Uber Reserve in Ibiza from July 26 and at least 24 hours in advance,” says the company, which will provide the service from August 3 and 20.
From Uber they detail that “for only 200 euros per person, groups of up to eight people can enjoy an eight-hour trip on a luxurious Sunseeker yacht“.
Whole boat
When asked by La Voz de Ibiza, they have clarified that “tickets are not sold individually” but the entire boat is rented: “The reservation includes the rental of the entire yacht for eight hours and allows up to eight people to enjoy the experience”.
The vessel, the company explains, has “all the necessary permits and licenses to operate as passenger transport”.
Unfair competition
The innovation of Uber’s proposal is a price, far from what the market is setting.
And is that the Sunseeker boat with which Uber will debut is 21.7 meters long, which means that the 1,600 euros of announced fare will shatter the market. That would be a reasonable price for a 12-meter Sunseeker, industry sources tell La Voz de Ibiza.
Thus, the 20-meter Sunseeker Predator 68 model is rented in high season at 4,100 euros. While the Sunseeker Predator 72 -a boat almost identical to the one offered by Uber- of 22.3 meters in length is priced at 6,533 euros, with skipper but without gasoline included.
Meanwhile, a smaller Sacs Rebel 55 (16.3 meters in length) is priced at 4,670 euros. In addition, an average fuel cost of 600 euros is calculated for a standard Ibiza – Formentera – Ibiza route, which is not included in the final price.
While a small boat of 10 meters in length, such as the Sea Ray 290, is rented per day in
1,370 euros, plus extras.
Characteristics of the yacht
Sunseeker 68 SportYacht has been chosen as the yacht of the year in 2015, with 21.7 meters in length and 5.09 meters in beam. It has two MTU engines with 1,250 hp. It has three cabins, cabin and 3 bathrooms.
Charter only
From the Govern have clarified to La Voz de Ibiza that Uber “can not sell tickets”, although they have clarified that they “can rent the entire boat as a charter”.
Crisis
Ramon van der Hooft, president of the Nautical Association of Ibiza and Formentera integrated in Pimeef, with 55 associated companies, and the CEO of Boating Group, had warned at the beginning of the season in an interview with La Voz de Ibiza that “
nautical charter companies will have to close and we are frightened for the future
“before the fall of the rents.
In addition, he said that “there is an oversupply“. “The base fleet has grown because we were coming off good seasons. We also suffer a lot legal but unfair intrusion. We have suffered“. Regarding the latter, he has referred to the “boats that are based in the Peninsula and anchor in the beaches and coves without having an office or mooring here but have submitted a responsible statement to the Govern and, therefore, are legal. Our boats make their annual maintenance cycle here, we have office, we have staff, we pay moorings and here everything has a higher cost, so we can not compete with the prices of companies outside. It is an injustice that the sector suffers due to economic issues and also because the image that means that the coves are saturated with boats that spend the whole summer anchored here harms us”.
Controversy
Mobility multinational Uber has not been known for being very friendly to the rules of the game in Ibiza. To cite just one example, this week a video has gone viral showing how a vehicle loads five female passengers
vehicle loads five female passengers in an irregular manner
. In addition to this, there is the “normalization” of the non-compliance with the half-hour pre-contracting period. Thus, VTCs operating with the Uber application provide immediate service as if it were a cab, ignoring the regulation that has been included in the new cab law approved unanimously in Parliament .
