Boat booking website Zizoo launches in UK

Zizoo promises to 'revolutionise sailing holidays.'

Zizoo, the boat booking website, launched in the UK market yesterday (05 October), as it unveiled a new long haul sailing collection including Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Thailand locations.

The site promises to ‘revolutionise sailing holidays’ by making the booking process entirely online, offering easy access to over 6000 boat rentals in 30 countries worldwide.

Destinations include popular European countries such as Croatia, Spain, Greece, France, Italy and Turkey, as well Sweden, Norway, Channel Islands and even some inland locations. The company has also launched a new long haul collection.

Vessels are available with or without crew for flexible durations (from one day) and include luxury catamarans, vintage gulets and sailboats, as well as motor and speedboats. All relevant insurances are included within the hire fee so all clients need to cover themselves are the mooring fees, which often vary depending on their chosen sailing itinerary.

More unusual options include a vintage James Bond-esque speed boat to whizz around the canals of Venice, or a fun BBQ ‘Donut’ motorboat on Berlin’s Tegel Lake. A skipper can be added to any booking from between £100-£125 per day, or experienced sailors can crew the vessels themselves.

Zizoo began as an idea from Anna Banicevic, who learnt to sail off the West Coast of Ireland. Looking to rent a yacht for a group sailing holiday a few years ago, she soon realised that the boat rental industry was totally ‘undigitalised’.

Banicevic said “I found the boat industry was really lagging behind the rest of the travel industry, with most charter companies having no online presence at all and those who did were very restrictive as to what they offered with set weekly departures and no live availability.”

“We believe that the boat rental industry is ready to go to the next level, following in the footsteps of other travel sectors such as car rental, hotels and flights. For Zizoo we see our growth not only coming from leading the offline market into the digital era, but also attracting a younger market who are looking for an alternative to a land based holiday,” she added.

Will you be checking out Zizoo and its services?

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