How to Use WordPress For Yacht Rental Business

Every business’ website goal is to generate more sales in real life, that’s a fact. The boat rental market is booming, with Europe and the USA generating billions in revenue each year. If you are in that industry, you can find more clients with the business website, including international travelers. 

WordPress is the perfect choice to improve your yacht rental business by creating a yacht website. It will help you advertise your business, win travelers’ hearts, and – yes – rent out yachts and inventory online.

That’s why in this blog post, we’re eager to explore why WordPress is a great solution for yacht rental businesses, what design and software options are available, and how to start familiarizing yourself with the best website builder in the world (no kidding!).

Just like a new ship, WordPress requires some customization to achieve success. This is where themes and plugins play their role.

Choosing the Right Hosting Service

WordPress doesn’t require any specific hosting server. The hosting options are unbelievably extensive, and if you don’t want to spend hours on understanding how to choose one, consider this.

High-traffic or enterprise-level websites, large community forums, and e-commerce platforms really require specific hosting needs based on their specific needs, traffic volume, and functionality – compared to a small business website. A yacht rental qualifies as a small business website, so you don’t need to search for something extravagant. Take a look at our hosting providers that ALL work smoothly for exactly this type of website.

If you happen to have a few extra minutes you want to devote to understanding crucial factors for hosting your yacht rental website, see our quick checklist below:

1. Speed.
2. Reliability.
3. Scalability.
4. Security.
5. Support.

Yacht and Marine WordPress Themes

There are thousands of WordPress themes, and hundreds of those are categorized as marine or yacht themes.

As a rule, there are two options available: free and premium, each with its own visual style and features that help you monetize your website.

Also, consider solutions like a ‘multipurpose theme’ (these include ‘Astra’, ‘OceanWP’, and ‘Blocksy’) that can include a yacht design among tons of others, and standalone yacht WordPress themes (popular brands are ‘Catamaran’, ‘Lamaro’, ‘Lorenty’, ‘Floaty’, etc.). The prices start from around $50. The essential difference is in the functionality: multipurpose themes, unlike niche-specific ones, normally don’t ship with plugins that a boat business might need.

It’s up to you which approach to use, but we can’t help recommending a yacht WordPress theme that represents your brand and appeals to your target audience. If you specialize in luxurious yachts, choose a sleek and minimalistic theme. If you cater to budget-friendly family day trips, you may want to opt for a vibrant and playful WordPress yacht rental design.

Essential Plugins for Yach WordPress Website

What are essential plugins for every boat rental business? That depends on what you want to achieve. However, we’ve came up with our own list:

1. BookingPress: This plugin transforms your website into your own Boatsetter, a powerful boat rental platform, but only for your brand. It works even if you have just one yacht or boat! Live availability calendars for every rental, online payments for bookings, automated email confirmations, and even WhatsApp notifications – all within your WordPress dashboard.

2. WooCommerce: If you offer onboard snacks, souvenirs, or additional equipment, WooCommerce lets you manage payments and inventory with ease, and what’s important, it’s the most powerful e-commerce plugin in WordPress. The BookingPress plugin we’ve mentioned above perfectly works with this one letting you smoothly rent out yachts and sell things on the same WordPress site.

3. Yoast SEO: Optimize your yacht WP website to rank higher than that of your competitors in search results, ensuring your boats are the first catch for eager sailors. Even if you are not familiar with the art and science of SEO, this plugin will help you with the plain sailing.

4. ARForms: Create custom booking forms to gather basic contact inquiries and all the necessary information for a smooth sailing experience for every traveler.

5. Location Weather: Create and display unlimited weather and forecasts anywhere on your WordPress website to inform and engage travelers looking to make a booking on your website.

Hiring Out Yachts Online with BookingPress

As a separate focus of our WordPress yacht rental website guide, let’s see how to automate yacht rentals with BookingPress, which can significantly boost your business. This plugin alone will literally digitize all your rental processes, keeping billing, client, inventory, and staff details under a single backoffice.

The BookingPress plugin is packed with features designed specifically for the maritime industry, so it’s going to be easy to manage your business with the following features:

• Hourly bookings: Ideal for paddleboards, kayaks, or short motorboat excursions, as well as yacht tours.
• Booking forms: Accept bookings online for any of your services or tours.
• Multiple boats and locations: Manage a fleet of vessels across different marinas with ease.
• Captain availability: Schedule your crew and ensure clients sail with the best.
• Customizable pricing: Set prices based on duration, season, and even weather conditions.
• Full or partial payments: Collect deposits or offer full online payment options; payments via PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, and other methods are available.
• Automated notifications: Keep both you and your customers informed with timely emails, SMS, or WhatsApp alerts.
• Boosted marketing: Integrate many marketing-oriented extensions to earn more money, increase bookings, and optimize your revenue processes.

It’s a simple and functional solution at the same time, which lets you showcase real-time availability on your website, integrate popular payment processors, and manage clients and staff like a PRO. 

The software’s versatility is showcased, catering to various watercraft businesses, from yacht charters to adventure boat tours.

Conclusion on Using WordPress For Yacht Rental Business

Even today in 2024, after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions had been lifted long ago, we’re observing increasing interest of people in recreational activities, marine tourism is one of those special solutions. With a website, you’re going to be much better off if you operate a yacht business; with WordPress being one of the most scalable and affordable options for yacht rental website businesses.

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• Must-have WordPress Plugins for Appointment-based Websites
• Advantages of Online Appointment Scheduling for Small Business