Build Your Own Charter — for hosts
Host your trip. We find the crew.
The number one thing BYOC does for you: fill the cabins your friends can't. A whole sailing week needs 6–8 people who actually want the same week off — that's the hard part. The platform surfaces likeminded crew from the BYOC cohort so your trip actually sails. Three ways to use us.
COORDINATOR
Just coordinating an all-friends trip.
Your crew's already filled. You don't need the platform to find anyone. You want help with the page, the money, and the cancellation policy. Same boat price as booking via Kate at SailChecker direct — sometimes with a small platform discount baked in.
- Free trip page — photo-led, mobile-first, data-chic
- Modern fleet only — yachts ≤4 years old
- Accredited skippers — RYA Yachtmaster Offshore minimum
- Pay-by-Bank payments — 3-stage auto-rails (hold → deposit → balance), FX handled
- 30-day refund + auto-cancellation policy + auto-refund if D-90 viability fails
- Same boat price as Kate-direct — sometimes with a small platform discount
- Friends-only — no cohort surfacing, no Cash Back, no reputation tier
HOST
We find you the crew.
You've got the trip idea + half a crew. The hard part of organising a sailing week is filling the rest of the cabins. BYOC does that — likeminded crew self-select via your trip's vibe and crew constraints. You earn Cash Back when the trip closes out.
Everything in Coordinator, plus:
- Curate your crew — set the vibe, set the constraints, the right strangers self-select. The wrong ones never apply.
- Crew constraints filter — no-stag / naturist-friendly / quiet-evenings / LGBTQIA+ / dietary / first-timers-welcome. You don't have to say no to anyone — the page does.
- Discoverable on byoc.sailchecker.com — homepage feature, cohort filters, destination pages
- Pool skipper hire — no qualification required. We hire a vetted RYA Yachtmaster out of trip economics (~€2,000).
- Cash Back earns up to 50% of disposable income — 20% trip-1, climbing with reputation
- Set your own pricing — eat the Cash Back as a friend-discount, or run a selective premium and pocket it
- Annual hosting portfolio — three trips in and you're a meaningfully different operator from a first-timer
- AI trip-name suggester — no Boring Generic Sailing Week names. Marketing copy that fits the cohort.
- Avatar + nickname for the trip page — be the brand without surfacing your surname
- Host guests vs platform guests — your friends always sit alongside likeminded strangers, never mixed up
- Optional crew Cash Back share — equal split, custom, or donate; you still do the build
- No host fee, no listing fee, no Cash Back below the line. The platform takes its boat commission upstream and that's it.
SKIPPER HOST
Sail it yourself. Earn as you go.
You're a qualified skipper (RYA Yachtmaster Offshore or equivalent). You want to sail your own week with your friends + filled crew, and get paid for the helm. Berth comp'd by the operator, Cash Back earned progressively — not just at the end.
Everything in Host, plus:
- Sail for free — berth comp'd by the operator, no out-of-pocket for the boat itself
- Paid for the helm — skipper fee runs out of trip economics, you don't have to invoice your friends
- Cash Back earned progressively, not just deferred to trip-end — better cash-flow when you're sailing for a living
- Higher cap on reputation-driven Cash Back % — your sailing credentials accelerate the tier
- Your credentials enter the BYOC skipper pool — future BYOC-pool hires routed your way
- Inherits Coordinator + Host benefits — modern fleet, fully-supported operators, automatic payments, crew constraints, AI trip-name, etc.
- Skipper profile shown on the trip page — your CV becomes part of the social proof
- Choose your own boat tier — operator catalogue, no broker friction
- Insurance + paperwork handled by the operator, not by you
- Repeat-skipper discounts on certain bases when you commit a season's worth of trips
Cash Back climbs from 20% on trip 1 to 50% for established hosts. See how Cash Back works →
Either way: you design the trip you actually want — destination, week, boat class, vibe, who's welcome. You invite your friends via a shareable URL, no treasurer admin. Then you fill the empty cabins from the BYOC cohort — likeminded crew, self-selected by your trip's tone (crew constraints do the filtering for you). BYOC handles the page, the money, the cancellation policy, the legals.
See what your trip page will look like → (demo trip — the layout, not the destination)
What hosting looks like — stage by stage
The deal isn't a single number. Across the year, your role as a host rolls through four phases, each with concrete platform value attached. Worth understanding before you commit.
- 1PLAN + LIST
You design the trip you actually want
The week, the destination, the vibe, the crew tone, the boat class — your decisions, not a curated calendar. We hand you the toolkit.
- Free trip page — data-chic design, mobile-first, the layout SailSquare wishes they had. Built from your inputs.
- AI trip-name suggester — no boring names. Marketing copy that actually fits the cohort you want to attract.
- Crew constraints filter — set tone tags (no-stag-parties / naturist-friendly / quiet-evenings / LGBTQIA+) so likeminded people self-select before you ever have to say no to anyone.
- Pool skipper available — you don't need a qualification to host. We hire a vetted RYA Yachtmaster out of trip economics (~€2,000).
- 2INVITE + FILL
Friends first. Then the platform fills the gaps.
You share the URL with your warm circle on WhatsApp / email. They become host guests. If you still have empty cabins close to viability, the BYOC cohort surfaces platform guests who match your trip's tone.
- Shareable URL — single link, all the info, no group-chat treasurer admin. Your friends click through and reserve.
- Pay-by-Bank infrastructure — modern Revolut Merchant flow. Friends pay direct in ~30 seconds, no card-statement awkwardness.
- Platform discovery — empty cabins surface to the BYOC cohort. Likeminded strangers self-select via your crew constraints; you approve via the deal card.
- Live cabin progress — public progress bar on the trip page beats SailSquare's binary "Confirmed" badge by an honest margin.
- 3VIABILITY + SAIL
The platform handles the money + the cancellation policy.
At 3-of-4 cabins reserved, the trip flips to viable. From there, BYOC automates everything customer-facing — deposits, balances, refunds, cancellation policy — so you focus on the sailing.
- Automatic 50% deposit collection at viability flip — no chasing anyone for money.
- Balance auto-collected at D-60 (60 days before sailing) — same payment method, same Pay-by-Bank flow.
- 30-day full-refund policy + paid cancel-anytime upsell — risk-reversal for your friends so they actually commit.
- Auto-refund if viability fails by D-90 — if not enough cabins fill, everyone gets their £100 hold back automatically. No awkward emails to write.
- Honest day-1 / day-7 expectations on every trip page — we tell friends about the Saturday-board-after-5pm and Friday-back-in-marina reality. They don't show up frustrated.
- 4SHARE + GROW
Your Cash Back lands. Your reputation compounds.
After the trip is fully paid for, the disposable income flows. Your Cash Back grows with each successful trip you host — your first-trip stake is just the start.
- Trip page lives forever at its URL — bookmark it, share it for future trips, link it on your own profile. The trip becomes part of your hosting portfolio.
- Annual portfolio counts — each trip you host moves you up the Cash Back tier. After your third trip, you're meaningfully different from a first-timer.
- No margin extraction beyond Cash Back — the platform takes ops + payment processing + boat commission. We don't take a "host fee" or "listing fee" or any of the other extraction mechanisms common in this space.
- See how Cash Back works for the worked example, payout timing, and the optional crew-share patterns.
Host rules dictated by BYOC — same terms for every host. Reviewed annually so they actually serve the people doing the work, not the platform's bottom line.
How it works
- 1. Submit either form below — Chris replies within the day.
- 2. We set up the trip page together. Approved without uploads if your quals are on file.
- 3. You get a shareable URL — WhatsApp / email to your friends.
- 4. Trip confirms at 3 of 4 cabins reserved. You sail.
Two ways to register
QUICK · AI HELPS
Let AI build it
Describe your trip in your own words. AI + Chris turn it into a draft trip page within the day. No structured fields, no decision fatigue.
PRECISE · YOU CONTROL
Fill in the form
Want to specify destination, week, cabins, vibe, crew constraints, early-bird pricing, skipper details yourself? Reveal the structured form — avatar creator + AI trip-name suggester included. Hidden until you ask, so it doesn't crowd the page.
Register your interest — the structured form
FAQ
What if not enough friends fill the cabins?
Trip needs 3 of 4 cabins reserved to confirm. If it doesn't reach that by 90 days before the trip start, BYOC auto-refunds every reservation in full — including your friends' £100 holds and any deposits paid. No emails to write, no awkward conversations. The platform handles it.
What if I don't have a skipper licence?
No problem. Pick "BYOC-pool skipper" on the form — we assign a vetted professional skipper from our network (RYA Yachtmaster Offshore or equivalent, minimum). Their berth comes out of the operator's all-in fee, so it doesn't cost you extra.
What does my friend actually see when they click the link?
A trip page like this one — your trip name + vibe, cabin progress (X of 4 reserved), pricing, and a "Reserve for £100" button. Pay-by-Bank takes ~30 seconds via Revolut Merchant. They get an email confirmation immediately.
When does money actually move?
Three stages, all automatic. (1) £100 reservation hold when each friend books a cabin — fully refundable. (2) 50% deposit when the trip reaches viability (3 of 4 cabins) — triggers operator confirmation. (3) Balance at D-60 (60 days before sailing) — covers everything else. You see the live state on the trip page + on the Bitrix deal card.
What about cancellation?
BYOC's policy matches operator constraints honestly: full refund of the £100 hold until viability. After viability, the 50% deposit covers operator commitment and is non-refundable unless the trip itself fails (operator pulls out, force majeure). Optional cancel-anytime extension upsell at ~5–10% of cabin price gives you and your friends a fuller flexibility window. The page shows every refund condition before any money moves.
What's the difference between host guests and platform guests?
Your trip page distinguishes two kinds of crew:
- Host guests — friends you've invited directly. They reach the trip via the URL you've WhatsApp'd or emailed them. Your warm circle.
- Platform guests — likeminded strangers from the BYOC cohort who self-select via your trip's vibe + crew constraints, then reserve a remaining cabin. They reach the trip via the public homepage / discovery.
Both pay the same per-cabin price. The distinction is primarily about the Cash Back — if you choose to split, you decide whether platform guests are included or only host guests get a slice. Other implications (privacy filters, visibility, etc.) are open product design questions Chris is still working through; bring them up in conversation.
Can I share my Cash Back with the crew?
Yes — for organising hosts. (Skipper hosts earn Cash Back progressively across the trip stages rather than as a single end-of-trip payout — the mechanics differ.) At trip setup you pick how the share is handled:
- Keep — you take the full 20% / 30% / 50%. Default.
- Equal split — divide your share equally across paying crew. You pick the scope: just host guests (your own friends), or host + platform guests (everyone on the trip equally). Common for "this is for fun not profit" friend-group hosts.
- Custom split — you specify per-guest percentages. Useful if some friends did more legwork on logistics than others, or you want to reward your host guests more than platform guests.
- Donate — direct the share to a cause you pick. Sailing-related charities work; broker confirms eligibility.
You still do the building / organising work regardless of which option you pick. The choice is purely about who receives the deferred share when the trip closes out.
What if I want to back out before the trip page goes live?
Just reply to the confirmation email and say so. Nothing's locked in until your trip page is published with your explicit approval. The register-interest form here costs you nothing.