Boatsetter Sails Off With $38M For Boat Rental Startup

Boatsetter, a marketplace for boat rentals, has raised $38 million in a new round of funding, according to Skift.

Based in the Miami area, Boatsetter is something like an Airbnb, but for boats. Boat owners can rent out their boats to people who are looking to enjoy a day out on the water, just like Airbnb hosts rent out their homes.

Boat owners get to offset the cost of their boats, and people can go boating without the cost and commitment of buying a boat.

It’s no secret that owning a boat is expensive. Besides the initial cost of buying a boat—and they can get pricey—there’s also the annual costs associated with maintenance, storage and taxes, depending on where you live. Boatsetter’s goal is to help boat owners make some of that money back with its insured peer-to-peer marketplace. The annual earning potential on the platform is more than $20,000, according to the company, though obviously that varies.

What it offers

There are more than 50,000 boats available on the platform in over 700 locations, including Miami, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco, according to Boatsetter’s website. Options include more than 20,000 makes and models of boats, per the company.

The company, which was founded about a decade ago, emerged as a leader in the peer-to-peer boat sharing marketplace, acquiring competitors like Boatbound, Cruzin and Fisher Guiding over the years, according to Crunchbase.

Boatsetter’s last venture round was a $10 million Series A in August 2019, according to Crunchbase. Some investors in the company include Great Oaks Venture Capital, Global Founders Capital and Endeavor Catalyst, according to Crunchbase.

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Illustration: Dom Guzman

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