CAT® CONCIERGE SERVICE HELPS KEEP LUXURY YACHT'S CHARTER BUSINESS AFLOAT

When chartered yachts prepare to welcome guest aboard, ensuring that the vessel’s equipment is operating properly is essential before beginning any voyage. Unexpected setbacks can create downtime and canceling a customer’s trip is the last thing a charter company wants to do.  

“It’s not a cheap holiday,” says Mark Miles, one of the owners of Pacific Wave, a 72-foot (22-meter) sailing yacht powered by a high-performing Cat marine engine. “I hate the idea of having to phone up guests and say we can’t make a trip. Thankfully, we’ve never had to do it yet.”

And with the support of Cat® Concierge, hopefully, the team won’t have to make that call. Cat Concierge provides 24/7 premium global support to customers with yachts powered by Cat. Receiving expert advice, support, and scheduling maintenance and servicing is always one call away so customers can have the best experience possible.

Miles and co-owner Lynn Griffiths—who make up Pacific Wave’s two-person crew—contacted Cat Concierge when they noticed a potential issue a few weeks before their next voyage. Normally based in the British Virgin Islands, the pair moved the yacht south to Grenada for hurricane season and booked two weeks’ worth of charters in the Grenadines.

“We started having intermittent electrical issues, which led to some problems on board,” Miles says. “Like anything electrical, it was difficult to diagnose.”

So, the Cat Concierge expert immediately contacted the nearest Cat Dealer to send a technician to service the Pacific Wave. In the meantime, the Cat Concierge team was able to study the vessel’s schematics to troubleshoot remotely with the local technician when they arrived.

Together, with the help of Cat Concierge and the local technician, the electrical issues were resolved ahead of the next charter, allowing Miles and Griffiths to get back to prepping for their charter guests.

“THE SERVICE FROM CAT CONCIERGE WAS FANTASTIC—WE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP OUR CHARTERS GOING WITHOUT THEM,” MILES SAYS. “I’M SURE IT WASN’T THE CASE, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT.”