Airtasker founder and CEO Tim Fung has invested in the boat and yacht rental startup, Flotespace’s seed round raise, and will join the company as an advisor.
The size of the round has not been disclosed and involved multiple investors.
Sydney-based Flotespace the ‘Airbnb for boat experiences’ is a concierge service for boat and yacht rentals that launched in 2018 and focused on hiring out private boats for corporate events and celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, hens and bucks parties. Last year Flotespace bought Sydney charter boat booking company Boata for an undisclosed sum.
The company charges a commission ranging from 15-20% on bookings.
As life begins to return to normal, the online boat hire platform says it’s seen Flotespace seeing a 40% uplift in bookings for luxury boats, with the average daily booking price increasing by 39%.
The boats available range in price from $115 an hour to $4900ph, and include a skipper and crew. Gold Coast-based ‘YOT Club’ has capacity for up to 399 people, and while that figure is well above current covid-19 restrictions, at least people from NSW and Victoria are able to visit Queensland from today if they want to take it for a spin at $4900 an hour.
Flotespace co-CEO Hugh Tresedar believes that he’s in a sweet spot with Australians spending money locally amid ongoing restrictions on international travel.
He says the business has seen 400% growth in the last three months, with people holding private events on its range of watercraft.
“We are so thrilled to see continued growth of the platform and to welcome Tim to the team. Our goal is for one million people to get on a Flotespace boat, and this goal is becoming more and more achievable with the direction the business is heading in,” he said.
Tim Fung said Flotespace has done a great job building a fast-growing boating community.
“I’m super-excited to be supporting the team on the next stage of their startup journey,” he said.
Trending
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.