Make An Offer FAQ

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Make an Offer Terms & Conditions

Make an Offer allows you to list unexpected availability with specific date ranges and receive direct offers from qualified charter clients. Set your base charter rate and the discount percentage you’re willing to accept, then choose your preferred operating parameters using Flexible, Shortlist, or Fixed location options. Clients submit binding offers with 5% deposit authorisation. If you accept an offer, Charter Index captures and retains the 5% as a referral fee. If you reject the offer or don’t respond within 7 days, the authorisation is automatically released. You maintain full control over which offers to accept.

Understanding the Service

How does Make an Offer work?

Make an Offer allows you to publish available charter windows and receive offers directly from serious charter clients. Rather than sending out fixed discounts and hoping for interest, clients come to you with genuine proposals backed by a 5% deposit authorisation. You retain full control – accepting, rejecting, or countering any offer you receive.

Traditional discount blasts publish a fixed reduced rate and wait for enquiries, with no guarantee of genuine interest. Make an Offer flips this dynamic – clients submit what they’re willing to pay without seeing your pricing boundaries, often resulting in more favourable outcomes than a published discount. Every offer comes with pre-authorised funds, filtering out speculative enquiries.

Charter Index acts solely as a platform that enables you to list available charter opportunities and allows charter clients to submit offers. We do not act as an agent for you or the client, nor do we directly offer, sell, or charter any yachts ourselves. We are not involved in the final contracting process and are not a party to the charter agreement between you and the client. We simply facilitate the connection.

Listing Your Yacht

What do I need to publish a Make an Offer listing?

You’ll need to specify the yacht, available dates, minimum charter duration, and your geographical configuration. You’ll also set your base rate and the maximum discount you’re willing to consider – this information is never shown to clients.

We’ve designed three configurations to suit different operational needs:

  • Flexible – Select a region (such as the Western Mediterranean) and optionally refine it by sub-areas (French Riviera, Balearics, Corsica/Sardinia). Clients can only search and submit offers within those geographical constraints. This works well for extended availability within a cohesive cruising region.
  • Shortlist – Define specific approved departure and return ports. Clients mix and match from your pre-approved lists to create their itinerary. This gives you precise control over positioning, port costs, and crew scheduling whilst still offering clients meaningful choice.
  • Fixed – Set one specific departure location and one specific return location. Clients can only make offers for that exact routing. This is ideal when you have precise operational requirements or need the yacht in a particular location by a certain date.

Absolutely. This service doesn’t replace or interfere with your standard charter enquiry process. It’s an optional tool available when it makes sense – particularly for last-minute gaps or difficult-to-fill windows.

When a client submits an offer, they must pre-authorise a 5% deposit on their payment card. This isn’t charged – it’s held to demonstrate genuine intent. If you reject or don’t respond within seven days, the authorisation is released automatically with no charge to the client.

Responding to Offers

How long do I have to respond to an offer?

You have up to seven days to accept, reject, or counter any offer. If you don’t respond within this period, the offer expires automatically and the client’s deposit authorisation is released.

When you accept, the client’s 5% deposit authorisation is captured as Charter Index’s referral fee, and the client’s contact details are immediately released to you. You then proceed directly with the client to finalise the charter contract and arrangements.

The client receives a notification, and their deposit authorisation is automatically released – no charge to them, no further action required from you.

Yes. Instead of accepting or rejecting outright, you can counter with different pricing. The client then has the choice to accept or reject your counter offer. If they accept, a recalculated 5% deposit is captured to reflect the new charter amount.

No. Client contact details are only shared with you if you accept their offer or they accept your counter offer. This protects both parties until there’s a genuine commitment.

Fees & Costs

What does Charter Index charge for this service?

Our referral fee is 5% of the accepted yacht fee. This is captured from the client’s pre-authorised deposit when you accept an offer – there’s no additional charge to you.

The offer amount covers the base charter fee only – the hire cost of the yacht in full working order with marine insurance and crew. APA, taxes, and any additional expenses are handled separately between you and the client once the charter proceeds to contract.

Cancellations

What happens if a client cancels after I've accepted their offer?

Charter Index refunds the client 75% of their 5% deposit and retains 25% to cover processing costs. Once the charter proceeds to a formal contract, the official charter contract terms govern cancellation policies for the remaining charter value.

If you must cancel an accepted offer, Charter Index refunds the client 100% of their 5% deposit. However, you will be invoiced for 25% of the 5% deposit value to cover processing costs. Once a formal charter contract is in place, the contract terms govern cancellation policies and any compensation owed to the client.

Force majeure events are governed by the terms of the charter contract. In such cases, Charter Index refunds the client’s deposit in full and absorbs all administration and processing fees.