The yacht charter broker commission is the single least-discussed line in a deal that can run six or seven figures for a week afloat. Most clients sign the MYBA contract, wire the funds, and never ask who is being paid what — and by whom. That is a mistake. Not because brokers do not deserve to be paid — they do, and a good one earns every point — but because the shape of the commission structure tells you almost everything you need to know about whose side the broker is actually on. If you are chartering for the first time or the tenth, learning to read the disclosure is the closest thing to a superpower in this trade.
We run Revenant Collective's yacht desk with an unusual policy: full transparency on every commission line, before contract, in writing. It is not a marketing gimmick. It is the only way I know to make the relationship honest. Below is what to look for — what the numbers actually mean, what the industry standards are, and where the pressure points hide.
The MYBA framework and where commissions actually sit
Most quality charters in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and increasingly Southeast Asia run on the MYBA (Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association) charter agreement. The contract itself is clean — it is a bareboat-style hire with crew, provisions, fuel, and dockage handled via the Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA). What the MYBA contract does not do is disclose commissions. The charter fee is the charter fee. Commissions are handled between the central agent (the broker representing the yacht) and the retail broker (the one representing you), off the face of the contract.
The long-standing industry standard is a 15% commission on the base charter fee, typically split evenly between the central agent and the retail broker — so 7.5% and 7.5%. In practice, that split is negotiable, and this is where the disclosure starts to matter. A few structures you will see in the wild:
- Full retail (15%) to a single broker. This happens when one broker represents both the yacht and the client. It is not automatically bad — some central agents are excellent — but it does mean the broker has a fiduciary duality that is worth naming out loud.
- Split commission (7.5% / 7.5%). The default, and generally the healthiest. Two parties, two sets of eyes on the deal.
- Retrocession to the client. Your broker rebates part of their commission back to you, either as a discount on the fee or as an APA credit. This can be legitimate, or it can be a signal your broker is buying the deal rather than earning it.
- Bundled or opaque structures. "All-in" pricing that folds commissions, APA, and delivery fees into a single number. Walk carefully.
Ask for the split in writing before you sign. A broker who will not put it on paper is telling you something.
What the APA actually covers — and what it does not
The Advance Provisioning Allowance is usually 25–35% of the base charter fee, wired to the captain before boarding. It covers fuel, food, beverage, port fees, dockage, communications, and shore excursions arranged by the crew. Commissions do not come out of APA. If a broker suggests otherwise, that is a red flag. The APA is your money held in trust by the captain, reconciled with receipts at the end of the charter, with any balance returned to you. It is not a broker's discretionary fund.
What the disclosure should actually say
A proper commission disclosure — the kind we send before any charter proposal moves to contract — reads like a P&L, not a paragraph of prose. Here is what to look for and what each line should specify.
Base charter fee. The number in the MYBA contract, in the contract currency (usually EUR for Med, USD for Caribbean and Bahamas). This is the number commissions are calculated on. Not APA, not delivery, not extras — just the base.
Central agent commission. The percentage the yacht's representing broker earns from the owner. Standard is 7.5% but can range from 5% to 10% depending on the fleet and season. Some management companies keep this in-house rather than paying out; that should be disclosed too.
Retail broker commission. What your broker earns. Standard is 7.5%. If it is higher, ask why. If it is lower, ask what is being rebated and to whom.
Retrocessions or rebates. Any portion of commission being returned to the client, to a third party (a concierge, a travel advisor, a family office intermediary), or held against future bookings. This is the line most often missing from disclosures, and the one most likely to matter.
Delivery and redelivery fees. If the yacht is being moved to your departure port from her home base — Antibes to Naples, say, or St. Maarten to St. Barths — those fees are separate from the base, and no commission should be riding on them. Verify.
VAT and tax handling. Charter VAT in the Mediterranean varies by cruising ground — France, Italy, Croatia, and Monaco each treat it differently, and the recent post-2020 French regime changes have made this more complex. VAT is not commissionable, but it should be broken out clearly.
If your disclosure does not contain these lines, you do not have a disclosure. You have a marketing document.
The three broker behaviors that should stop the conversation
After fifteen years around private aviation and, more recently, the yacht side of the collective, I have learned that the commission structure predicts behavior. Three patterns in particular should make you pause and ask hard questions — or walk.
Steering to the wrong yacht
A broker with an in-house fleet, or a preferred central agent relationship, has an incentive to route you toward yachts where they earn the full 15% rather than a 7.5% split. Sometimes those yachts are genuinely the right fit. Often they are not. The tell is when the shortlist you receive is narrow, homogeneous, and from operators you cannot easily research independently. A good broker's shortlist for a Mediterranean week in August should span multiple management companies, multiple flag states, and a range of build years. If every option comes from the same three fleets, ask why.
Discouraging direct dialogue with the central agent
On any serious charter, you will eventually have a call with the central agent — sometimes with the captain — to align on itinerary, dietary preferences, tender configuration, water toys, and crew notes. A broker who tries to keep that channel closed, running every question through themselves, is either protecting their commission from disintermediation or hiding something about the yacht. Neither serves you.
Rebate offers made verbally
"I can get you 5% back on this one" — spoken on the phone, never in the disclosure. If a rebate is real, it goes in writing on the commission breakdown before you sign. Verbal rebates are how brokers close deals they should not close, on yachts that should not be chartered, in seasons that should not be booked. Get it in writing or assume it does not exist.
What honest disclosure looks like in practice
Here is the shape of what we send clients before they commit to a charter week. It is one page, plain language, no marketing copy.
Base charter fee, in contract currency, with the specific yacht and week. APA percentage and estimated dollar amount. Central agent name, management company, and their commission percentage. Retail broker (us) and our commission percentage. Any rebate or retrocession, with the amount and the party receiving it. Delivery/redelivery if applicable. Applicable VAT regime and the estimated tax exposure. Contract governing law and dispute resolution jurisdiction (usually English law for MYBA, but not always).
That is it. Seven or eight lines. If you cannot fit a commission disclosure on a single page, the deal has something in it that does not want to be seen.
The reason this matters is not paranoia — it is alignment. When you know exactly how everyone at the table gets paid, you can trust the recommendations you are getting. When you do not, every suggestion carries a shadow: is this the right yacht for me, or the right yacht for the commission? A charter week is not the place to be asking that question at sea. It is the place to have answered it before the wire goes out. That is the relationship we build with every client, and it is the reason we run the desk the way we do.
One note on "free" brokers
Occasionally you will see brokers advertising "no fee to the client" charter services. This is technically true — the client does not write a check directly to the broker — but it is misleading. The broker is being paid 7.5% or more out of the charter fee, which the owner has priced to include commission. You are paying. Everyone pays. The question is only whether you know how much and to whom. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either new to the trade or hoping you are.
FAQ
What is a standard yacht charter broker commission?
The industry standard on a MYBA charter is 15% of the base charter fee, typically split 7.5% to the central agent (representing the yacht) and 7.5% to the retail broker (representing the client). Deviations happen — full 15% to a single broker when they represent both sides, lower splits on repeat business, or rebates back to the client — but 15% total is the reference point.
Does the commission come out of my APA?
No. The Advance Provisioning Allowance is your money, held in trust by the captain to cover fuel, provisioning, port fees, and shore expenses during the charter. It is reconciled with receipts at the end of the week and any balance is returned to you. Broker commissions come out of the base charter fee, paid by the owner or management company, not from APA. If a broker suggests otherwise, that is a serious red flag.
Should my broker disclose their commission in writing before I sign?
Yes. A professional yacht charter broker will provide a written commission disclosure before contract, showing the base fee, the central agent split, their own commission, and any rebates or retrocessions. Verbal disclosures do not count. If your broker will not put the structure on paper, that itself is the answer to whether you should be working with them.
What is a retrocession in a yacht charter?
A retrocession is a portion of commission paid to a third party — often a concierge, family office advisor, or referring travel agent — for introducing the client. Retrocessions are common and not inherently improper, but they should be disclosed. If your broker is paying 2% back to your travel agent, you should know, because it affects the neutrality of the recommendation you received.
Can I negotiate the commission or ask for a rebate?
Sometimes, on repeat charters, on larger yachts, or during softer seasons — yes. But a broker who leads with rebates is competing on price rather than service, and yacht charter is one of the worst possible categories to buy on price alone. The value a good broker delivers — vetting the crew, aligning the itinerary, managing the APA, handling the recovery when weather or mechanical issues intervene — is worth substantially more than a point or two of commission. Negotiate service, not fee.
How do I verify what my broker tells me about a yacht?
Ask for the central agent's name and management company. Both are public information on any legitimate charter. Cross-reference the yacht on the major listing platforms — CharterWorld, YachtCharterFleet, Northrop & Johnson. Ask to speak with the central agent or the captain directly before signing. Any broker resistant to that transparency is protecting something. Reach us directly if you want an independent read on a charter someone else is pitching you.
Read the disclosure. Ask the questions. The week itself will be better for it — because the person at the other end of the phone will be someone whose interests you understand, working on a boat you chose for the right reasons.
