International Charter Expo

yacht expo

ICE’21 Advent Edition needs to go to quarantine

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ICE’21 Advent Edition was a project with a great mission of bringing you all together to meet in person. After almost two years of Covid effecting our lives, and two digital events, both you and us craved to come back to the real-life meetings.

We were working on organizing ICE’21 in Vienna with a great location (ThirtyFive – Vienna Twin Towers) to make it possible for you to get the best experience. After a few months of planning,  all done deals went out through the window when Austria announced a national lockdown. 

We didn’t give up.  We immediately started planning the same event with a change of location. In just few days our team worked and prepared everything, so that we could move the event to Hotel Academia in our home town of Zagreb. Your reactions to the sudden change were so positive that they gave us the wind in our sails to continue working towards our goal.

Unfortunately, yesterday (November 25, 2021) we got an offical statement from Croatia’s National Civil Protection Authority that our event cannot get a permit, thus; it needs to be postponed.

We would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding. We really appreciate all of your support and look forward to meeting you in person when the situation allows.  Our plan is to work on future projects and we will let you know about them as soon as possible.

Stay safe,

Your ICE team 

Tips & tricks how to speed date

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ICE’21 Advent Edition is based on 10-minute meetings. To secure that everyone gets prepared for it, here are some tips and tricks to help you be most efficient. Apart from good preparation, bring your good mood and let’s make the best of this ICE and end of the year!

 

1.  PLAN AND RESEARCH IN ADVANCE

Good preparation is half of the work. Researching about participants that you will meet and make business deals is a key of success. Write down questions you want to ask them, reasons why you need them or why they need you and prepare yourself for them. Structing and planning your questions and needs in advance will allow you make best business deals at ICE’21 Advent  Edition.

2.  BE AWARE OF TIME

You already know that the speed dating concept is based on a concept of 10-minute meetings per company. Ten minutes can seem as long or short period deepening on your preparation and awareness of time. Do not lose your time talking about unimportant topics. Go straight to the point of what do you want to get from that meeting.

3.  LEARN TO PRESENT YOURSELF IN A SHORT TIME – KEY POINTS

Write key points of your business, what is representing you as a company, what are your offers and what are your needs. This will make it easier for you to present yourself in a short time while mentioning the most important things about your business. Be sure to address your needs and offers in a clear way, this will save time and effort for both you and your meeting partner.

4.  PREPARE BROUCHURES & BUSINESS CARDS

Prepare brochures and business cards. You can easily distribute them. Since you will be having a lot of meeting in a limited time period, you are making it easier for others to have all the information’s in one place. They won’t need to write down some key points because they could just find that info in your brochures! It makes it easier, plus it establishes your brand identity.

5.  NETWORK IN THE FREE TIME

Use free time to meet other participants in a more casual manner. Grabbing a coffee or dinner can be the perfect time to discuss business and make connections. Use the opportunity of beautiful Vienna which offers you plenty of good restaurants, bars and coffee shops to connect business with pleasure. Christmas markets can also be a good plan for you to spend your time at.

6.  BRING GIFTS

Small gifts are always welcomed! They are an effective way of showing your gratitude and gifts leave a mark. Just be aware that some participants are coming with plane so make sure gifts are suitable for cabin luggage.

TOP 5 reasons to participate

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TOP 5 reasons to join ICE'21

“Hopefully we will meet in person next time!” –  something you said many times in the past months and months. After all your wishes and hopes, we listened and are making this come true.

After two long years and two digital editions of ICE, we are excited to organize ICE’21 Advent Edition in person. This is going to be a more exclusive event with a limited number of places. We bring you five reasons why you should not miss this event:

  1. MEET IN PERSON

ICE’21 Advent Edition is a long awaiting opportunity for you to meet all business representatives in person. Networking and finding out about the latest news from the industry is important. With more than 60 companies participating and more than 100 business representatives, there are plenty of possibilities to conclude this year with great business deals.

  1. BUSINESS SPEED DATING

The concept of ICE’21 Advent Edition is business speed dating. It allows each participant ten-minute meetings with each of the business companies. It is a fast and efficient to have more than 30 meetings in just two days. Moreover, you don’t need to think about scheduling meetings because ICE team will do that for you.

  1. NEW COMPANIES

We are happy that new companies are entering the market and joining ICE. This is a unique chance for quick connecting and spreading your businesses to new potential business partners. A list of both old and new companies who are joining ICE’21 Advent Edition will be published soon.

  1. PRESENTATIONS OF SAILING AREAS

Apart from business meetings, sailing area presentations are a great way for you to find out what is new in the sailing world and what are the new HOT places to see while sailing. Find out what are the best places to sail in the Mediterranean and inform your clients where they should have their trips next year.

  1. END THIS YEAR WITH BOTH BUSINESS & PLEASURE

Business should not be the only reason for visiting Vienna. Advent season is a wonderful time to visit the city and enjoy Christmas markets. Live concerts, Christmas lights, gastronomy, and other attractions will for sure make it worthy of coming. If we didn’t give you enough reasons, maybe shopping will change your mind.

After two years of being online, let’s finally meet offline at ICE’21 and meet in Vienna from 3-5 of December, 2021.

Register here!

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT IS VALID UNTIL NOVEMBER 4, 2021.

Register for the Special Edition of ICE’21

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Based on the feedback from all of our business partners, we decided to end this year with an exciting and live event. ICE team is happy to inform you that we can finally meet in person from December 3-5, 2021. The International Charter Expo – Advent Edition will take place at Vienna’s highest event location at the ThirtyFive (Twin Tower).

Participants will be able to meet through the model of business speed dating which is similar to our already known and efficient model of the Charter Meetup in Greece. This way businesse representatives will have 10 minutes per meeting with each of the businesses participating. Since this event is going to be very exclusive with a limited number of places, we suggest you register as soon as possible to secure your spot. 

The event will host 30+ fleet operators who will meet 30+ brokers, and a couple of suppliers. Additionally, there will be interesting sailing area presentations and networking opportunities. You can expect to have a very successful, efficient and fun weekend!

There is no better way to end the this year with a fun way to connect, make new business connections and meet up with new and current business partners, and also do some shopping and enjoy Advent in Vienna. Apart from business, you will be able to enjoy beautiful Vienna and all the magic of Christmas market and pre-holiday season.

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN!

Register here!

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT IS VALID UNTIL NOVEMBER 4, 2021. 

Why ICE went digital?

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Hall 1 ICE'20

When the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world, the yachting industry was put on hold as well. Businesses could not meet; boat shows were cancelled one after the other, and the future was uncertain. That is why ICE, the biggest B2B yacht charter expo in the world went digital.  It was the only logical and safe solution. ICE’20 digital was well accepted, as more than 300 business representatives from more than 35 countries took part. Many ICE partners requested a new digital event in April, just before the season begins.

Of course, the success of digital ICE’20 was not guaranteed, and people had their doubts as it was something completely new and unknown. However, doing our best to connect fleet operators, suppliers, and brokers from all over the world, our team made it work. Our partners were very happy with the overall event and the meetings they had. 

“This is not the first year we have been participating in ICE, but for the first time in an online format. I would like to say that the effectiveness of the negotiations was almost the same as ICE’19 in Vienna. This is incredibly interesting and useful for our business. Thank you for bringing us together and making our communication better. It is very important for us to feel that we are not alone in this field and there are hundreds of great companies that are going through this difficult year with us and making the yacht charter industry even better!” – Max Terbov, Sea Radar, Estonia

“Great digital experience by ICE! The event was a success, and it gave us the opportunity to meet industry professionals and attend interesting presentations, in an efficient way. Our company will definitely attend again!” – Andreas Georgatsos, Cavo Yachting, Greece

See what ICE’20 looked like from our partners’ perspectives

What did ICE’20 look like?

ICE’20 featured seven halls with 112 digital booths where businesses could present themselves and visit other businesses and new partners. Demo of the halls can be seen here. Digital booths looked like real-life booths, with TVs, brochure racks for e-brochures, and 2D avatars. With this set-up and possibility to prearrange meetings with the Handshake matchmaking software, time was used more efficiently. Without the hassle of travelling and booking accommodation, businesses save both time and money. As a bonus, they hold meetings from the comfort of their home or office.

“Being able to meet with my present and potential partners without traveling to a different continent saves a lot of time and effort while delivering the same results”. – Silvia Vlakancic, Anchor & Wine, U.S.A

We had some technical issues which happened the first day of the expo, after worldwide Amazon Web Services crashed for a few hours, and ICE team was on full support helping businesses manage to connect with other solutions. This year technical issues will be non-existent, as servers will also be backed up.

Apart from 30-minute B2B meetings, several premium suppliers had the opportunity to present their products/services to all ICE participants during 30-minute presentations. No one could have meetings during these time slots, and many businesses who attended the presentations were very active in the Q&A. Businesses needed to discuss some topics as well and give their opinions. 

ice'20 statistics

At ICE’20 there were more than 300 participants, from more than 35 countries, who held more than 3,500 meetings. We hope we will see you again this year in an even bigger number, so we can connect the yachting industry digitally once again before summer begins.

This year we turned the impossible into the possible! – Tatjana, Adria 4 Deluxe, Germany

Want to meet with new and old business partners? Register here.

 

Virtual Avatars – How to add personal touch on digital Expo?

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Do you want to see yourself in a virtual world? Virtual event platforms with avatars give us the opportunity to be in a real-life situation and exploring different experiences during the digital expo. Avatars have become more interesting by professionals who use that kind of extras in different virtual business events or meetings. They can give you realistic professional environment during the event.

What is a virtual avatar?

A virtual avatar is a graphic image that represents a person in a virtual world, and it’s becoming increasingly more common to use online avatars to recreate real situations in business meetings.

Meet with Premium Plus suppliers at digital expo – ICE’20

At ICE’20 you will be able to meet with everyone digitally and still have a personal touch with future partners. When you come to the digital booth you will see what they offer and the avatar that is standing next to the info desk.  Premium Plus suppliers already made digital booths with avatars and they are waiting to meet you. 

What is International Charter Expo?

International Charter Expo every year connects fleet operators, brokers and suppliers across the globe. During three days of expo participants will be able to have up to 72 meetings with future business partners.

Check full list of participants here.

Meet yacht charter suppliers in a different way

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webinar online presentation

This November, the biggest booking systems such as MMK Booking Manager from Croatia and YachtSys from Germany, shipyards from Italy, Germany, and Poland, as well as one software company from Cyprus will present their services in a new and interesting way to yacht charters from all over the world. So how will they do that? They will present their products through a 30-minute webinar slot to all companies from all around the globe.

Present your company in a B2B environment

Webinar or web seminar is a live online conference or presentation. They are generally interactive, with participants getting information, asking questions, and discussing in real-time.

Many companies use webinars as a way to connect with new business partners, demonstrate expertise, and build brand authority. Generally, webinars work best for B2B companies who want to share their expertise.

Communication is the key

Communication is one of the most challenging aspects of dealing with international partners. The challenge is even bigger when partner companies use different languages. That is why ICE participants will be able to communicate with shipyards and booking systems by asking questions after online presentations.

Who will present at ICE’20?

MMK SYSTEMS – BOOKING MANAGER SYSTEM is the world’s leading software and online booking solution for charter fleets and agencies. If you want to know the numbers – MMK has 3,000 active agents, around 350 agency websites that offer online booking through MMK where they have 720 charter fleets and over 9,000 vessels.

As a yacht charter company or a broker agency you can also meet with YACHTSYS – the online reservation system and booking manager software for boat charter companies. With this supplier, Charter Brokers (agencies) and Fleet Managers (providers) can administrate boat rentals in a responsive web app from smartphones. Their goal is to boost your online sales with mobile optimized charter widgets or the Yacht Charter Data API with data of 5,000 yachts.

Delphia Yachts is the largest builder of sailing yachts in Poland. In 2018 they become a member of the Beneteau Group, focuses more on the production of motor yachts. The production volume is approx. 174 of sailing boats and over 689 motorboats a year. Delphia cooperates with brands such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, Fourwinns, Glastron, JBoats, le Boat.

BAVARIA YACHTS is one of the most modern manufacturers of sailing yachts, motorboats, and catamarans worldwide.  Four production lines, each 125 meters long, a carpenter’s workshop where the entirety of the yacht is constructed, two halls to manufacture hulls and decks, are accommodated on a large surface measuring 200,000 square meters. At ICE’20 they will talk about „Challenges in Boat Design for Charter Yachts“.

BoatPilot is a solution for charter companies is based on the BoatGod module, which is a full-fledged yachting computer. It allows to collect, process, analyze, and deliver data from the boat system, both through the NMEA interface and additional sensors.

Master Yachting is a partner for new and used Yachts, Yacht Investment as well as Yacht Charter. With more than 300 sold Lagoon catamarans, Master Yachting is Europe’s most successful Lagoon-Distributor since 2015 and the largest Lagoon dealer worldwide since 2019. They also represent Beneteau Sail and Beneteau Motor, Monte Carlo, Aquila Power Catamarans, and Frauscher Boote. At ICE’20 you can listen to their webinar on the topic “Overview of Yacht Market”.

What is International Charter Expo?

International Charter Expo every year connects more than 300 participants across the globe. During three days of expo fleet operators, brokers and suppliers will be able to have up to 72 meetings with future business partners.

Check full list of participants here.

Start your registration and join us at ICE’20!

Get ready for your first digital event!

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ICE

Digital events are not complicated. All you need to do is read the information about the event and prepare yourself for the digital meetings. So, what do you need to know before ICE’20 starts?

We prepared the first steps for ICE’20 so you can have all the information in one place. From the phase of preparation and starting the digital expo to the phase of having online meetings presenting your company in the digital environment.

STEP 1:  The phase of preparation and prearranging meetings

On October 12th you will get access to the Handshake software.  Handshake is a matchmaking software for arranging digital meetings at ICE’20. As soon as you get to Handshake you will be able to fill in your personal and company profile, and then book meetings with business partners. Have in mind that the meetings will be maximum 30 minutes. We advise you to book as much as possible prior to the event.

STEP 2: Getting the unique link for visiting ICE

Three weeks before ICE you will receive an e-mail with a unique link to the event. After entering your e-mail which you will use for Handshake, you will get a password that you can use only on one device. In case of changing a device (mobile, tablet, laptop), you will get a new log-in password for the second device. 

Be smart when you decide which device you will use. We suggest that you use only a laptop or tablet at ICE’20. That way you can navigate the event easily and see brochures and videos at digital booths. A laptop or tablet will be enough for your digital adventure , and you can always open Handshake on a smartphone so you can always see your meeting schedule.

STEP 3: Starting the Digital ICE

As you already know, ICE Conference will start one day before the expo on November 25, 2020. 
When ICE starts, you will receive a notification by e-mail.

Click on your unique link and start the new digital adventure. Go through the halls and digital booths, get to know your partners, and get ready for meetings. Check sound, camera, background!

Few minutes before the meeting, you will have a pop – up button that will let you know about your next meeting. As soon as you click it, it will bring you infront of the booth you have a meeting with. 

You will have a timer to remind you how many minutes you have left. Don’t worry if you decide that you need more time. You can book another meeting with the same person during ICE.

What all great suppliers have in common?

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yacht supplier

Whether they build ships or provide sails for them, suppliers play a key role in the global yacht charter business. Judging by the list of participants at the International Charter Expo in 2019, most of the suppliers are software developers and providers of yachting equipment. However, there are more and more insurance and leasing companies as well as providers of digital services such as marketing and sales.

What all great suppliers have in common? 

Did you know that Fleet Operators at ICE have 10,000 vessels waiting to be equipped for the next season? Well…  that fact connects suppliers from all over the world who will participate in the first digital B2B event in the yacht charter industry. It is the only event where in three days supplier companies can present their business to more than 1,500 new business partners. 

“As participants since the first ICE, we are more than satisfied with the organization. We can save a lot of time and money and the number of meetings during the three days of the expo and the outcome in the follow-up period after ICE is just great.” – Jens Biermann, YachtSyS

Connect with the big ones

If you are looking for reliable partners, ICE is the place where you can connect to the biggest suppliers in the global yacht charter industry. 

Meet Booking Systems

MMK SYSTEMS – BOOKING MANAGER SYSTEM is one of them. They are the world’s leading software and online booking solution for charter fleets and agencies. If you want to know the numbers – MMK has 3,000 active agents, around 350 agency websites that offer online booking through MMK where they have 720 charter fleets and over 9,000 vessels.

As a yacht charter company or a broker agency you can also meet with YACHTSYS – the online reservation system and booking manager software for boat charter companies. With this supplier, Charter Brokers (agencies) and Fleet Managers (providers) can administrate boat rentals in responsive web app from smartphones. Their goal is to boost your online sales with mobile optimized charter widgets or the Yacht Charter Data API with data of 5,000 yachts.

Meet Shipyards

The Delphia shipyard is the largest builder of sailing yachts in Poland. In 2018 they become a member of the Beneteau Group, focuses more on the production of motor yachts. The production volume is approx. 174 of sailing boats and over 689 motorboats a year.  Delphia cooperates with brands such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, Fourwinns, Glastron, JBoats, le Boat.

Do you want to connect to worldwide suppliers? Click here to register for ICE’20!

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