Report from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival with Broker Rebecca Riley of Paradise Yacht Charters

Rebecca Riley has worked as a charter broker for 16 years and is a licensed yacht captain. She owns Paradise Yacht Charters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Some of her clients are celebrities who require “event charters,” such as the one she oversaw onboard the newest motoryacht at the May 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
     Here are her firsthand thoughts (and a few of her photographs) from that event, exclusively for CharterWave readers.

Why do megayachts and the Cannes Film Festival go hand-in-hand?
There are several reasons. The yachts offer a level of service, elegance, privacy and location that hotels can’t match, especially during a chaotic time like the film festival. 
      For service, most of the yachts have a ratio of at least one crew for every guest. For elegance, the megayachts have the finest of everything including exquisite linens, elegant crystal, fine china and beautiful silver service. For privacy, once the guests are onboard they have the entire yacht, not just a suite in a crowded hotel, but multiple decks and areas for meetings, private dinners, morning coffee and late-night parties.
     For location, the charterer’s limos can be on call right outside the yacht where crowds are usually minimal. [Editor's Note: The photo above shows this, as the limos are located just behind the white tents across from the yacht boarding ladders.] The stargazers tend to hang around the big hotels, where they have multiple opportunities for star sightings. The crowds are insane. Guests have to fight their way through throngs of people with security guards trying to clear the way for them to even get to their limo. 
     Guests onboard the yachts avoid this hassle and have more privacy.

So are most of the yachts at the Cannes Film Festival chartered by celebrities?
Most of the yachts in the Port of Cannes will be connected with the film festival in some way. You need some sort of festival connection to even get a slip there in the port. You can be a producer, a movie company, a sponsor of a movie—something. We had to document, on our application for a slip, our connection to the film festival and what events we would be hosting. It’s a long application, something like 20 pages.
     There are other spaces where you can dock a charter yacht in Cannes, but the Port of Cannes is the prime location. You can see some of the yachts in their marina slips just steps from the door to the Palais des Festivals, where the film festival's red-carpet events  take place.

What does it take to be one of the select few charter yachts docked in the Port of Cannes? 
It takes a big budget, considerable patience and a little luck. 
     One tip is to book early. There are currently about 15 or 20 yachts in the entire world that fit the profile of what I consider deluxe megayachts available for charter with features such as a minimum length of 150 feet, an age of no more than five years, main-deck master staterooms, and zero-speed stabilizers. The base charter rate on these yachts runs between 200,000 euros and 600,000 euros per week, plus expenses.  Five of these yachts already have bookings for next year.  If you want to have one of these exclusive yachts, you must plan to book as early as possible.
     Additionally, the Port of Cannes has about 75 prime dock spaces.  Being early with your application will improve your odds tremendously for getting a space in front of the Palais des Festivals. [Editor's Note: In the photo above, the Palais is the tan building with black windows in the top right corner.]
     There are some yachts that anchor in the harbor [Editor's Note: See the photo below], but out there, as opposed to in the marina, you’re subject to sea swells, the weather—you’re going to a black tie dinner, and you have to come in by tender. It’s not ideal. Inside the port is the place to be.

How do charters for the Cannes Film Festival differ from other yacht charters?
These are event and business charters as opposed to pure vacations.
     Cannes is one of the most detailed charters that you can book, because there are so many events. It’s not like you’re going to St. Tropez for the summer, where you’re there to relax and have fun.
     In Cannes, you’re there to negotiate film deals, meet with producers, do lots of media interviews, see and be seen at screenings. There are just so many things going on, it requires extra attention to detail.

Can any charter broker book these kinds of charters? Or is special experience required?
In general, I would say it’s important that you choose a broker who will stay involved with you, the yacht, the crew, and the yacht’s owner, a broker who is available and willing to help with all the things it takes to make a successful charter at an event like this. What you don’t want is a broker who will just book the yacht and then ignore the other needs.
     Whichever broker you select, I would ask the broker whether they have ever done a charter for the film festival before. I would ask if they have ever been to the festival themselves, to see how things work on the ground, and how involved they were in the planning. For instance, is your broker willing to take calls from event planners to guide them as to what they can, and cannot, do on the yacht? The captain and crew are going to be busy getting ready for the charter. My client had three different event planners. I had to be available to talk with them.
     At an event of this magnitude, I would also look for a broker who has contacts on the ground, for things such as limousine transportation—which everyone at the festival wants at the same time. My client, for instance, wanted a white Mercedes on the ground and Fiji bottled water on the boat and in the limousine. We made sure that happened. Your broker has to be that detail-oriented for a charter like this.

What other events require the same level of charter planning as the Cannes Film Festival?
The Monaco Grand Prix requires an equal amount of planning. What’s really unfortunate about that is that the Grand Prix happens at the same time as the Cannes Film Festival, so for a single broker to be at both events simultaneously is almost impossible.
     We did manage to get my clients to the Grand Prix after the film festival, and they had pit passes and everything, which was wonderful for them, but you often have to choose which event is most important and focus your efforts on that one.

What else is important to consider for a Cannes Film Festival charter?
One of the most important areas where the charter broker can help is in acting as a liaison to coordinate special events. You need a broker that will liaison among the charterer, the yacht owner, and the crew to make sure the guests have fun during this non-stop party while complying with the rules of the yacht.
     Getting everyone to agree on what is necessary for a large party would be one example.  Making sure the client understands the special requirements and expenses for such an event. Coordinating with event planners such things as having to carpet the entire deck area of the yacht to protect the teak decks. Considering the possibility of having the yacht enclose a sky deck area or provide space heaters to take the chill off of a cool May evening.  Determining if the yacht will have to hire extra security and staff.
     A good broker will also help you find accommodations for support staff on the ground, relatively close to the yacht. Traffic during the film festival is a nightmare, so having staff at nearby hotels makes everything run more smoothly.

How do you ensure that a yacht’s crew will be able to handle a charter of this nature?
In this case, I had a client onboard the brand-new, 177-foot CRN motoryacht Maraya. I was able to meet the crew earlier in the month when the yacht was in Italy. I ask a million questions. In this case, the crew were also asking me a million questions, which tells me that they’re on top of things. This was a brand-new boat without a reputation, but the way they responded, I knew they would be attentive to every detail.
     And they were. Capt. Richard Hodgson and the magnificent crew accommodated everything from late-night birthday parties to onboard media interviews and photo sessions. Several of my client’s friends have already called me to arrange charters for them, it went so well.

You met your client at the airport in France before the charter. Is that common practice?
The yacht’s captain, who has been in the business more than 20 years, told me that in all his time I was only the fourth broker who had taken the time to be there to meet the guests at the airport, introduce them to the crew, and help them get settled in. 
     Now, in all honesty, I don’t do this for every charter, but for a big-production charter like this one, at an event like the Cannes Film Festival, I thought it was important. It really is a different kind of charter.

You can learn more about broker Rebecca Riley in our exclusive editorial interview here on CharterWave.