Dominion Marine Media said Wednesday that it forged an exclusive partnership with peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace Boatbound, further solidifying what Dominion said is the integral role the sharing economy will play in the future growth of the marine industry.
Dominion Marine Media is the division of Dominion Enterprises that operates BoatTrader.com, boats.com and YachtWorld.com,
This partnership will introduce Boatbound to the nearly 5 million unique monthly visitors of Dominion Marine Media-owned properties, which Dominion said are the most popular U.S. websites connecting boat buyers with boat sellers.
According to BoatTrader user research based on third-party surveys and interviews conducted in the last quarter of 2013, of those 5 million website visitors, 69 percent own a boat and 19 percent are shopping for one. Dominion’s partnership with Boatbound aims to stimulate the boating economy by leveraging Boatbound’s peer-to-peer platform to make boating more accessible.
“As providers of marketing and software solutions to boat brokers, dealers, private sellers and OEMs around the world, we are very much committed to finding new ways to grow the number of boating participants wherever possible,” Dominion Marine Media VP and general manager Ian Atkins Sr. said in a statement.
“We have been watching the emergence of the sharing economy in boating and are excited to see the concept gaining traction through Boatbound. We are impressed by Boatbound’s business approach and the experience of their key executives, and we are keen to support their drive to grow the boating audience in general. Not only is it in the best interests of all our customers, we also enjoy seeing more people than ever getting excited about the boating lifestyle.”
Dominion’s network of dealers and brokers can now leverage Boatbound as a sales tool, offering buyers the ability to offset financial costs associated with a boat purchase, resulting in an easier purchase decision.
“For many would-be boat owners, purchasing a boat is just out of their reach financially. By giving these non-traditional boat owners the ability to offset a percentage (or all) of the monthly boat payment by renting it through Boatbound, boat ownership can become a reality,” Boatbound founder and CEO Aaron Hall said.
This partnership follows Boatbound’s recent announcement that the company received $2.5 million in a new financing round led by Brunswick Corp., the owner of boat brands such as SeaRay, Bayliner and Boston Whaler, and Mercury Marine, the largest manufacturer of recreational boat engines.
