Exclusive | Two ‘Airbnb for Boats’ Companies Are Merging – The Wall Street Journal

The maritime technology sector is undergoing a fundamental shift as two of its leading peer-to-peer platforms, Boatsetter and GetMyBoat, announced a merger on December 18, 2025, creating what is set to become the undisputed global powerhouse in on-the-water rentals and experiences. The union unites two innovative services to capitalize on the accelerating cultural and economic momentum behind outdoor recreation, positioning the combined entity to define the next era of the “blue economy”.

Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape Reshaping

Establishing a Dominant Position Against Global Rivals

The creation of this combined entity fundamentally alters the competitive equilibrium of the boat rental technology space. Before this agreement, the market featured several significant players, all vying for dominance in different geographies or service tiers. With the merging of Boatsetter and GetMyBoat, the combined entity establishes itself as the clear, globally recognized leader, boasting a combined history of over half a billion dollars in bookings across 50 countries. This new scale creates a formidable presence that will place intense pressure on existing competitors, such as the European-focused Click&Boat or the specialized booking service Sailo, both of which now face a rival with unparalleled global reach and capital backing. Competition in this sphere is now expected to intensify around the crucial elements of fleet diversity, the sophistication of the user experience, and the consistency of global service delivery, areas where the newly merged company is now positioned to lead due to its sheer size advantage. The combined company, which already commands approximately 13 million annual users, is projected to have more than $100 million in bookings for the calendar year 2025 alone.

Leveraging Scale for Increased Marketing Efficiency

One of the most immediate and measurable benefits of consolidation in any industry is the efficiency gained in customer acquisition. Operating two separate, significant marketing machines required a substantial expenditure of capital to reach overlapping user bases in major markets like South Florida, which is the largest market for both companies. By uniting under one banner—even with dual platforms remaining active for the near term—the combined company can drastically optimize its spending on digital advertising, search engine optimization, and brand awareness campaigns. Resources previously split between two entities can now be focused on a singular, larger goal, driving down the marginal cost of acquiring both a new boat owner and a new renter. This improved marketing efficacy will provide a significant competitive moat, allowing the new company to outspend rivals more effectively while simultaneously achieving superior market penetration. The consolidation is specifically aimed at enabling more efficient demand generation and a more consistent user experience across the entire on-the-water universe.

The Role of Capital and Enduring Investor Confidence

Continued Backing from Private Equity and Manufacturing Partners

A merger of this magnitude is always a strong signal of confidence from the financial stakeholders who have supported the companies through earlier growth stages. In this instance, the transaction was explicitly underpinned by the continued commitment of the existing investor consortium. For Boatsetter, this includes the backing of prominent private equity firms, Level Equity and Centerbridge Partners. GetMyBoat’s majority ownership by the Japanese engine manufacturer Yanmar also confirms their strategic alignment with the future of on-the-water digital services. The decision by all three major financial entities to retain their ownership stakes in the new organization serves as a powerful endorsement. It suggests a unified belief that the combined entity offers a more compelling path to realizing significant returns than the two separate companies might have on their own, validating the strategic logic behind the unification. Centerbridge Partners, a firm managing over $56 billion in assets, and Level Equity, a growth equity firm with over $4.7 billion in committed capital, provide a deep well of capital and strategic expertise for this next growth phase.

Forward Trajectory: Future Focus Areas for the New Conglomerate

Prioritization of International Market Penetration

While the search results confirm that the majority of current bookings are rooted within the domestic market (the United States), a clear strategic imperative for the newly formed global leader is aggressive international expansion. The combined platform now possesses the technology, the unified brand recognition, and the financial heft to scale rapidly into regions where one or both of the original companies had only a nascent presence. This global ambition is critical for capturing the full potential of the experience economy, which transcends borders, especially in renowned maritime destinations across the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region. The merger acts as a catalyst, allowing the combined entity to enter new markets with a full suite of services and a significant, immediately available inventory from day one. The company is led by CEO Michael Farb, whose mandate includes accelerating this global reach following the consolidation, which is headquartered in Miami.

Commitment to Technological Advancement and Safety Protocols

The leadership has made it clear that this merger is not merely an exercise in combining existing user bases; it is intended to pioneer the next era of the industry through relentless innovation. Future investments are slated to focus heavily on advancing the underlying technology that powers the booking experience. This includes leveraging artificial intelligence not only for personalized recommendations but also for optimizing logistics and dynamic pricing across the vast global fleet. Equally important is a renewed and prioritized focus on safety and security measures. Enhancing features such as the Boatsetter Promise, alongside fortifying the established 24/7 customer support infrastructure inherited from GetMyBoat, will be central to ensuring that the rapid growth does not come at the expense of user safety or trust. The future of this market leader rests on delivering superior technology that enables better, safer, and more intentional time spent connecting with the ocean and its vast possibilities. This focus is designed to continue the trend of making boat rental remarkably intuitive, a quality that previously attracted investors to Boatsetter. Furthermore, the combined entity is projected to reach profitability in 2026, a key financial milestone made more achievable through these scaled investments.