Do you pay the yacht charter company directly or through the broker?

Charter payments normally go through the broker rather than directly to the charter company, and the funds sit in an escrow or client account until the trip is delivered. The standard schedule is 50 percent to confirm the booking and the balance 45 to 60 days before departure. The broker’s commission comes out of the owner’s side, so the price is the same either way. What the escrow step buys is protection. If the yacht cancels, breaks down or changes crew, the contract governs the refund, and the money has not vanished into someone’s operating budget. Direct-payment requests from a boat owner, with no contract behind them, sit at the center of most charter scams. A proper booking process always puts paper before payment.