Part of the joy of a charter or diving live-aboard holiday is the isolation. However many guests also want the option of staying in touch. Those operators that can offer a broadband internet connection and voice service therefore have an edge in a competitive market place.

As well as surfing the internet, guests can make low cost telephone calls and send e-mails to friends, family and business interests ashore. The boat can offer access either for a fixed fee, based on usage, or as an inclusion in the holiday or charter package. Usage can be marketed to guests using a voucher system, similar to hotel or wi-fi hotspot use.

Smaller charter operators benefit from being able to run the business from on-board, managing internet bookings and logistics for a fixed monthly cost. Whatsmore, crew with low cost internet and telephone access are better motivated and are likely to remain with your business for longer.