A platform to make the dream of a boat vacation come true

Silvina Reyes is the founder of HostandBoat, a global platform that has anchored in Almería

Four years ago, Silvina Reyes decided to take a turn in her life. Argentina of Andalusian origins, had studied a degree in Systems, and an MBA in business management. And I had been working in the corporate world for 28 years, always focused on technology industries, and then on electronic commerce. “But I decided to leave that world and go on this adventure of traveling the world by boat with my husband, Jorge González, a professional sailing navigator,” she says. “And we went with our little daughter on the sailboat. We have done more than half a trip around the world, more than a hundred ports throughout the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the coast of Brazil, part of the Pacific… ”.

And while sailing, they discovered that this personal adventure could be turned into a professional project. “We understood that this, which for us is a way of life, for many people it could be a vacation,” he explains. This is how HostandBoat was born, “an online platform where people can organize a boat vacation,” he explains. “They are affordable for most! There is the perception that the sailboat is only for people with a high purchasing power, but these vacations are for all types of travelers. And they are aligned with the UN sustainable development goals; and you are in contact with Nature, and without crowds, Covid free … ”.

From Almerimar

For two years they focused on setting up the platform, making the agreements with the ships, and testing the business model. Today they already have agreements with almost 10,000 ships in more than 120 destinations around the world. When they decided that we had a powerful, interesting, and global offer, they decided to register the project and drop anchor in Almerimar, in December of last year.

 

la voz de almeria airbnb de los barcos

 

They had been there twice, when they sailed the Mediterranean, “and the second time we said: This is the place where we want to be”, Silvina recalls. “Technology is what makes this project possible. I always say that our fourth crew member is our internet router, which even allows our daughter to study remotely ”.

They launched the platform in four languages: Spanish, French, English and Portuguese, “so that all companies that provide services, but do not have a global reach, can sell their products around the world.” In May, they joined Telefónica’s Andalucía Open Future initiative. They have also been finalists in Alhambra Venture, and in Argentina they were finalists in the Travel and Tourism eCommerce Awards.

Silvina has formed a “proven team, with people who have worked with me on other projects,” she says. “We are eight, for now. and we have a third partner ”. The future of HostandBoat “is very clear: we are in a moment of searching for investors, to help us grow this business, to make it more global.”

Thank you very much Remedios Fernandez and La Voz de Almeria for the note.

Lee la Nota en La Voz de Almeria en este link