01
Luxury is being remembered
A guest who mentioned once that they take their coffee black, prefer the quiet side of the deck, or are celebrating an anniversary on the second night does not expect to say it again. In luxury, that memory is the service.
The fashion and watch houses known for it rely on a simple practice usually called clienteling: an advisor notes what each client shares, and uses it the next time. The best hotels do the same with guest profiles that follow a returning guest from one stay to the next.
Yachting already has its own version. Charter guests fill in a preference sheet before boarding, and good crews and brokers keep notes long after the trip. Villas, concierge services and yards with repeat owners work the same way. The principle never changes: collect what helps you serve someone better, and nothing else.
02
You already collect it. It is just scattered
Most marine and hospitality businesses gather a surprising amount about their clients: an enquiry form, a booking, a preference sheet, emails with the broker, a WhatsApp thread with the captain, a note in someone's phone.
The problem is rarely too little information. It is that it lives in six places, belongs to whoever took the call, and disappears when that person moves on. The client feels the gap immediately: they are asked the same questions twice, or the new team knows nothing about the last visit.
Worth doing
- List every place client information arrives today: forms, email, WhatsApp, booking platforms, paper.
- Choose one place where it all ends up, even if that is a simple, well-organised spreadsheet to begin with.
- Keep notes factual and useful: preferences, occasions, what went well. Never personal opinions about the client.
03
How the best brands ask for information
In conversation, not as an interrogation
The details that matter most rarely come from a form. They come up naturally, when a client talks about the last trip, the people travelling with them, or what they want to celebrate. The skill is in listening and writing it down afterwards.
At the moment it is useful
Ask about menus when the menu is being planned, not in the first enquiry. A long form at first contact puts off exactly the clients you most want, who expect a conversation rather than paperwork.
Only for what you will actually use
Every detail you collect is a detail you have to protect. If you never use a client's date of birth or home address, do not ask for it.
With the reason explained
"So the chef can plan around it" or "so we can have the cabin ready" turns a question into a service. People share far more readily when they understand why.
04
The French rules, in plain terms
In France, client information is covered by the GDPR and supervised by the CNIL. The core principles are simple: collect information for a clear purpose, keep only what that purpose needs, keep it no longer than necessary, and protect it.
- Booking and service details such as names, dates, contact details and preferences can be kept because you need them to deliver what the client booked.
- Health information is a special category. Allergies and health-related dietary needs count. Under Article 9 of the GDPR, you need the guest's explicit consent to record them, and they should be kept only as long as the trip or stay requires.
- Marketing emails to individuals need consent first. The main exception covers existing clients, who can receive offers for similar services if they were told when their email was collected and can unsubscribe easily in every message.
- Refusing cookies must be as easy as accepting them. The CNIL has fined major platforms for making refusal harder. The EU is negotiating changes to cookie consent, but as of November 2026 the current rules still apply.
Worth knowing
- This is general information, not legal advice. For anything less routine, such as passport copies, crew data or sharing details with partners, check with a lawyer or a data protection specialist.
Sources: CNIL, GDPR text (Articles 5 and 9) · CNIL, email marketing rules · ITPro, CNIL cookie fines · UniConsent, Digital Omnibus status
05
Where your website fits in
For many clients, the first thing they ever share with you goes through your website. That moment sets the tone for everything after it.
- An enquiry form that asks only what you need to reply well: name, contact details, dates, the yacht or property, and what they are looking for.
- Newsletter consent as a separate box, never ticked in advance and never bundled with the enquiry itself.
- A short, readable privacy note next to the form, saying what happens to their details.
- A cookie banner where "Accept" and "Refuse" carry the same weight.
- Every enquiry landing in one place, so nothing depends on who happened to read it.
Discretion is part of the product. Clients who value their privacy notice when a business is careful with their details, and they notice even more when it is not.
Worth doing
- Fill in your own enquiry form as if you were a client: count the fields, read the privacy note, and check where the message actually lands.
When a client asks AI for a specialist, do you exist?
Run your business through the free check and see what comes back.
Questions we get often
Can I record a guest's allergies?
Yes, if the guest gives explicit consent, and only for the purpose of their stay or charter. Allergies and health-related dietary needs are a special category of data under the GDPR, so record only what the team needs and delete it once it is no longer useful.
Can I send my newsletter to past clients?
Generally yes, for services similar to the ones they used, provided they were told when you collected their email and can unsubscribe easily in every message. For individuals who are not yet clients, you need their consent first.
What should a luxury enquiry form ask?
Just enough to reply properly: name, email or phone, dates, the yacht or property concerned, and what they are looking for. Everything else can wait for the conversation.