Full speed ahead: During the pandemic, the demand for luxury rental boats rose rapidly.
Image: Istion Yachting on Zizoo
Only a few can afford to cruise the Mediterranean in a chic yacht – but many dream of it. With her company, Anna Banicevic also wants to make exclusive boat trips possible for the less well-off.
Behind Anna Banicevic twine bronze tendrils and orange trumpet blossoms on an emerald background. The jungle atmosphere is not real, but a wallpaper – the impression is reminiscent of a boutique hotel of the upper class. But that is also deceptive, because Banicevic and her start-up Zizoo are based in a brick building in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The wallpaper is a legacy from the previous tenant, Secret Escapes, a company that offers online discounted luxury travel: true 5-star luxury at the price of a 1-star property.
Banicevic moves in similar waters. On their platform Zizoo, an adaptation of the nickname “Zissou” by marine researcher Jacques Cousteau, since 2015 it has been possible to book boats of various classes without the traditional charter. So everyone should be able to participate in something for less money that still stands as a symbol of wealth and luxury: the individual boat trip on a sailing boat or even a large yacht, on which you can travel from marina to marina away from mass tourism.
