Case Study
Designing and building the first website for a luxury yacht charter company, turning a word-of-mouth business into one with a digital presence. The site combined destination storytelling with an optimised enquiry flow to match the company's white-glove service.
The Challenge
Hinde & Kitch had built a successful yacht charter business, but 90% of their bookings came through word of mouth, mainly family and friends. To grow beyond their existing network, they needed a website that could attract new customers and convert interest into enquiries.
I took on the project as an opportunity to help friends while gaining valuable experience presenting work to clients and iterating on their feedback.
Competitor charter websites lead with boat catalogues, filters, and pricing - a transactional approach we wanted to move away from.
The information architecture we developed, with destination content and guides sitting alongside the enquiry flow at every level.
The Brief
The brief was clear: the website should be a shop window for the fantastic locations available through Hinde & Kitch. Rather than simply listing boats in different locations, the approach most charter websites take, the focus should be on selling the destinations and the prospect of a holiday there, with factual information to help someone plan their own trip.
The idea was that presenting this content in an easy-to-digest and effective way would generate far more charter business than a traditional boat catalogue.
The destination pages were designed to lead with rich photography and practical information, drawing visitors into the experience before presenting charter options.
Design Approach
Most charter websites either focus on inspiring content or on transactional boat listings, they rarely combine the two into one flow. The approach we landed on was leading with rich destination content that customers would genuinely want to read, with opportunities to 'make an enquiry' woven in at every stage.
This fit with the high-end luxury charter Hinde & Kitch specialises in, positioning the site as a white-glove service rather than a standard booking platform. The design was built to be visually striking, drawing people in with imagery of what they'd see and do on a sailing holiday.
"The attention you give makes it feel like you're their only customer."- Hinde & Kitch customer review
Content Strategy
A key addition to the site was the 'Captain's Logbook', a content section designed to help first-time charterers understand the ins and outs of a sailing holiday. Pieces covered budgeting, understanding charter contracts, how far you could reasonably travel in a day, and more.
The goal was to make the site appealing not just to experienced sailors but to newcomers who could become returning customers year after year following a great first experience.
The Captain's Logbook section - landing page (left), a guide article (centre), and the mobile responsive layout (right).
Enquiry Optimisation
The enquiry form was critical to get right. We needed to collect enough information for the team to put together a compelling quote, without requesting so much that potential clients dropped off. We tested several variations and gathered user feedback on their preferences.
The winning approach collected only basic details, which aligned with the company's hands-on ethos, where the team would always follow up with phone calls to layer in suggestions the guest hadn't thought of. The streamlined form matched the personalised service Hinde & Kitch wanted to offer.
The final enquiry form, collecting just enough information for the team to follow up with a personalised call.
Impact & Reflection
The team went from zero website enquiries at the end of 2024 to 22 organic enquiries in 2025, taking their total charters to 74 and establishing digital organic as a key channel for the business.
Beyond the numbers, this project taught me a lot about working with clients, presenting design options, iterating on feedback, and making sure the final product genuinely reflected how the business wanted to be perceived. The content-led approach, combined with the tailored enquiry flow, reinforced the personalised service that keeps Hinde & Kitch customers coming back.