35 Years of Pitter Yacht Charter
The Pitter Story
Looking ahead, Klaus Pitter, who has been at the helm from the start, has ambitious plans. Together with his Croatian partner Marin Katičin, the Austrian-Croatian company Pitter Yacht Charter has established itself with quality and excellent service at fair prices as one of the largest and safest companies in the charter industry. With 15 bases, including 6 of our own, along the beautiful Croatian coast from Pula to Split, Pitter Yacht Charter is known as the Croatia specialist. Globally, Pitter markets 24 bases in 7 countries. A major goal for the future is to meet the ever-increasing demand for international charter destinations. Customers should have the opportunity to enjoy their sailing holiday throughout the Mediterranean as they do with Pitter in Croatia. New bases and many new yacht models from various brands will once again complement the large Pitter fleet 2023. Many of the yachts can already be booked for the next season in the coming year. Early booking is worthwhile, and you can look forward to your holiday for longer.
Pitter Yacht Charter is your reliable and safe partner for your yacht holiday. We have been making your vacation special for 35 years.
How it all began, a brief insight into the company's history
When Klaus Pitter's father took his first charter steps with a small Elan 33 35 years ago, the family could not have imagined that the company would one day be among the five largest charter companies in Europe. This fills Klaus Pitter with pride and gratitude today. At heart, we have remained the “small” family business with strong customer ties. The personal contact with our charter guests and business partners is particularly important to me. Here and now, I would like to sincerely thank you for the trust you have always placed in us, without which our positive development would not have been possible. Special thanks also go to my employees, who all pull together and remain loyal to the company. Thank you! - Klaus Pitter. The following blog on the company's history aims to give you an insight into how the brand “Pitter Yacht Charter” has developed from the beginning.
1987 - The first steps into the charter industry: With the decision of the father to buy a family holiday yacht, Klaus Pitter first came into contact with the purchase-charter system. The yacht was stationed in Biograd. To better utilize the yacht, he and his father sailed as skippers on cabin charters. At the same time, they began offering yacht charters as an agency for the fleet operator. The agency program quickly grew, and soon worldwide charters were offered.
1991 - Reorientation during the war years of former Yugoslavia: As the structure of the fleet provider collapsed, Klaus Pitter and his father, together with the employees of the former base, tried to operate charters professionally with initially six yachts from Veruda/Pula. From the agency business, they gradually developed into their own fleet operator with a new Croatian partner, under the name Y&P Yachting, marketing the yachts under the Pitter Yacht Charter brand. During the difficult years of the war in former Yugoslavia, it became clear that communication and customer satisfaction were what mattered and were important. Customers, uncertain due to the war, often did not know if travel to the charter base would be possible. A situation that would repeat with Corona. Pitter Yacht Charter acted generously and refunded the full charter fee if the sailing trip was not undertaken. This behavior was well received and paid off even after the war years. A company philosophy with Pitter as a reliable and safe partner, striving to offer the best service at fair prices, was born. Early on, it was recognized that what customers wanted was not just the cheapest price. Pitter focused on quality from the beginning and made a good name for itself as a quality charter provider.
1993 - The first own yacht: To expand the charter fleet, Klaus Pitter decided to enter the purchase-charter business. He began developing the first purchase-charter models for yacht investment. His grandfather gave him money for this, and he bought a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37.1, which he named after his newborn daughter Yvonne.
1996 - Expansion of the yacht investment sector begins: With the continuous expansion of purchase-charter models, the fleet began to grow rapidly. Klaus Pitter presented his concept at the Bavaria Yachtcenter South of Yachts Meltl. The then authorized signatory Paul Huber recognized the great potential in the purchase-charter market, and a close cooperation began, which continues to this day.
1999 - Decisive course setting: Klaus Pitter met his current business partner and co-owner of Pitter d.o.o. Marin Katičin. The two hit it off immediately. Marin Katičin initially took over as technical director of the base in Biograd, and with Željko Jerat and Jarušica Yachting in Murter, the first Pitter charter partner in the Pitter Yacht Charter system was included in the marketing. A course setting for future growth. Many more charter partners have been added over the years and continue to complement the charter program to this day.
2001 - Founding of the Croatian Pitter d.o.o. and the Pitter Yacht Charter Kornati Cup goes into the first round: Due to differences in the Croatian management of Y&P Yachting, Klaus Pitter parted ways with his old Croatian partner and started anew with Marin Katičin by founding the current Pitter d.o.o. With his inheritance, Pitter paid off all the debts of the former Y&P Yachting and settled accounts with his owners correctly. A high tuition fee, but Klaus Pitter is glad to have found an honest partner with a handshake quality in Marin Katičin. Together, they moved forward in giant strides, and Pitter Yacht Charter grew into the Croatia specialist.
The first joint project was the Pitter Yacht Charter Kornati Cup. Inspired by the charter partner Željko Jerat, Marin Katičin and Klaus Pitter reinvented the former Murter Kornati Cup. Today, the Kornati Cup is one of the largest amateur regattas in the Adriatic. With a limited participation of 100 yachts, the Kornati Cup soon became a cult regatta for sportingly ambitious sailors with a high fun factor and extensive supporting program.
With continuous growth, we are always striving to offer our customers a large and diverse range of high-quality charters. As one of the first, we started offering 10-day charter trips as early as 2000. From 2001, we also gave our charter customers the opportunity to travel stress-free during the week, initially as Friday-Friday and later as Wednesday-Wednesday charters. Skipper training and Bavaria test weeks began to be marketed.
2002 - Pitter always has an ear to the market and responds to the needs of its customers: Personal advice is important to Pitter, and as a modern and innovative company, we have been offering our customers information via the internet since 2002 and working on building our first website, advertised with: “For quick access to information, feel free to use our constantly updated homepage.”
2003 - Another base is opened in Veruda/Pula in addition to the base in Biograd: Overall, we now market 3 bases with the charter partner in Murter. Year after year, the range of charter destinations and bases grows, with many new yachts added to the charter program annually. In 2003, the first catamaran joined the Pitter fleet.
The new yachts of the Bavaria Match Series one-design class are very popular in the regatta sector. A trend towards one-design classes emerges.
2005 - The booking center in Hartberg moves from rented office space to its own newly built office building: From the former 60 m2, it is now 180 m2, and the new office, three times as large, seems huge to everyone. Unimaginable at the time, but thanks to good development, construction began again 10 years later, and the area was almost doubled. The old paper booking plans, which had only served as a control for the new booking program since 2004, were left behind in the old office. The internet and email gained enormous influence on the booking process.
2007 - Best service was and is important to Pitter: In 2007, as a new service, in addition to the wind and weather reports via the onboard phones, which were newly introduced in 2006, there are now also daily weather SMS on your own phone. In 2013, free Wi-Fi was also introduced on the Pitter yachts.
2010 - The Euminia quality certification is introduced: The independent quality assurance system offers Pitter Yacht Charter the opportunity to better respond to requests, identify and address weaknesses, and thus ensure the quality of the charter fleet.
2012 - Expansion to 150 yachts: Particularly many brand-new yachts join the fleet, including 20 identical Bavaria Cruiser 40 S, the new one-design class for regattas. In 2017, 20 identical Bavaria Cruiser 41 S followed as the new one-design class.
2014 - Pitter takes over the marketing of the former Ecker bases in Zadar and Göcek: With the takeover of the base in Göcek, Pitter, already known as the Croatia specialist, expands further into the Turkish Mediterranean.
2015 - Founding of the Nautic Alliance: The goal of this new platform is to provide a competent contact for yacht investors, charter customers, and agencies. The Nautic Alliance defines high quality and service standards. The companies in the Nautic Alliance work under their own name, with their strength lying in joint appearances, joint yacht purchases, and joint marketing.
Preview 2023: To meet the high demand for international charter destinations, this concept will be further expanded as a kind of charter alliance with many new partners throughout the Mediterranean. By collaborating with other well-known and established companies, we aim to leverage synergies and mutually benefit from the wealth of experience built up over the years.
The goal is to offer the best service internationally, so that customers can enjoy their trip carefree, regardless of the destination or yacht type they choose.
2017 - 30 Years of Pitter Yacht Charter: In the anniversary year, over 350 well-maintained and well-equipped yachts are offered under the Pitter flag in Croatia, Turkey, and Greece. Overall, 10 bases are marketed in Croatia, two in Turkey, and one base in Greece in Lavrion near Athens. Much is planned for the future, with further steps towards more internationality to follow, and the yacht offering to be further expanded. As a new one-design class, 20 identical Bavaria Cruiser 41 S follow.
2018 - The Pitter fleet can now also be booked online: To meet the high demand for catamarans, the catamaran fleet has been expanded. Pitter now has over 100 catamarans, with 80 of them chartering in Croatia alone. New bases in Italy, Greece, and the Caribbean on St. Lucia complement the large charter program.
2019 - Steady growth: Pitter can now offer its charter guests a diverse range of sailing yachts, catamarans, (sailing and motor) and motor yachts on 24 bases in 7 countries. In Greece, the Pitter base in Volos adds the sailing area of the Northern Sporades. Many new yachts of the Dufour brand also complement the charter offering. Offering numerous new yacht models to its customers annually is a cornerstone of Pitter Yacht Charter's company philosophy, which is highly appreciated by customers. In the coming season, 35 new yachts with the 2023 model year will once again complement our charter fleet.
2020 - High quality standards at fair prices now also in the Netherlands on the beautiful Ijsselmeer: And then came Corona. Pitter once again showed strength in this crisis and was there for its customers, just as in 1991. We provided detailed information on the website and social media channels, but also personally via phone and email, maintaining contact with customers. Pitter acted generously. We advised, rebooked, and canceled free of charge, trying everything to enable our customers to have a carefree holiday far away from everyday life. It is not always easy to balance between office and home office, childcare, and measures as well as travel restrictions – but the team grew through it and emerged stronger from the crisis.
2021 - A free cancellation travel insurance complements every charter booking with Pitter Yacht Charter: As a reputable yacht charter company, safety, health, and the well-being of customers are top priorities. We are well prepared for the new season, and all yachts are well serviced. To alleviate customers' uncertainty about possible travel restrictions, we provide a lot of information and have proactively developed a free travel cancellation insurance as group insurance.
2022 - Pitter Yacht Charter celebrates its 35th company anniversary this year: Corona has shaped the last two years, but the industry has always been in flux, and much has happened in the last 35 years. With the motto “Quality and best service at fair prices”, we have always been on the right track and will continue into the future. 2022 is a great year full of holiday joy.
2023 - We look forward to the new sailing season 2023: The booking season is already open, and many have already booked their dream yacht for their favorite date. Popular holiday times are already well booked. Secure your next sailing trip with our attractive early booking offers. Numerous new yachts and an even larger international offering await you at Pitter Yacht Charter.
