« I started last August to cover my costs and finance the 5,000 euros per year that it costs to locate my boat,” explains Pascal, 58, business manager and owner of a 12.30 meter boat. For him, the outright ban on the rental of a boat at the dock at the La Rochelle marina for accommodation, from 1is June 2025, is “a little radical”.
“I regret not having been consulted more. We could have explained that we are not doing this to make ends meet but to reinvest it in the maintenance of the boat. I had to wait two and a half years before getting a place here. Why not find a compromise, sort out those who rent but whose maintained boat goes out to sea regularly and authorize rental for 10 to 15 weeks per year and exclude, to free up places, every two or three years, boats wrecks, never maintained. »
The marina management indicated that, since 2015 when it was authorized, this rental practice represents “20,000 nights per year”. A figure questioned by certain rental companies who estimate that around 150 boats are regularly rented out of the approximately 5,500 moored at the Minimes pontoons and at the Vieux Port (including the Chalutiers basin).
An association of marina professionals was created to challenge the authority's decision to prohibit Airbnb-type rentals on board boats.
Archives Xavier Léoty / SO
“Social marker”
For rental professionals, the blow is tough. “It was very violent, the way it was done is regrettable. There was no consultation. For some who own several sailboats or yachts, the period will be complicated to resell the boats, the delay until June will not allow them to replenish their cash flow or find a viable solution,” specifies a professional rental company, an expert in the sector. pleasure in La Rochelle.
“The day before the Grand Pavois, we were received and presented with a bit of a fait accompli, while we proposed avenues, solutions, to avoid neighborhood conflicts or complaints on the pontoons. We were prepared to pay for security. You shouldn't believe it, but we inform the tenants of the habits and customs of the port, they sign a charter before accessing the boat. It's 80% families and birthday parties or EVGs (Editor's note: bachelor or bachelorette party) are prohibited. »
Many people who have complained are elderly people who have been at the port for a long time. They don't want diversity because their boat is a social marker
Among the rental companies interviewed, the feeling of injustice predominates. Many judge that they “keep the port and its traders alive and contribute to the tourist economy in all seasons”, feeling sacrificed on the altar of the City's anti-Airbnb policy. Others even talk about self-consciousness and class contempt. “A lot of people who have complained are elderly people who have been at the port for a long time. They don't want diversity because their boat is a social marker. The old owners, it bothers them to see people on the pontoons who are not from their world, they don't want to mingle and they won their case. »
An appeal in sight
“I'm not sure that the port managers realize the extent of their decision,” reasons Kélian Antoine, co-manager of SK Conciergerie. “It was not necessary to prohibit but to regulate, to put a stop to individuals or those who do not play the game. From now on, even companies like ours, providers of economic activities, are penalized. The marina risks understanding that without Airbnb we cannot pay their exorbitant bills. They increased fees by another 10% this year. »
A La Rochelle association to defend the interests of all marina professionals has therefore just been formed. She plans to launch an appeal to the administrative court to challenge the rental ban. The four to five main professional rental companies of floating accommodation are at the origin. This association represents 35 to 40 boats and claims 13,500 travelers as well as “10 million euros in economic benefits”. It rejects the three main reasons justifying the ban: security, insufficient infrastructure and noise pollution. “If they want the port to be just a storage space, and nothing can be done about it, they must accept it,” insists Kélian Antoine.
Contacted, Bertrand Moquay, director of the marina management, understands the disappointment and accepts the method but recalls that “managing the development of this type of activity is not the core business of a marina management “. It highlights the need for management of the public domain which does not have to take into account the economic interests of entrepreneurs. “The role of a port is to welcome sailing boats. »
