The Miami Biltmore Hotel’s design was inspired by Seville, Spain. But in April, the design style being celebrated was all Italian as the hotel in the ritzy Coral Gables area provided a suitably elegant backdrop to the 25th Benetti US Yachtmaster. Captains, suppliers and industry leaders gathered in Miami for education, inspiration and even some fun in the Biltmore’s opulent surroundings.
Federico Ferrante, president of Azimut|Benetti Americas and new head of American sales for Benetti, kicked things off with a talk that looked at responsiveness to customer demands. A native Italian and longtime US resident, Federico looks at elements of cultures — the Italian commitment to building things that are beautiful, the American ideal of customer service. Later, he told Dockwalk of the essential nature of communicating with captains — who in turn, bring the needs of all the people who know a vessel best.
“A good captain is a representative of his crew,” he says. “He is the ambassador of the working class of the yacht.”
Benetti has a famed history, but Federico said it’s also in the company’s DNA to innovate and surprise while also keeping an open door. “It’s all culture and communication,” he says.
In his talk, he described Benetti’s commitment, through tools such as its Net Promoter Score, to drilling down into customer satisfaction in a statistical, quantifiable way. He also threw out some impressive statistics about Benetti’s order portfolio, which currently extends through 2028; the 60 yachts under construction or on order account for more than 1.7 miles of LOA, he says.
Benetti’s Giulio Bentivoglio joined him on stage to discuss ways Benetti is reducing its carbon footprint including biofuel HVO and a planned methanol engine room simulator in Livorno for captains. Several other speakers broke down Benetti’s after-sales service and warranty approach, including the company’s global service network and vessel-specific service managers.
It wasn’t all work; attendees of the two-day event enjoyed dinner and drinks at the Biltmore Hotel. Other events included yoga, a school sports day-style athletics competition and tee times for the captains and others who wanted to play a round of golf at the hotel’s par-71 championship golf course.