While crew are the heartbeat of yachting, their voices are often missing from the events and conversations discussing their futures, well-being and professional landscapes. Hill Robinson have launched the Crew Voices Project to change that. The initiative invites crew to take their place in industry conversations by offering a select number of free tickets to yacht crew to major industry events. The tickets are funded by Hill Robinson, and to help support travel costs, they have partnered with TravelCue to provide each selected crew member with a €150 air travel voucher.
“If we ever hope to move forward, we have to involve crew,” says Kayleigh Liddell, crew services coordinator. “They need to be seen, heard, and included.”
The Crew Voices Project is open to any crew member, whether or not you’re working with Hill Robinson, and crew can register their interest via Hill Robinson’s online form. Selected applicants will be contacted directly, and there will be a waiting list in case of last-minute schedule changes.
Currently, crew can register interest for three events in March, but they plan to update the form pre- and post-Med season when crew are most available. Ten crew will be sent to the first batch of events — “It's nothing compared to how many are in the industry, but that's 30 crew that otherwise may not have been there.”
The idea started with the Superyacht Technology Show with its guest program and Hill Robinson offered travel vouchers at the Superyacht Forum and METS in 2025 when the organizers offered free crew tickets. It all grew from there.
“We wanted events that talk about crew matters. These three were selected based on our strong relationship with the organizers and topics being crew-focused. We wanted crew to be able to lend their voice to the things that affect them,” Liddell says. “We want the crew to feel like they have contributed and that they have gained knowledge and insight in return.”
For the first year, the goal is to get crew through the door. Looking ahead, Liddell hopes that today’s attendees become tomorrow’s panelists — crew presenting, contributing and shaping the agenda.
“We, as an industry, can’t build meaningful culture, well-being programs or support structures without understanding what they actually need,” she says. “And their feedback is clear: they don’t always feel included. This is our way of changing that, of making sure they know their voices are welcome.”