How the KAEL model works
How KAEL works: who contracts, who gets paid and what commission each company pays. The exact terms with each company are set out in its collaboration agreement, accepted in its private portal.
1. KAEL is a broker, not the lessor
KAEL provides a brokerage service: it puts the client in touch with the boat company, without acting on behalf of either. The rental agreement is always concluded between the client and the boat company, which is solely responsible for the vessel, insurance, licences and regulatory compliance. KAEL charges the client nothing.
2. The deposit is charged by the company
To confirm a booking, the boat company asks the client for a deposit (usually 20–30% of the amount) which the client pays directly to the company. The balance is paid under each company's terms. KAEL never holds or handles client funds, so it does not act as a payment institution.
3. The commission is paid by the company
For each confirmed booking, KAEL invoices the boat company the contractually agreed commission (usually 10–20% of the booking amount). It is a B2B transaction: in Spain it carries 21% VAT; with EU companies the reverse charge applies; and outside the EU it is out of scope as an export of services.
4. Cancellations
If a confirmed booking is cancelled, the day becomes available again and the associated commission is voided. The conditions for refunding the deposit to the client belong to the boat company under its own contract.
5. Data protection
The data of a client sending a request is disclosed only to the recipient boat company in order to manage the booking (GDPR and Spanish LOPDGDD). KAEL is the controller for the request and the boat company is an independent controller of the data it receives to provide its service. Details in the privacy policy.
6. Regulations we apply (Spain and EU)
KAEL designs its operations in line with: LSSI-CE (Law 34/2002: provider information, e-contracting and cookies — BOE-A-2002-13758); GDPR (EU 2016/679) and Spanish LOPDGDD (3/2018); the Spanish consumer code (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007: leisure services with a fixed date are exempt from withdrawal rights, art. 103.l); Law 7/1998 on general contracting terms; VAT Law 37/1992 for B2B intermediation; Maritime Navigation Law 14/2014 (boat charter); RD 875/2014 (skipper licences); and RD 607/1999 (liability insurance). As a platform, KAEL also applies DAC7 (EU Directive 2021/514): it collects and verifies partner companies’ tax data and reports their income to the tax authority by 31 January each year.
7. International compliance
KAEL brokers charters in several countries, but each boat company is always solely responsible for local compliance at its destination: nautical permits and licences (for example SEMAR/CONANP in Mexico, the DMCA/RTA maritime licence in the Emirates, tour licences in Thailand, or local registries in the Bahamas, Maldives, Indonesia, Portugal, Croatia, Bahrain, Egypt and French Polynesia), mandatory insurance, skipper qualifications and local consumer rules. KAEL reviews each company’s documentation before activation. This is orientation only: confirm your specific case with a legal and tax advisor.