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Beyond the Crestron booth, other industry trends came into sharp focus. “The superyacht sector has become much more eco-conscious over the last few years,” says Kerkhof. “The industry has realized that it has the unique opportunity to drive technological innovation on sustainability.” As is often the case, those innovations will ultimately have a big impact on other industries — the hydrogen fuel cell technology of the Breakthrough is a terrific example. “It’s easy to see how that could be implemented elsewhere,” says Kerkhof. That’s a two-way street, too: “Automation and logic that controls energy use, for example, has long been important in commercial buildings, and that definitely translates to the water.”

“The other big trend is the desire for every vessel to include streaming and on-demand content while at sea,” says Kerkhof. “Thanks to the new satellite internet solutions like Starlink, broadband internet is available everywhere. Owners and guests are changing their way of consuming media, and it mirrors a market Crestron knows very well: high-end residential technology.”

... and in the Future

Kerkhof notes that this show gives Crestron a chance to really illustrate how attuned the company’s been to the evolving marine market. That work continues. “We've spotted a few opportunities for solutions that can make a big difference in this space. So, together with our talents in R&D and product development, we are working on specifying new products that we can talk about during the upcoming Monaco Yacht Shows. And in the short term, keep an eye out for our invitation code for tickets to ISE 2026. I can’t talk about the details yet, but we will be unveiling a couple of new solutions there, which I know our partners in the yachting industry have been waiting for.”

It's a vertical that’s more challenging than some others, as Kerkhof readily admits. “Superyachts are, while they are afloat, a complete ecosystem. Everything one needs must be carried or created onboard. Being on the ocean means you have all the elements and possibly rapidly changing weather conditions, too. All this leads to developing very specific technologies — and with help from our partners, we can make sure we always provide the best possible user experience to the owner and guests.”

“Superyachts really are the pinnacle of technology,” says Kerkhof. “There is so much innovation happening in this market, and so many new technologies are being integrated and combined into custom-designed superyachts, where everything onboard is controlled, monitored, and managed.

“These key elements of the superyacht market line align perfectly with the core values of Crestron — taking a challenging environment and turning it into the best possible experience for the end user.”