To the Lake and On the Water: Fetii Partners With GetMyBoat in DFW and Austin

Getting to a North Texas lake and casting off from shore just got easier, thanks to an innovative new road-and-wave partnership.

Matthew Iommi

Austin-based Fetti—whose 15-passenger Sprinter vans transport groups together and on-demand in Dallas, Fort Worth, and seven other cities—has partnered with San Francisco-based GetMyBoat to streamline the whole process of partying on the water.

The new service is launching initially in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin areas, the companies said. Customers will be able to book their boat parties and their transportation to and from marinas or boat launch points “with ease.”

“GetMyBoat is our most expansive and important partnership to date,” Matthew Iommi, co-founder and CEO of Fetii, told Dallas Innovates. “We plan to service not just their DFW/Austin markets, but leverage all their markets in the country as Fetii continues to grow and expand.”

Fetii ride-sharing service [Photo: Fetii]

Fetii expanded to Dallas-Fort Worth in late 2022

Calling itself “the Uber for large groups” and “the world’s first group rideshare platform,” Fetii was co-founded in 2020 by Iommi and CTO Justin Rath, graduates of Texas A&M and UT Dallas, respectively.

Fetii announced plans for its Dallas-Fort Worth expansion in March 2022. In January, the company tweeted that its service is available in Dallas, Fort Worth, Baton Rouge, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama—in addition to its initial service cities Austin, College Station, and Lubbock.

More than 25 Fetii vans are now rolling in the DFW area, “with that number increasing week over week,” Iommi said. “Right now we’re working to keep up with demand and add more vehicles to bring down waiting times for North Texas groups.”

Fetii passengers [Image: Fetii]

GetMyBoat is world’s largest boat rental marketplace

Launched in San Francisco in 2013, GetMyBoat says it has since become the world’s largest boat and watercraft rental marketplace, with over 150,000 listings in 184 countries covering 9,300 destinations. It says it’s also the largest provider of boat rentals and charters in Texas, with over 900 booking options in the state.

Those options include boats on lakes all around Dallas-Fort Worth, says Doug Bird, VP of sales at GetMyBoat.

“The DFW and Austin areas have seen a boom in demand for GetMyBoat trips,” Bird said in a statement. “This partnership will enable groups to travel together from their hotel or home without worrying about parking, meeting spots, and timing. It simplifies a day out boating and ensures safe travel from start to finish.”

The companies say their partnership will offer users a 50% discount on rides for large groups of up to 15 passengers, “which reduces the number of vehicles needed to transport boaters to the marina, eliminates parking hassles, reduces the number of cars on the road, and ensures a safe and reliable ride home after a fun boat day on the water.”

Fetii and GetMyBoat say they’re working on expanding beyond DFW and Austin “to serve the national market to meet the needs of large groups booking boat charters for special events all over the United States.”

[Photo: Fetii]

Fetii is keeping busy on DFW university campuses, at sports events, and more

Iommi has said he got the idea for Fetii as a senior at Texas A&M, when he and a friend were operating an event shuttle business. It’s no surprise that he’s now getting a lot of business on Dallas-Fort Worth university campuses.

“Fetii has a strong presence at SMU, TCU, UTD, and other North Texas universities,” Iommi said, noting that his ride-sharing service partners with numerous organizations, “Greek life,” and departments “to ensure students and staff have a safe, affordable, and convenient way to be transported as a group.”

A typical user review, from TCU student Sydney Becan, reads like this: “I have a large friend group and Fetii has been very convenient for us getting to and from events because we would typically use 2 Ubers. Now we just use Fetii and it gets us to our destination at the same time and it’s cheaper.”

“I grew up in DFW so I always knew North Texas was perfect for Fetii,” Iommi said, adding that his company also gets business from Mavericks, Rangers, Stars, and Cowboys games. “DFW is a large, spread-out metro, so our system is constantly evolving to ensure vehicle availability is present and efficient in all areas of North Texas.”

Fetii has also partnered with Sporting Club Dallas and other event venues to help provide affordable and convenient group transportation for their guests and customers. “We also partner with social media influencers and pages who have a large following in North Texas,” Iommi said, including “Eat In Dallas, Jenna Palek, Dallas Hot Spots, and more.”

Other Fetii partnerships

The GetMyBoat collaboration isn’t Fetii’s first tango.

“We have extensive partnerships with national Bachelorette companies such as The Bach, Bach Babes, and more,” Iommi said. “We also have a partnership with C3, a national event management company, in which they utilize Fetii to service their concerts and festivals.”