Beach Chair Vendors Admit To Nearly Doubling Prices For Rentals

[thaimlord]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

To be fair mate, Pattaya Beach is free to visit and enjoy as well. You may choose to sit in a deck chair or lie on a towel. As they say here, up to you.

But while we're on the topic, a little perspective may entertain those not from The Lucky Country...

I was born in "the fun capital of Australia", the Gold Coast. In the fun capital of Australia today, whilst I can GO to the beach I can't actually STAY on the beach for long without getting burnt to a crisp, because, as you say, "we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches". If I wanted something as civilised as a deck chair and an umbrella as a tourist, I would need to purchase one, and then throw it away again when I left for home.

Come to think of it, in the fun capital of Australia I really can't have much fun at all in contrast to Pattaya. I can't drink alcohol on the beach, or anywhere else in public for that matter. I can't smoke cigarettes on the beach, or anywhere else in public for that matter. I can't even SIT on the beach for very long, for the reasons stated above, and the refusal of the stupid Gold Coast City Council to allow even a small area of concessions like this in spots along our miles of coastline, where people could get service and comfort whilst enjoying the beach. With all the idiotic regulations in our country, if I even smile and compliment a beautiful lady in the fun capital of Australia, I'm quite likely to be up on sexual harrassment charges.

NOTHING. I can't do a bloody thing that resembles anything like fun in the fun capital of Australia.

I respect what you're saying mate, if you don't like the many many umbrellas and chairs covering some of the Pattaya coastline, I can understand that, but I'll stick to Pattaya in preference to back home.

Sorry to rant on, but you just touched on a sore point for me. I hate what the local, state and federal governments are doing to our country. No offence meant to you or your opinions. Each to his own :-)

TL

[Mudcrab]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

yes mate...just walk up the beach..not that hard

can't see the sense in going to the beach.......and then renting a chair..to sit in the shade......go to the beach..have swim then, sit in the shade of a bar or go home

renting a chair must be a European thing

Edited May 3, 2013 by Mudcrab

[BrianCR]

Simple answer don't rent and tell others the same - enough people stop renting and the price goes down or, they just take them away!

[Mudcrab]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

Yep, miss those Australian beaches, going back next year for a break and looking forward to the clean beaches and ocean

without any service

ah but that is the point......if you want a beach with service...do you really want a beach or a (very bad ) serviced swimming pool?

[biplanebluey]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

So are ours---you don't have to rent a deck chair------ Sit nearer the water,put your sun umbrella up and stretch out on a towel------- Wonderful

[khaowong1]

In Italy you pay 10 Euro per person. So please not whining about 30 or 50 Baht. It still to cheap, that those local workers can make a decent living.

Actually, they make a very decent living renting these beach chairs. A couple of years ago, a American friend of mine looked into buying one of the beach chair concessions from a Thai lady. He couldn't get the guarantees of a good space from her or he would have it. He was going to let his wife run it. I forget now how much a month the profit was after paying the city council their fair share, but it was enough to qualify for the minimum monthly salary needed for the marriage visa.

[davidmann]

try Cannes its 20 euros

[wade72]

Curious, since I have never seen anyone try. Wonder if anyone would say anything to you if you brought your own chair and umbrella?

I would easily pay double or triple if they would post security guards around me to make all the hawker f*** off while I was trying to relax....

[lemoncake]

Beach chairs

Probably the most uncomfortable way to relax on the beach.

you go to the beach to relax?

[Payboy]

Beach chairs

Probably the most uncomfortable way to relax on the beach.

you go to the beach to relax?

Please don't tell me what you do sitting on a beach chair.

[lemoncake]

Beach chairs

Probably the most uncomfortable way to relax on the beach.

you go to the beach to relax?

Please don't tell me what you do sitting on a beach chair.

[Konini]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

Come to think of it, in the fun capital of Australia I really can't have much fun at all in contrast to Pattaya. I can't drink alcohol on the beach, or anywhere else in public for that matter. I can't smoke cigarettes on the beach, or anywhere else in public for that matter. I can't even SIT on the beach for very long, for the reasons stated above, and the refusal of the stupid Gold Coast City Council to allow even a small area of concessions like this in spots along our miles of coastline, where people could get service and comfort whilst enjoying the beach. With all the idiotic regulations in our country, if I even smile and compliment a beautiful lady in the fun capital of Australia, I'm quite likely to be up on sexual harrassment charges.

You missed out the most important one; accidentally getting a child in the background of the photograph you're taking.

[ericthai]

And who gives these people the right to occupy the beaches and charge for space - the beaches belong to the country and the people not the armchair mafia. Same in Phuket, Hua Hin and other destinations. Land of Scams.

Thai wife who is a local, tells me they pay a license fee to Pattaya City Council, some have had the concessions for many years

So Pattaya City Council are responsible for the abortion of an eyesore and the scams of the deck-chairs. They also go hand in hand with jet ski operators.

Correct, but do you really believe the beach license inspectors are going to monitor and enforce the agreed rental price with the chair rental operators. Maybe they will announce yet another "crackdown". Wife & I went to one of the beaches in Sattahip controlled by the Navy, a vendor was asking for 100 baht each for dirt encrusted plastic bed chairs. We just walked away and found some shade under a tree.

Yes we also go to Nang Rong under navy control and none of the BS associated with tourists traps. We also take our umbrellas and mast and take up a fair whack of the area without encroaching on other peoples areas. Simple really.

yes, Simply for you and that is great for you. However I don't think tourists from all of the world are going to bring their chairs with them so I think having the chairs on the beach is a nice option. I know we live up in Isaan and when we go on holiday to the beach bringing chairs is not in our plans our car is already loaded with other things and then try to fit in chairs and buy chairs we will only use a few times a year, and I'm ok with paying for the rental of the chairs. I do the same in the USA. So because you don't like the chairs or the rental fee the country should ban renting chairs on the beach?

[lemoncake]

yes, Simply for you and that is great for you. However I don't think tourists from all of the world are going to bring their chairs with them so I think having the chairs on the beach is a nice option. I know we live up in Isaan and when we go on holiday to the beach bringing chairs is not in our plans our car is already loaded with other things and then try to fit in chairs and buy chairs we will only use a few times a year, and I'm ok with paying for the rental of the chairs. I do the same in the USA. So because you don't like the chairs or the rental fee the country should ban renting chairs on the beach?

Sleeping tents?

[ericthai]

yes, Simply for you and that is great for you. However I don't think tourists from all of the world are going to bring their chairs with them so I think having the chairs on the beach is a nice option. I know we live up in Isaan and when we go on holiday to the beach bringing chairs is not in our plans our car is already loaded with other things and then try to fit in chairs and buy chairs we will only use a few times a year, and I'm ok with paying for the rental of the chairs. I do the same in the USA. So because you don't like the chairs or the rental fee the country should ban renting chairs on the beach?

Sleeping tents?

Tents?? Why?? No more like the typical things you take a on a trip such as suitcases. If your GF is anything like mine then you know how much they pack for only a 3-4 day trip.

[Greer]

I think with the amount of people using the beach chairs they are justified, Thais like to sit there and eat/drink during holidays.

Yes on Phuket you pay double price but the beaches are double so nice.

Sure Australia have some really nice beaches but no shade? I like shade when sitting on the beach. You also have Box Jelly Fish down there which nobody likes where you swim.

I have lived in Thailand for over 20 years and I do love the country, but Australian beaches are a million times nicer than ours, I am sorry to say. I am Australian, and I left the place because the politics of the place suck, but the country is beautiful, and the beaches are stunning and the ocean is a gem. The deadly Box Jellyfish only inhabit the warmer waters in the northern latitudes (northern seas off Queensland) and only usually between October and February.

Many of the popular tourist beaches here are really foul because of the total lack of management of the beach space and the greed of both the local councils and the beach chair operators, and unfortunately, the sea between Bangkok and Pattaya and beyond is, sadly, disgusting. I truly wish that both the government and industry would put some effort into cleaning up and maintaining Thailand's tourist attractions.

[smokie36]

Only 50 baht?? Try getting a beach chair in Phuket for that price! You guys in Pattaya don't know how lucky you are.

In Hua Hin down the soi opposite market village they charge 100 Baht a day but the good side is they are not crammed in like sardines in a tin.

Koh Samui smirks in your general direction......

[Naam]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

Yep, miss those Australian beaches, going back next year for a break and looking forward to the clean beaches and ocean

without any service

ah but that is the point......if you want a beach with service...do you really want a beach or a (very bad ) serviced swimming pool?

i want service anywhere. as simple as that.

[DiNiro]

By law, 50% of the beach is assigned/rented to the beach chair/slum operations.

The other 50% is where?

[DiNiro]

From Mangozeen Blog 2008;

"The Chonburi governor has been fighting with the Pattaya's omnipotent beach chair operator since his swearing in ceremony. Basically he wants to assign 7 meter by 7 meter plots to decongest the narrow beach strip for public use ie being able to lay down on the sand without having to shell out 30 baht for a crapped out chair.

Provincial governor are usually very powerful, however the present occupant of that title has run into a stubborn resistance from the locals, who think that this occupation of the beach is a marketable right of possession and frustrated by the lack of support from the Interior Minister..."

[wellred]

Only 50 baht?? Try getting a beach chair in Phuket for that price! You guys in Pattaya don't know how lucky you are.

yep. 100 in Patong.

[DoctorG]

i'll stick to laying on my towel like i have all my life in Australia,we don't have this sort of crap on our beaches,our beaches are free to visit and enjoy.

Yep, miss those Australian beaches, going back next year for a break and looking forward to the clean beaches and ocean

Just moved back to the Gold Coast. Cooler now, but still beautiful.

[jacko45k]

And who gives these people the right to occupy the beaches and charge for space - the beaches belong to the country and the people not the armchair mafia. Same in Phuket, Hua Hin and other destinations. Land of Scams.

Thai wife who is a local, tells me they pay a license fee to Pattaya City Council, some have had the concessions for many years

Quite true, and it is a constant battle to keep them within the confines of their licence, and density of chairs. They are expected to keep their concession area clean, and they do, I have seen them picking up the trash and throwing it into the sea often.

[DiNiro]

And who gives these people the right to occupy the beaches and charge for space - the beaches belong to the country and the people not the armchair mafia. Same in Phuket, Hua Hin and other destinations. Land of Scams.

Thai wife who is a local, tells me they pay a license fee to Pattaya City Council, some have had the concessions for many years

Quite true, and it is a constant battle to keep them within the confines of their licence, and density of chairs. They are expected to keep their concession area clean, and they do, I have seen them picking up the trash and throwing it into the sea often.

Are the chairs owned by the police?

I see the 'Wonderful Bar' logo stenciled of some of the gear.

The police own the bar with the same name.

Is that why the 50% of the open space now has chair businesses?

[Locationthailand]

And who gives these people the right to occupy the beaches and charge for space - the beaches belong to the country and the people not the armchair mafia. Same in Phuket, Hua Hin and other destinations. Land of Scams.

I believe they charge for chair and umbrella not the space

That may well be but they set up umbrella city occupying the land even when empty so that pretty much means they are controlling the land (beach) apart from the rental they 'may' have some sort of licence for. Either way, they control the open beach and that is not on.

[Ulic]

I will be saving money my next visit to LOS. I have been paying 100 baht a person in Phuket for years.

[blackman]

Thais can buy a lease from city hall on a piece of beach when it becomes available

they change hands between current holders for 2 to 5 million baht depending on location

they pay a rent every month to city hall of around 10,000, again dependent on location

each site is usually run as a family business, however the site holder often sublets to others

the rent for a year for sublets is usually paid as a lump sum and is around 250-400,000 baht

policing by city hall is frequent

chair prices are fixed at 30 baht although vendors often increase rates to 50 baht later in the day when city hall enforcement officials have gone home

only a set number of chairs per plot are allowed (i think 42)

they must leave space for people who do not want chairs and just sit on a blanket on the sand

encroachment is commonplace but its often dealt with quickly as the site holders inform on each other frequently

fights between vendors often break out over these matters of who is making more money

surprisingly, there are a number of foreigners who own beach plots by way of a sublet lease from the city hall leaseholder

i could have bought a beach plot for this coming 12 months

i was asked 300,000, it went for 250,000 in the end

thats pretty much it

[DiNiro]

No wonder they rent out the other 50% that is designated for tourists and open space.

Too tempting with that kind of cash flow.

[DiNiro]

Thais can buy a lease from city hall on a piece of beach when it becomes available

they change hands between current holders for 2 to 5 million baht depending on location

they pay a rent every month to city hall of around 10,000, again dependent on location

each site is usually run as a family business, however the site holder often sublets to others

the rent for a year for sublets is usually paid as a lump sum and is around 250-400,000 baht

policing by city hall is frequent

chair prices are fixed at 30 baht although vendors often increase rates to 50 baht later in the day when city hall enforcement officials have gone home

only a set number of chairs per plot are allowed (i think 42)

they must leave space for people who do not want chairs and just sit on a blanket on the sand

encroachment is commonplace but its often dealt with quickly as the site holders inform on each other frequently

fights between vendors often break out over these matters of who is making more money

surprisingly, there are a number of foreigners who own beach plots by way of a sublet lease from the city hall leaseholder

i could have bought a beach plot for this coming 12 months

i was asked 300,000, it went for 250,000 in the end

thats pretty much it

What about the jet skis gangs and the trolling vendors. What do they pay I wonder.

[GeorgeO]

And who gives these people the right to occupy the beaches and charge for space - the beaches belong to the country and the people not the armchair mafia. Same in Phuket, Hua Hin and other destinations. Land of Scams.

I believe they charge for chair and umbrella not the space

Okay, so try taking your own beach chair and umbrella there and wee what transpires....!