tourism
Inflation: The prices for beach chairs are also increasing
The Baltic Sea resorts in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are well booked despite the increases over the long weekend. photo
© Frank Hormann/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
For many holidaymakers, a beach chair by the sea is part of it. This year, however, the quiet spots have become more expensive in some places. Where you go on holiday plays a decisive role.
Holidaymakers along the German North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts have to dig deeper into their pockets this year for beach chairs and beach tents.
The reasons given for the price increases include the increased acquisition, storage and personnel costs, according to a random survey by the German Press Agency among beach chair lessors on the North and Baltic Seas in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. How much guests have to pay for a beach chair often also depends on whether they are vacationing on the North Sea or the Baltic Sea – and whether they prefer a seat in the first or second row.
Basically, the prices have remained relatively stable compared to the previous year, says Bernhard Sourdeau, head of the online platform Strandbutler, which works with 90 landlords on the German coasts and already has over 10,000 bookings in 2023.
These are the prices on the Baltic Sea
On the East Frisian island of Borkum, the 18 landlords have raised the prices for beach chairs and beach tents by around 15 percent. A tent or basket can now be bought for 13 euros for a day, says Marius Okken, chairman of the Borkum beach tent association. The general price increase also affects beach chair rentals.
Not only have the acquisition costs for new baskets increased massively in recent years, more money also has to be spent on storage. Other East Frisian islands such as Spiekeroog and Langeoog say they did not increase the prices for beach chairs this year – but the rent is at a similar level.
These are the prices on the North Sea
Prices were also increased in St. Peter-Ording in Schleswig-Holstein – to twelve euros in the high season. “The prices had to be increased because the purchase of beach chairs, the maintenance of the beach chairs and the personnel costs have increased,” says a spokeswoman for the tourism center.
In Westerland and Rantum on Sylt, the prices have remained the same, as a spokeswoman for the Sylt Tourism Service says. A beach chair in Rantum and Westerland costs around 12 to 15 euros a day, depending on the location. In the very north of Sylt, in List, the price structure for beach chair rentals was revised from the beginning of May to the end of September, according to the municipality. During these months, the baskets now cost ten instead of eight euros per day. In the main travel season, the daily price has been left at ten euros.
Holidaymakers sometimes have to dig deeper into their pockets on the Baltic Sea: In Scharbeutz on the Bay of Lübeck, for example, the rental prices for beach chairs directly on the sea are more expensive than in the second row. “Some landlords have opted for such a price scale,” said the chairman of the state association of beach chair landlords, Marcus Bade. “For them, baskets by the sea cost up to 20 euros a day.” However, other landlords have remained at their previous prices or have only increased them moderately. In Timmendorfer Strand, the daily rent for beach chairs is between 11 and 17 euros a day, according to the bath.
The beach chair rental company beach.de in the Baltic Sea resort of Warnemünde has decided against price increases after much deliberation. A day basket on the textile beach is available from 15 euros. Last year’s rates also apply in the Strandoase Treichel: 14 to 15 euros per day and 500 to 600 euros per season.