Ever wondered why the price of sun lounger rental on Ibiza's beaches differs depending on where you are? Well here's why..........
The five local councils on Ibiza hold auctions every few years where beach concessionaires make sealed bids to be able to hire a fixed number of sun loungers, parasols etc on the beach. Obviously, the amount of the bid is subject to the forces of supply and demand, and it will probably come as no surprise that the highest bidding per lounger is found on the island's fashion beaches.
Four of the five councils, all bar Ibiza, have now agreed their beach concessions until 2015 and they're worth an astonishing €3.75 million! The council with the highest yield is San Jose, which coincidentally includes fashion beaches like Las Salinas, Cala Jondal, Es Cavallet and these days Cala Bassa (old photo.)
Here's the league table
San Jose, 5930 loungers, €2,948,848
Santa Eulalia, 3,609 loungers, €456,174
San Antonio, 760 loungers, €192,025
San Juan, 1,187 loungers, €140,000
and here's an example of the bidding
a concession for 60 sun loungers on Cala Jondal was purchased for €30,600 whilst the same number on San Antonio's Arenal beach was almost half the price at €16,875.
So what does all this mean to you? The price that can be charged for a normal sun lounger is fixed by the council – you'll see signs on the beach with this information – and surprise, surprise, San Jose has the highest charges this year at €8 a day. In Santa Eulalia it will be €4, San Juan €4.50 and San Antonio €5.
However, souped up loungers featuring a white sheet, a more comfy mattress, WiFi or whatever, do not come under this jurisdiction, hence the higher prices in some of the new 'beach lounges' dotted about.