Palma Beach Concessionaires issue ultimatum

They have demanded a meeting with City Officials to inform them that if they are not compensated for the ruinous 2020 season, they won’t be able to provide services during this year's summer season.

The Concessionaires operate on five beaches in the Municipality of Palma; Cala Major, Can Pere Antoni, Ciutat Jardí, Cala Estancia and Playa de Palma. They've submitted petitions to the City Council claiming they’re covered by current legislation and the regulations issued specifically to compensate companies for hardship caused by the pandemic.

“After months of waiting, we had a meeting with the Mayor, José Hila, on December 15 and he promised to give us an answer shortly,” explains José Manuel Sánchez of Mar de Mallorca, which manages the services on Palma Beach. “Two more months have passed and we still have no news and now we’ve found out that they’ve already started planning the operation for next season, from May, as if nothing has happened.”

“We have continued to fulfil our contractual obligations, cleaning the beach, maintaining the gardens, etc and we can’t do it anymore, we are all very angry,” adds Sánchez who points out that Mar de Mallorca has written to the Council several times since the December meeting “asking that they resolve the 2020 file once and for all and that there be a containment of obligations or a substitution of certain jobs in 2021, because we suffered a 97% loss of revenue last year.”

“In addition to those losses," he adds, "Mar de Mallorca still had the expense of cleaning the beaches and gardens and carrying out repairs especially after the hurricanes. We have no income and we’ve received no compensation from the City Council and that's why we’ve told them to do the cleaning and maintenance themselves because this situation is unsustainable."

“When the 2020 file is resolved,” he warns, "if we are not satisfied we will go to court."