If you work in the beach industry or own a beach resort, you’ve surely considered purchasing professional umbrellas. These are umbrellas that you don’t have to renew every year or that break right in the middle of the summer season.
This guide aims to be a help for you, created by a company with 70 years of experience in producing professional beach umbrellas and loungers. These tips are the result of many years of “questions and requests” from customers and partners, which we wanted to summarize to give you a comprehensive guide in your choice.
Let’s see together what differences there are between a professional beach umbrella and a commercial one (some aspects I’m sure you’ve never considered).
Definition of Beach Umbrellas
Beach umbrellas are an essential element for those operating in the tourism business who want to provide their customers with maximum comfort.
We divide beach umbrellas into two categories:
- Professional
- Commercial
Professional Umbrellas
Professional beach umbrellas are designed to withstand daily wear and tear and weather conditions. For example, when we wanted to create a unique product and a true ally for tourism industry operators, we didn’t stop at this, but we went further.
For example, nikobeach beach umbrellas:
- They are resistant to UV rays
- They have an elastic structure capable of deforming with wind stress, collective use, and acts of vandalism
- They are made with high-quality materials, such as anodized aluminum and Tempotest® fabric, which guarantee greater durability and resistance.
- They have automatic opening and closing mechanisms with hand-saving devices and emergency closure in any condition
- They have the possibility to adjust the umbrella’s tilt angle and add accessories like ashtrays, numberings, and pendants to increase shade when the sun is lower on the horizon, especially in the final stages of the tourist season.
Commercial Umbrellas
Commercial beach umbrellas are designed to be more affordable. They don’t have great claims. Surely they are less reliable, suitable for individuals, and for those who don’t have a business to manage.
They are made with less expensive materials, such as iron and cotton or polyester fabric, and are less resistant and durable compared to professional umbrellas.
The biggest problems with commercial beach umbrellas are:
- Lack of assistance and spare parts
- Almost certainly they will need to be replaced within two years
- They tend to fade in the sun
But if you operate in the tourism business, you will have already evaluated these things.
So let’s get into specifics: we want to go beyond and provide you with all the indications to consider when choosing your professional umbrellas.
Beach Umbrellas Materials: How they Impact Quality
The choice of materials is a determining factor in the quality of a beach umbrella. In particular, the frame and the cover are the most important parts to consider.
What characteristics to consider
Frame
The beach umbrella frame can be made of various materials. The most common ones are:
- Aluminum
- Steel
- Wood
- Fiberglass
Aluminum is lightweight and resistant to corrosion, but it can bend in case of strong wind. Steel is sturdy and resistant, but it can rust if not adequately treated.
Nikobeach professional beach umbrellas, for example, have an anodized aluminum frame of suitable thickness to resist the wind and harmonically galvanized and painted steel ribs to resist corrosion.
We avoid using wood because, although resistant and with a pleasant aesthetic appearance, it requires constant maintenance. Fiberglass is lightweight and resistant, but it is expensive and difficult to match with other materials, often causing breakage points at the junctions.
Beach Umbrellas Canopy
The beach umbrella canopy can be made of various materials: the most common ones are polyester, cotton, and acrylic.
Polyester is the cheapest and durable material, but it can fade without adequate UV protection and hardens after prolonged exposure to sunlight. Cotton is soft and cool to the touch, but it requires constant maintenance and can easily stain with resin, dust, insect and bird droppings, and then it is difficult to remove stains without dismantling the umbrella cover.
Acrylic is UV resistant and has a more elegant appearance, unfortunately, it is quite expensive.
As you may have guessed, professional beach umbrellas use high-quality materials to guarantee maximum resistance and durability over time and to be a good partner for your tourism business.
Construction of Beach Umbrellas
One piece of advice? Keep an eye on construction quality. We are not just referring to the use of good materials, but also to the actual construction itself. Cheap umbrellas are made in factories of questionable quality.
So what to analyze when choosing your professional beach umbrellas?
Fabrics and UV Protection
The fabrics used in beach umbrellas range from lightweight and breathable to heavier and more resistant ones.
The most common fabrics are polyester and nylon, which offer good protection from the sun’s UV rays. However, high-quality fabrics, such as PVC-coated polyester or acrylic fabric, offer even greater protection from UV rays and greater resistance to wear.
Professional beach umbrellas are often treated with a protective coating that helps prevent fabric fading and deterioration due to sun and weather exposure. Protective and water-repellent products are available on the market, which is good practice to spray regularly on fabrics after washing.
Structures and Durability
Beach umbrella structures can vary from light and portable to heavier and more durable ones.
Professional structures (like those from nikobeach) are often made of materials such as aluminum and harmonic steel, assembled with stainless steel components, which offer greater strength and durability than the plastic structures of economical models.
The plastic components of professional products are also made of 100% virgin material without the use of recycled plastic (quite common in imported products): the difference is felt after a few years of exposure to weather agents where the presence of recycled plastic produces material crumbling.
Nikobeach umbrella plastic components are printed using only virgin nylon pellets to which graphite is added, making the piece self-lubricating and extremely resistant to UV rays.
Functionality and Design
Functionality and design are two fundamental aspects to consider when choosing a beach umbrella, whether professional or economical.
Let’s see what the main differences are between the two types of umbrellas.
Opening and Closing Mechanisms
Professional beach umbrellas are equipped with more sophisticated opening and closing mechanisms than economical ones.
This means that opening and closing the umbrella is faster and simpler, which is particularly useful when you want to contain the beach opening and closing duration or when you need to close quickly in case of sudden weather changes.
Bases and Anchors
Professional beach umbrella bases and anchors are much sturdier than those of economical umbrellas.
This means that professional umbrellas can withstand strong winds and remain stable even in adverse weather conditions. Commercial umbrellas, on the other hand, can easily fly away or break in strong winds.
Professional bases and anchors are usually made of stabilized polypropylene, a material that guarantees the right elasticity and is very resistant to ultraviolet rays and impacts.
Wind Resistance and Stability
Also wind resistance and stability are also two fundamental factors to consider when choosing a beach umbrella. Professional beach umbrellas are designed to withstand stronger winds than economical ones.
Professional umbrellas are equipped with stabilization mechanisms, such as air vent valves or special profiles with curved ribs that make them even more stable.
Accessories
The implementation of accessories is also a nice difference to consider between professional beach umbrellas and economical ones. Professional umbrellas can be enriched with accessories such as ashtrays with removable fireproof tray and numberings, useless for private use.
Construction Systems
Beach umbrellas can be built with different systems, including central pole ones or those with lateral arms.
Professional beach umbrellas do not adopt a lateral arm opening system, which would offer less stability and wind resistance compared to central pole systems.
Professional beach umbrellas can also include an adjustable tilt system, which allows you to adjust the umbrella’s angle to adapt it to the sun’s position.
Construction Type
Professional beach umbrellas are often built with high-quality materials, such as aluminum, which make them lightweight but resistant.
Professional beach umbrellas often also include a high-quality fabric cover, which offers greater UV protection and lasts longer than covers made of cheap fabric.
Weight and Portability
Professional beach umbrellas are heavier than economical umbrellas and therefore require a base with suitable characteristics.
Forget about the water-filled container or the manual drill to plant the umbrella in the sand: these accessories are suitable for lightweight umbrellas that do not have adequate features for community use.
In addition, professional beach umbrellas do not include a carry bag to transport the umbrella on the beach, a completely useless accessory for professional use.
Price and Market Value
As you can imagine, price and relative value are two important factors to consider.
Professional Price Range
Professional beach umbrellas are “apparently” in a high price range because they are designed to last long term and offer a series of advantages that a commercial umbrella does not provide.
The term “apparently” applies because, for example, nikobeach umbrellas you buy once and they can even last 20 years. So, more than an expense, they are a long-term investment.
Economic Price Range
On the other hand, economical beach umbrellas, you buy them once and… well, good luck. They will fade, they will break, they will almost certainly not withstand acts of vandalism or too lively children.
They are fine for an individual, but not for those who manage a tourism and hospitality business.
Maintenance and Durability
When choosing a beach umbrella, durability and maintenance are also important factors to consider.
For cheap beach umbrellas, maintenance is practically useless because once they break, they are difficult to repair.
If you choose a professional option, instead, you will have the opportunity to have regular maintenance and be followed by those who built them.
Prevention of Wear and Damage
The umbrella must be carefully washed with a pressure washer at the end of the season, left to dry completely (to prevent mold formation) before storing it vertically with the tip down, like a rain umbrella. Before new use, it is good practice to wash again with water to remove dust.
Solid Company to Rely On
To conclude this guide, we left this topic at the end. It seems trivial, but it is not. One thing is to buy imported beach umbrellas, and another thing is to buy them from someone with twenty years of experience in the tourism field.
You will always be able to count on:
- Personalized assistance
- Choice of colors and customizations of your brand
- Multi-year warranty on purchased products
Frequently Asked Questions
What features make a professional beach umbrella more wind resistant?
Professional beach umbrellas are built with high-quality materials and are designed to withstand strong wind gusts. The umbrella structure is usually made of aluminum with stainless steel components, which ensures resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Additionally, the umbrella is equipped with a heavy base or adequately planted in the ground to keep it stable even in strong winds.
How do the materials used in professional beach umbrellas differ from those in commercial ones?
Professional beach umbrellas are built with high-quality materials that guarantee durability and resistance to wear. The umbrella structure is usually made of aluminum or stainless steel, while the canopy is made of water-resistant and UV-resistant fabrics. Economical beach umbrellas, on the other hand, are often made with low-quality materials that deteriorate quickly.
What are the advantages of a professional beach umbrella over a commercial one in terms of durability?
Professional beach umbrellas are designed to last long and withstand the most challenging outdoor conditions. They are built with high-quality materials that guarantee resistance to wear and corrosion.
Additionally, the umbrella structure is designed to ensure maximum stability, even in the presence of strong winds, and can be immediately closed safely by anyone in any condition without the use of buttons or cranks.
Economical beach umbrellas, on the other hand, are often made with low-quality materials that deteriorate quickly and do not guarantee the same stability.
How does the structure of professional beach umbrellas ensure greater stability?
The structure of professional beach umbrellas is designed to ensure maximum stability even in the presence of strong winds. The umbrella structure is usually made of aluminum or stainless steel, which ensures resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Additionally, the umbrella is equipped with a heavy base that keeps it stable even in strong winds.
What is the price range for a high-quality professional beach umbrella?
The price of professional beach umbrellas varies depending on the size, materials used, and specific features of the umbrella. However, it is possible to find high-quality beach umbrellas starting from 150 euros/dollars.
How to identify a professional beach umbrella compared to a commercial one when making a purchase?
To identify a professional beach umbrella compared to a commercial one, it is necessary to pay attention to the materials used in the construction of the umbrella. Professional beach umbrellas are usually made with high-quality materials, such as aluminum or stainless steel.
In contrast, cheap beach umbrellas are often made with low-quality materials and have galvanized iron components. Additionally, professional beach umbrellas are equipped with a heavy base that ensures maximum stability, even in strong winds, while economical ones have containers to fill with water or manual drills for the sand, absolutely insufficient for professional use.
