From lounges to live DJs to selfie points, the beach stuns their game. Goa News – Times of India

The state’s beach shacks, which over the past decade have gone beyond just offering dining facilities on the coast, have gone a step further this season. A stroll through the popular Calangute-Baga section reveals that the shacks now feature a lounge-like facility with sofas, fancy lighting, hookahs, live DJs as well as selfie-friendly “installations” for social media-inclined tourists .
The wind of change first blows along the coastline of Calangute and Baga, and these trends are eventually adopted by shanties on other beaches of the state, though with slightly less grandeur.
As the shacks open this season after nearly one and a half years of poor business, the competition for customers is intense. Colorful lights twinkle, enticing customers walking on the beach. Once in a while, customers find that the usual hard chairs have been replaced with sofas – at an additional cost, of course.
A shack operator in Calangute said he has paid Rs 2 lakh to install seven sofas, and guests using this lounge facility will have to pay a minimum bill of Rs 4,000.
Tourists eager to take selfies at electrified installations
There is so much competition, I must have a sofa, and to recover the cost, I have to charge extra. It’s not like I don’t take customers who have just a few beers and whose bill is less than Rs 1,000. If they have less spending power they can always use a humble table.”
The operator has directed its waiters to inform customers using the lounge that their bills should exceed Rs 4000 to avoid any misunderstanding later. “Probably, by next season, all the shacks will have couches, and we won’t be able to charge more. Let me earn some money this season,” he said.
However, what is really attractive in Calangute and Baga is the lighting by the shacks. In addition to some being “decorated like Christmas trees”, others have electrified installations in the shape of hearts, balloons and coconut trees, sometimes in front of huts across the area.
One operator said the lighting has been “improved” for the benefit of indigenous tourists as well as to beautify their shanties at night. “There are five pillars in blue in front of my hut, each costing Rs 5,000,” said an operator. “How can I do nothing when others have done it?”
While the jury is out on whether lighting actually makes shanties more beautiful or attracts customers, there is no doubt that electrified installations serve as an important backdrop for tourists clicking selfies. The heart-shaped ‘I love Goa’ is an enduring favorite.
Most of the operators declined to be named, as some have rented out their huts.
Some shanties have hired DJs to draw the crowd. “Any professional DJ charges Rs 3,000-4,000 for a night, while others can be hired for Rs 2,000 per night. I have a DJ whom I pay Rs 30,000 a month to play every night instead of on select nights during weekends and peak periods,” said an operator.
This year, they’ve followed in the footsteps of some of the bigger shacks by building a cabin for DJs. Those who can’t afford a DJ, he said, operate their own music systems, as all huts now have the facility, and most music plays until midnight, only to be turned off when the police arrive. .
Unsurprisingly, with intense competition, waiters, who work on a commission basis, often have to charm passing tourists by shouting menus of hard drinks to loud music.
Beach shack policy states that music must be turned off by 10 p.m.
Kishore from Uttarakhand, who works as a waiter in a Calangute hut, said, “Tourists are often confused by the heavy light decorations and tables and chairs, which sometimes cover the entire beach. They cannot separate one hut from another. Sometimes, they ask us why so many people (waiters) tell them the same thing over and over again. They treat all the huts as one unit.”
He also cautioned tourists wishing to smoke hookah to ask for the price before placing an order, lest they be charged Rs 1,000 for a bottle of Rs 500. “The price depends on the size of the bottle rather than the taste,” he said