BRITS have gone to new extremes to secure their sunbeds on their holidays by sleeping on them the night before to bag the best spot.
Holidaymaker Ben Smith, 30, was left reeling while on his summer getaway when he discovered the bizarre spectacle, calling it a “vicious circle”.
Brits have gone to new extremes to secure their sunbeds while on holiday[/caption]
Some have bagged the best spots by sleeping on them through the night[/caption]
Ben Smith, 30, was left reeling after making the discovery while in Tenerife[/caption]
The so-called “sunbed wars” are a common headache at holiday resorts this summer, with tourists resorting to various tactics to secure prime poolside spots.
The latest battleground is in Tenerife, where Ben spotted that the best loungers at his hotel had already been snapped up three hours before the pool was due to open.
Fellow holidaymakers had apparently slept on the sunbeds overnight to bag the best places and were snapped snoozing on them while it was still dark outside.
He captured footage of the shocking scenes at the four-star GF Fanabe hotel.
Ben, from Sheffield, had just begun a two-week stay at the £259-per-night resort on Monday, August 21 when he made the discovery.
‘A bit silly’
Ben told Luxury Travel Daily the lengths other guests had taken to secure their spot was “a bit silly”.
“People sleep on sun loungers to reserve their spot,” he said.
“They reserve the beds, but the hotel has a policy that if your bed is left unattended, they will remove the towels – so they just lay in them.
“Some even look to be asleep. It’s a bit silly. I do get why people do it, but it’s a vicious circle, so to speak.”
‘It’s mostly selfishness’
He added that it was those acting “selfishly” who were creating the problem in the first place.
“They’re the ones creating the problem that they’re aiming to avoid.”
“If people didn’t reserve beds they didn’t need, then there wouldn’t be an issue.
“I haven’t seen the beds anywhere near full in terms of people, just towels.
“We got one bed between three of us the other day, and a lady kindly said we could have one of hers – it wasn’t being used and she told us to take her towel off.
“I mean, in a sense, it’s nice of her, but in another, why is her towel on it when she’s not using it? It’s mostly selfishness.”
GF Fanabe Hotel has been approached for comment.
Sunbed wars
The sunbed wars have shown no signs of letting up this summer either.
The Sun recently reported on the wild moment a woman starts screaming at fellow tourists after accusing them of “stealing” her sunbed at hotel pool on the popular Canary Island.
The footage shows a woman furiously grabbing her bag from the sunbed before pointing and confronting a group of tourists who had supposedly taken her spot.
Experts weigh in on whether you should reserve your sunbed with a towel on holiday
EVERY summer, hotels become the sites of frantic battles, as guests try to reserve the best loungers with their towels first thing in the morning.
But etiquette and elegance expert Katarina, who shares her expert opinions about manners on TikTok at @katarina.etiquette, says people need to be less selfish and more considerate of other hotel guests.
In the footage, she said: “If you’re staying at a hotel, avoid blocking the sunbeds if you’re not planning on staying. It’s disrespectful toward other guests.
“Unless the hotel has a reservation system in place, only occupy the sunbeds when you’re staying by the pool.”
Renowned etiquette expert, William Hanson, believes there is a 30-minute grace period on poolside reservations.
This is where hotel guests can use a towel or a book to reserve a spot for no longer than half an hour.
William told the Sun Online Travel: “In the morning, at the start of the day, and you’re by the pool after breakfast, then it’s fine at 8.30 to put your towel on the bed to reserve your spot.
“But later on in the day after you’ve used the lounger, and go off for a massage, for example, which is going to be an hour, then you can’t use a towel to reserve the sun lounger.”
If you’re grabbing some grub at lunchtime, William said holidaymakers are allowed to eat at the hotel bar or restaurant providing you’re not gone longer than 30 minutes.
He said: “It also gives your towel time to dry off.”
William said despite the grace period, “You can’t hog the sun lounger for the entire day.”
Meanwhile, Laura Akano, the Principal Coach and Trainer at Polished Manners doesn’t believe holidaymakers have a right to reserve a lounger at all.
She told the Sun Online Travel: “I think it should be a first come first serve basis – if the resort doesn’t have a booking system.”
A Brit also revealed this month how she was never able to get a sunbed thanks to competitive morning dashes while she was on holiday in Spain.
She watched masses of guests gather around the pool gates before 9 am, who would then charge forward and hurl their towels onto sunbeds to secure their spot.
And a mother-of-six came under fire in last month after claiming sunbeds for her family first thing in the morning – only to then head out for the day.