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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Milo Boyd

Tourists caught in 'absolutely ridiculous' war to reserve sunloungers by hotel pool

Tourists were caught securing their spot by the pool - the night before they went to lay out in the sun.

The year's sunbed wars have well and truly begun, with videos of a number of outrageous clashes circulating online in the early weeks of the season.

In May a clip began circulating of the 7.47am rush in Tenerife, where a crowd of tourists were spotted racing to the pool area to reserve sun loungers by the pool.

One hotel worker was spotted intervening in the scramble by lifting a towel off a sunbed, to ensure unnaturally early risers weren't able to claim too much of an advantage.

Now it seems that the ante has been upped ever further at a hotel in Majorca, where people were caught reserving an entire row of seats, for an entire week.

Have you been caught up in the sunbed wars? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The scandalous move was captured by TikToker Gillian who said she saw the incident unfolding at 7pm at night - a very unusual time for this kind of behaviour to take place.

"It's 7 o'clock at night, and these people reserve their sunbeds for the whole week. They don't move them," she said alongside footage of holidaymakers.

Gillian filmed the scene unfolding from the position of her balcony, showing a full row of beach chairs by the pool, each of them ladened with towels.

She continued: "They lie there so you can't get a sunbed. It is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."

The video prompted a great deal of fury from those who have experienced what it's like to spend the day beside the pool without access to a lounger, having not deployed military grade tactics to secure one.

“Throw all the towels in the sea. Then you can have any sun lounger you want," one person advised.

Another said: “This is the hotel management’s fault. They should have a no reservation policy and have someone remove it before a certain time like 9am.”

A third added: “I would get up in the morning. Keep an eye on it and if no one gets back to their bed within half an hour and bags etc aren’t there I would remove the towel myself.”

Each year the sunbed wars breakout at resorts where the demand for lounger outstrips the supply. In a bid to stop night-time guerrilla tactics, some hotels remove any towels placed on deck chairs before a certain time.

Last year Brits on holiday in Majorca have been caught laying out their towels as early as 5am in a bid to get the best spot.

Mum Rebekah posted a video on Instagram showing the swathes of towels left on the ground by guests in an effort to reserve a space, hours sunbeds could even be booked.

In the video she jokes: "Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the British efforts from this year’s annual ‘Sun-bed Showdown’. More tactical, skilled and hated than ANY sports team in the world…"

"Cue the mass gathering of towels from as early as 5am to gain a prime spot round the pool and if you’re really lucky grab a parasol.

"The more dedicated of the team even stake out on these towels until unlock time. No towel down by 7am no poolside space for your family.

"Think of it as a British hybrid version of musical chairs meets the Hunger Games. Forget the lie-in and prepare to become immersed in the game!"

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