How do you save a table at breakfast? Row with other guest

[PJHarvey]

So you're staying in a hotel with one other person, and breakfast is a buffet where you can choose your own table. How do you save your spot?

• take turns going up to get food, so there's always someone at the table.
• both go up together but leave some belongings there, like a jacket or sunglasses.
• something else to indicate your presence (if so what?)

I had a pretty unpleasant encounter with a horrible man this morning over this, and am wondering who is in the wrong.

Jacket or take it in turns. Or one goes to get orange juice for both then leave them on the table so you can go up together

I'd take in turns.

Recently did AI holiday alone with a four year old.

First day he made me carry him round the buffet cos he was shy and tired, so I put the first round of food on the table one handed and went back for more.

Overly efficient staff had cleared it up by the time we got back with toast.

Eventually I managed to leave him at the table with the first round of food while I went back to the buffet for mine.

Needed a sign in Greek to say "Oi, lone parent juggling, please leave this food here"...

Get a coffee or juice on your way in. Leave that on the table. Sorted.

This.

Interesting he was willing to shout and try to intimidate you until your DH arrived. He was a bully.

After being shouted at by a rather rude and aggressive Russian man in Turkey many years ago, I always leave a handbag on the table, my equivalent of a towel on the sun lounger.

Thing is though, the bag is totally empty and only used for the purpose of territory marking 😜 as it would be really easy for someone to steal it.

Always left a belonging. Or drink on table

Take it in turns - leaving anything could just mean they’ve forgotten it. Then you might get someone who accuses you of breaking it/going into your bag/other nonsense and I cba with that.

I grab an orange juice and put that on table.

The coffee idea only works if the hotel restaurant has a coffee machine. Last two holidays where I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, waiters came round to pour coffee if you wanted some or more. Plus had another insulated jug of hot water if you picked up a tea bag. This was Valencia and North Cyprus.

Usually I go on holiday on a tour with other fellow single travellers. We share tables as otherwise 25-28 people sitting on their own will take up about half of the tables in the restaurant!

Exactly. I wouldn’t have apologised either. A folded napkin?! Was he joking 🤣🤣🤣

I mess up the cutlery leaving it placed horizontally rather than vertically on the surface, also do something with the serviette placement and adjust the chair to a slight sideways angle - as well as leaving something obvious on the table.
(well practiced doing this for half of every year)

I’m American.
Rude and disrespectful behavior is universal.
What’s rude in Europe is also rude in the US.
I’m sorry.

Jesus a folded napkin doesn’t indicate you are taking the table. When I’m away I leave my bag, book or coat on the table or one of us stays there. I would have told the guy to back off and go away . Have to stay in experience it’s always the Americans trying to get their own way too.

Thanks @DreamTheMoors and of course he's not representative of Americans in general. I just found the whole thing so strange!

We take it in turns it leaves no room for confusion, leave a pair of sunglasses on the table someone could simply have forgotten them the same with a coat on a chair.

We have a routine.

I choose a table and sits there whilst dh gets us drinks or the waiter brings us drinks. When we have drinks we both leave the table as we wish, but I leave belongings as well to emphasise the situation.

A folded napkin does not cut the mustard.

I do hope you gave him the folded napkin to take to his new table, since he clearly had an emotional attachment to it.

I wonder if “what an entitled arsehole plonker “ translates well?

I had this happen to me, only it was a full meal in the evening, children needed a wee when we were halfway through, when we got back from the toilet, our meals were gone. I went to ask why they took it away, they made some reason about nobody being there, I said we've been at the toilet for about 3 minutes and all of our stuff is at the table still, and the meals were very clearly not finished. Anyway, the bloody kitchen had closed so couldn't get more food, so I asked for a refund. I was so cross. There was no option to get food elsewhere either as we were on a ship!

I was speaking to one of our son's as he has worked in the USA and visited about 40 times inc hols - and we've been about 15/17 times - never have we heard of such BS re "folded napkin."
IMO, the bloke made up his own rules like a proper, entitled American

Funnily, as we are asian - we had a flight delayed once returning from Florida, about 15 years ago and all of us were put up in a hotel - we went to our rooms and our one of our sons and our daughter decided to go down stairs to have a quick look where we were gong to eat - coming back up there was an American couple, husband and wife we assumed - they said to our daughter and son "damn English people have no manners."!! Not realising we, our son and daughter were on hols from london/england. The lol and said we too are from England they all lol - when they told us we lol - apparently many on our plane were on a big fropu hols, all loud/etc

Thankfully, a rare event for all of us we booked what is now, economy plus and were away from the noise

Therefore, our lot have a reputation over there as they do in many other EU countries especially spain

I am convivned the man was taking the piss and bullying you and your OH - staff should have stepped in, if not f=dont go there again

I wouldn’t assume a folded napkin or another small item meant a table was reserved.

One time I sat down at a table on which someone had accidentally left their gloves. I picked them up and handed them to a waitress, saying a previous customer has lost these. Then I sat down and started enjoying my coffee and cake.

A few minutes later two angry ladies confronted me and demanded their table, which they claimed to have reserved with gloves! I said “you’re nuts love” and carried on eating my cake. So they went and got the manager, who said he couldn’t make me move but they could share my table. Then they started demanding a refund because there was nowhere else to sit and I wouldn’t move.

both go up together but leave some belongings there, like a jacket or sunglasses.

This one

I either leave something on the table or I wouldn’t go up until the waiter had taken my coffee order. Then when the tea/coffee had been delivered, then I’d go up.

Take it in turns unless it is a massive hotel with big queues, which in case I would expect there to be plenty of tables so no need to even choose one before you sit down. But in a smaller establishment take in turns is the best option.

Ive never heard of the folded napkin thing. But if it WAS to become the norm, its actually a great idea - better than "bagsie" a table by leaving a jacket or gloves (which might be interpreted as havibg been forgotten) or a coffee (interpreted by waiter as left behind as not required). Would all be much easier if smiley and polite "Excuse me, thats our table, I just stepped away to go to the buffet..." rather than "oi you, shift yer arse, thats MINE!!!"