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.

We usually tag team in situations like this, or if I was a single person, I would leave something on the table to indicate it was taken.

I remember seeing someone once sat at a table, fold their napkin and pop off to the all you can eat breakfast. If I hadn't seen them do that, I would have thought the table was unoccupied and now reading your post wonder if it was the same person 😆 or is at an actual thing we don't know about? 😬😂

We have been to quite a few hotels around the world where the wait staff will unfold napkins to indicate the table was taken… but it’s more for the other wait staff - I don’t think all patrons would notice…I would see an unfolded napkin and assume the table had been used.

Can’t remember the last time I went to a hotel and the host didn’t allocate you a table, don’t you tell them your room number and get shown to your seat? I was going to say I’d put my napkin in the table as though it’s been used: eg usually unfolded and loose to the left of your place setting (or wherever is obviously not where most napkins are) but I understand this has caused confusion. Never taken it in turns though.

I think hotels should devise a system for this, some sort of 'reserved' or 'occupied' sign, a little flag you can stand up or a wooden spoon with occupied, even an occupied/vacant sliding thing.

I think you’ll find that under the rules of the international code of etiquette, the prerogative of seemingly single women to blank rude shouty men always outranks even the most obvious of napkin tilt signal codes.

I’d have said “ oh dear you’ve drunk my orange juice, I’d dissolved my medication in it” and asked away. CFs

Blazer, jacket or cardigan on the back of the chair. Is this somewhere with no table service or breakfast staff? Usually there’s tea/coffee service. I’d probably take it in turns with buffet to save having to take handbag if table isn’t within sight.

Take turns if with someone else; if dining alone, I always take a book so I leave my book on the table.

Just googled significance of folded napkin. Apparently Jesus had one on his tomb, and it came to mean he would come back, ie resurrection……well I have learnt something

The thing that's really baffling me is that napkins start folded. Unfolding one wouldn't be a great signal, but it would at least indicate someone had been there. But changing a folded napkin to one folded in a slightly¹ different way wouldn't even register to most observers. It's the sort of thing James Bond might do to send a secret signal, not a clear staking of a claim.

¹ I'm assuming it was just in half or something, and that the OP would have mentioned if he'd origamied it into a duck, or a scale model of the Eiffel tower.

Take turns until we have some drinks or food set out. Once you have a drink or a plate of food it should be pretty obvious that your well into setting up camp.

nope never heard of the napkin thing he just sounds rude

Normally there is a restaurant host who allocates a table as would arrive? Checks room no etc? I don’t see how someone could sit at your table if you are already ‘in’ the restaurant area?!

Plenty of hotels just check your room number at the door and leave you to it.

He's a Dick.

We were in Italy earlier this year and were mortified by an American who turned up and looked at the five-star Italian breakfast and said 'where is the main breakfast?'

Um, it was all there: yoghurts, fruits, breads and croissants etc, smoothies, cooked breakfast under warmers, plus a chef to cook eggs, porridge, etc....

Normally the hotel staff take you to a table so they should know which is free. Then I just leave the key on the table as a marker.

Not in, let’s say, a premier inn they don’t

And I can’t remember the last time i got a key not a key card!

Take it in turns or - if on my own - try to leave a scarf or jumper on the table

Perhaps you could have responded by advising the American that you had turned the fork around prior to his napkin shenanigans thus he stole the table from you?

in all seriousness, old mate would need to be careful if he shouted at my wife. It could be a health hazard for him.

Any of those. But I don't think I've ever stayed a hotel where there weren't enough tables.

Bizarrely had this issue a few weeks back. We found a nice table and I plonked my belongings on the table. We went to the buffet and returned and a woman was sitting at the table with my belongings!

Fortunately there were loads of tables about so we sat at next one over, but I had the embarrassing task of walking up to the table to collect my stuff!

To be honest, if there were other tables, you, the original poster, could have apologised for the confusion, and moved.

Never heard of this as a “signal”. This guy was clearly an entitled, misogynistic twat. Did his DD look mortified?

In a hotel we would take turns, but on cruises we’ve noticed people unfold the napkin and place it over the back of the chair or on the table while they’re at the buffet. It was probably a genuine misunderstanding but he was rude to shout at you.

We take turns at leaving the table but get stuff for both of us.
So one person leaves the table and gets two juices, the other then leaves and gets two coffees.
Sort of like a buffet relay

Yeah, of course he slunk away when another man turned up.
He wouldn't have kicked off at all if it had been your DH there first.

Knobhead bully 😐