If I was in charge of sunloungers…

[SunSunSunGimmeSun]

…the front row (next to the pool) would be non-reservable. Only to be used by those people with children currently in the pool. No phones or books. “Eyes on”

All further back rows would be free for anyone, but they’d each feature a timer. If you leave your lounger, you’ve got 15 minutes ‘grace’ while you nip to the loo, go get a drink, drag child from pool, etc.

After those 15 minutes, a very loud alarm would sound, your things would be scooped up and piled into the Sin Bin.

I know, I know, you want to sit with your family, and it takes longer than 15 minutes to get your lunch, yadda yadda yadda… but if no one was hoarding loungers, there’d be plenty to go around; when you got back from your lunch, you’d find a row of lovely empty space, not rows and rows of abandoned towels.

<gavel>

I too get the rage when people reserve the best beds then piss off out for the whole morning expecting to rock up mid afternoon and claim their spot. If we're having a pool day, we use our beds all day but definitely spend plenty of time in the pool, or go for lunch. Sometimes away for an hour. I don't think that's unreasonable. It's just the folk that reserve beds at 7am then don't use them until after 2 that infuriate me.

Incidentally, I always find Greece much more relaxed and people don't tend to reserve beds in the same way. Most Greek hotels/resorts we've visited let anyone use the pool as long as they buy a drink from the bar.

I just remove the towel if I want to sit on it. No one has had the balls to get angry at me yet

Might I suggest Sandals if your going to the Caribbean… get a room with a butler and they claim your chair in the morning. When you come to the pool your loungers are set up with a little cooler for juice and water.

It’s heaven.

Sunbeds savers are the worst.

Interestingly with a room overlooking the pool, those creeping down at dawn with two towels are nearly all men…married to insistent wives I think🤔

Selfish to save a bed and disappear. Surely, if everyone used them and took their stuff when they moved…there would be no need to save them, because beds would be available.

My answer is to swap all of the saved towels around and remove some back to the ‘kiosk’, causes havoc and no one can shout at me because I'm not on someone else bed. When people return to ‘their’ bed, with someone else/someone else’s stuff on it, it is a bit like watching a game of musical chairs…just the ‘cross sunbed hogger’ version.

People may want to swim for longer than 15 mins.
having said that, I only go places where i either have my own pool, or small hotels with sufficient sun loungers…

I recently stayed at a hotel where when I would come down as the first guest (more or less) for breakfast at 8am - all of the sunbeds would already be reserved with bags and towels and things.

No one else would be at breakfast, but 50 loungers reserved.

Very boring.

We usually avoid hotels and book villas with our own pool, other people on holiday isn’t our idea of relaxing when we’ve gone away with the dc.
Went to a hotel last time just dh and I went away and there were more than enough sunbeds, set out in 2s with a little table between although you could move them if you were in a group if you wanted. And an umbrella between each pair aswell. we went outside of ‘school holiday season’ and the hotel had 3 big pools so it was pretty quiet. Plus we only ever really do an afternoon or a morning at the pool for a few days, other than that we’re out and about. That video makes me question why people go on holiday, it looks cramped and claustrophobic, the beds are all jammed up next to each other 😱

I'd give preference to those who could speak some of the local language. Such people would always get a space!

I've seen this done in quite a few places, but the trouble is that the staff then get screamed at by those who don't appreciate anything but having their own way at all times

It seems to work best on cruise ships though, probably because folk know they can (and do) leave anyone who gets really abusive behind in the next port

All I can think after reading this OP is that my strategy of prioritising saving enough for a private villa with pool for our summer holidays has been the correct thing to do.

I get round this issue by not staying in massive hotels but spending my money instead renting a nice sun lounger with a cushion on the beach for the day, where nice people will bring coffee/water/rose/cocktails as appropriate during the day and no bugger will move my towel, even if I go 20 metres to have lunch for a couple of hours. Even all the years we did Eurocamp I don't recall any sunbed stress.

Or a comedy device that tips people out into the pool when they've been on the sun lounger too long?

O wait sorry that's the opposite problem to the one you're describing.

I'd put enough loungers out for guests at the hotel, not just two per room when a load of the rooms can sleep 3 or 4. And some special toddler arrangement that means they can sleep on that and not take up an adult-sized lounger.