Holiday pool lounger etiquette - who’s right?

[BlueyTuesdays]

Intrigued what people think on this one.

On holiday abroad somewhere hot and sunny last week. Hotel pool had (not enough) loungers, pool towels were available at the pool and given out as you arrive.

YANBU : if you are vacating your lounger for whatever reason - going for a swim, a walk, the loo, a very long lunch (another issue maybe) then you need to leave something on your lounger as well as the hotel pool towel that says it’s still in use. Your book, your own towel, a pair of sunglasses, your bag, your shoes next to the lounger. Anything.

YABU - leaving the hotel issue towel and nothing else is sufficient to keep your lounger held for your use whilst you’re away from it.

TL:DR I took a lounger (no others obviously available) that had only a hotel towel on it and 2 hours later a cross man turned up and demanded his lounger back - was IBU?

This.

Everyone can understand this rule.

This. Though if a hotel has a problem with not enough loungers, they need to have a patrolling staff member and a clear policy, of no more than 90 mins away from lounger, or towel/belongings removed.

10 mins fine while you go to the rest room/collect something from the room or obviously while in the pool itself/buying a drink but otherwise it’s taking the mick reserving pool loungers and they are anyone’s who needs one

I disagree. If you're going off for lunch for an hour then you give up the bed.

I would have assumed a lounger with a hotel towel was taken.
However I think people are very unreasonable to put a towel down and then wander off for two hours.
I think that hotels and spas and the like should have rules in place for this kind of thing if there are not enough loungers to go around.

Why on earth are you shoehorning the war in the Middle East into a thread about sun loungers for goodness sake? It’s quite possible to chat about less important matters and still care about the people affected by the crisis.

Most places I've been to they collect the hotel towels up soon after anyone leaves a lounger to avoid people reserving them. I'd have put the towel in the correct receptacle and have said there was no towel on it when I arrived.

Last time we were on holiday, reserving loungers was not allowed, and towels would be removed if it happened.

10 mins is a bit stingy. I can be swimming in the pool for longer than that. It's not unreasonable to be able to swim for 20 min and get back to your lounger.
2 hours though is not on

Not at all.
Many people just leave the towel when they vacate the lounger for the day. They pack up their things and leave the pool towel behind.

Ah, I wasn't counting swimming in the pool. If you're in the pool area, swimming or getting a drink or whatever, it's fine to keep a lounger. It's people who expect to reserve a lounger and then go off to order a long lunch or a sightseeing trip who are the problem.

Thank god I've always booked places with plenty of sun beds and never had to experience the desperate measures some of you undertake.

Do you time people?

It all seems bizarre and aggressive.

Certainly not restful or relaxing.

@TeenToTwenties

I think being in the pool is the exception to the 10min rule.
Without stalking people, it's unlikely you would know where the person was.
They might be in the pool. They might be in the loo which is a 5 min walk away. 5 min there. 5 min back. 5 min doing your business.
They might be popping up to their room to get something.
These are all reasonable things to expect to be able to come back from and find your lounger still available

A round of golf not so much

Surely if they return dripping wet, you’d know where they’ve been?

YANBU.

If his stuff wasn't left there he wasn't using it.

I'm with you that if you aren't just popping to swim or loo etc then you aren't using it because you are away long enough not to leave your stuff behind!

A lunch break of up to an hr is fine. After that, it's taking the piss.
However, we stopped in a hotel this year that had a separate part for guests a royal level that always had beds available even in the peak times.

YABU if a towel is left on it.

If a towel is on a sun lounger then you leave it alone!!! Ffs

For two hours while they weren’t there? Unless u have popped to the loo then you should vacate the sun lounger. But this is why I stay in villas. I’m not playing that game daily

If a towel is on a sun lounger then you leave it alone!!! Ffs
You can't claim a sun lounger for two hours with a pool towel.

We went away a couple of weeks ago. There was a large family (about 12) who had the same loungers in the same spot for 3 days. Rarely there before 4pm and we actually saw them arrive back at the hotel from a trip at one point and then head straight to the pool (small complex with entrance/pool/bar all within a small area)

Their towels were left on the loungers overnight as we noticed night 2, which I thought was really selfish. On day 4 they came to reception while I was there and asked where their towels were. Receptionist said they'd sent them away with the hotel laundry as they'd classed them as abandoned and they wouldnt return until next day, laundered. They didn't appear by the pool for the rest of our holiday 😂I didn't hear the rest of the conversation but secretly hoped they were leaving that day, minus towels

Every single place I ever stayed you can.

Is that what I put? Sorry a pool towel card. Although maybe a poop card is an idea.

You get 20 minutes away from your lounger for a poop.