Towels On Sunbeds

[thepartysover]

Opening a potential can of worms here...

If someone has left a towel on a sunbed (to reserve it) but they clearly aren't around - ie it's just the towel, no other belongings - is it okay to move it?

Perhaps one for WWYD!

Yes. I have done this plenty of times. But only if sunbed was unattended after half an hour. We went to a resort last year where they removed all items off sun beds if unused for an hour. It worked well. Mine were removed once, just popped to the towel desk, picked up my stuff and relocated to a free lounger. There were plenty. I hate it when people reserve loungers. I think you can
Articulately get away with moving their towel I'd the towels are the hotel ones as they often come around and move them anyway.

I wouldn't move it, but I think its sad when you hear a noise at about 5 in the morning and you look outside your hotel room and there are all these shadowy shapes rushing around putting towels on sun loungers.

I don't understand why some people have to revolve their whole holiday around lying on a sun lounger.

My husband has chucked towels aside in the past. Especially when it's obvious that the people have gone on a trip and won't be back for hours.

Good to hear. I'm asking as - judging by trip advisor reviews of the place we're going to be staying - it's a bit of a problem. The hotel has notices saying reserving sunbeds is forbidden but it's not enforced.

Ohh I wrote a trip advisor review about this a few weeks ago - we stayed at a resort where people would get up at 5am (i am an early riser) and reserve the sun beds which were limited on the beachfront (right outside out apartment) and some would use them - others wouldn't and they would reserve sun beds for babies and kids as well so 4 or 5 at a time. I had a response from the management suggesting that they had tried to remove towels from sun beds if they were not being used - but had to stop due to complaints and abuse from customers.

Its a no-no in my book and makes me cross - if you are using them fine! But just reserving them in case you want them is selfish in my opinion and prevents other people from using them if you are not there.

water my husband is the moral type who didn't go as far as chucking the towels off the sun beds but would have done if I had wanted one. He did however have a rant about people that do it and upset the neighbours in the next door apartment - it worked though they did stop putting their towels out!

we've gone mad. I used to be a rep and the first thing the kids group did when you took them to the pool was reserve sunbeds with their possessions. At which point I loudly told them 'no, that's rude' and made them put their stuff in a tidy pile, knowing full well that their parents were listening!

sunbeds are reserved with a person lying on them. Hotels should put up a notice saying so.

that said, usually the trick is to go to the beach rather than the pool. The water will be much cleaner too.

specialsubject, which nationality were the worst for getting their kids to put towels on the sunbeds?

My sister was a holiday rep for a couple of years and she said the worst culprits for sunbed-towelling were the British. I absolutely hate it, it's infuriating and selfish.

The last hotel we stayed in on holiday had a policy of removing the towels if they were left unattended for more than an hour or so, plus they would actually take your towels and find you a lounger.

all the kids were British! And from following the forums for the company concerned (All British clients) it is getting worse.

the idea that this is a German thing is long superseded.

Yes Brits are worse.
Cruises have really good towel hogging policies, where staff will move your towel after an hour if a lounger is left unoccupied.

Slightly of topic but when I was in Corfu a group of people had some loungers and an umbrella on the beach. A couple come along and put their loungers in the shade of the other people's umbrella. There was a huge row about whose 'bit of shade' it was. DH and I couldn't decide who was in the wrong.

So what do we think - wait a reasonable time (an hour?) and then move the towels?

Chicken - I can imagine having that debate! I'd end up chasing my tail I think.

I don't think you should move the towels ( well I think you morally should) because you are going to get another family shouting at you and then it's sods law you will keep bumping into them during the entire holiday.

Plus most people will put books and flip-flops etc on top of their towels.

I have no qualms about removing towels if the sunbed has been unoccupied for an hour.

I've never been challenged about it yet either. Even the time I moved 4 towels (not hotel ones, their own towels), snorkels, masks, armbands and sun lotion and put then in a big pile on a nearby piece of grass.

I once got a beautifully passive aggressive " well, that's not very nice". I didn't realise it was addressed to me so blipped over it. It was repeated but this time I deliberately ignored it.

If you have paid for the parasol, then it is your shade. It really pisses me off when people do this and I can't move my bed into the shade because some cheapskate has encroached.

As for British reserving of sunbeds, it is very telling of what sort of person you are. I recently posted a You Tube video of Brits doing this in a very nice hotel...it's embarrassing.

The people had their loungers in the sun, then their umbrella and the shady bit was about 8 feet up the beach. I couldn't help think how much space do they need? The couple that took the shade were Spanish and it turned into a full blown row. I was pretending to read.

My DH recently grabbed me a sun lounger that someone (unknown to us) had reserved with an ashtray ffs! He obviously thought that someone had just plonked it there when they left. The obnoxious man waited for my DH to go to the bar and then came down to shout and verbally abuse me and physically tip all my stuff all over the floor! I was very shaken ( I am 5ft tall and have problems standing, this 'man' was huge) DH, usually a very mild mannered man went to give the horrible man a piece of his mind.

Ah, well that is different Chicken, they clearly weren't using their shade.
Although, if they were wanting to use it at any point then they would probably have lost their parasol if they were that far away. (Parasols only really good for midday)

I normally get up for an early swim on holiday so I do bag a couple of beds but I'm lying on one reading then dh troops down with the kids when they all wake up.
We started going camping a few years ago after years of hotel holidays and I love it because we take our own folding chairs to the pool or beach.

As an ex rep here then I can also say Brits are generally the worst for sunbed reserving.
I would also say don't remove belongings yourself, get the hotel to do it. Because then when the owners of the belongings come back then you can say that the hotel offered you these sun beds when there were none other available, and also the hotel will hold the belongings and they can go and get them.
You don't want to be accused of things being stolen

I fail to see why hotels cannot print a room number on two loungers so that everyone staying at the hotel has an allotted pair. the problem is they don't have enough loungers for all the clientele usually.

Saying that Istayed in St. Lucia once and each room on the ground floor had a small patio outside their French doors with two loungers on it. You paid extra for the terrace and sea view. We came back from the beach one day to find two Italian women sunbathing topless on our loungers! They were staying in the room above with a balcony. Fecking cheek!

Good point littlemonkey. I think the issue where I'm going is just towels (though as you have to pay a deposit to get the hotel ones I'm not sure why anyone would just leave them for hours on end).

That is such a good idea Wally. That is funny about someone using your beds though, did you turf them off?

Well my husband did! They looked me up and down like i was something they'd scraped off their shoe, and tried to sweet talk my husband while gesticulating and duck pouting.

He's too Yorkshire dour and thick skinned to get flirting though! He nearly turned them out of the lounger. He was more concerned about having somewhere to hang out his dive gear!

I prefer to rent properties than stay in resorts these days tbh. No lounger wars and I can let my belly hang out like overhanging pastry on a pie lid!