Vacationer sparks debate after admitting she removed ALL the reserved towels from the hotel pool
Poolside Revenge! Vacationer sparks furious etiquette debate by admitting she removed ALL ‘reserved’ towels from hotel pool chairs after getting annoyed with people occupying spots
- Redditor @rabbit12 said she found it impossible to find free lounge chairs
- This was because ‘most of the spots were taken up by towels’, but some were never used
- To prevent the chair from flipping, she removed the towels from each lounger
- It seems her tactic worked, with the user revealing, “By the end of the week, a board would remove unattended towels.”
Things are getting busier as we head into the holiday season, and etiquette regarding beach towels on sunbeds remains a hot topic, as one vacationer’s recent Reddit thread proves.
Editor @rabbit12 revealed how on a trip to an all-inclusive resort, she found it impossible to find free lounge chairs on the beach or sea because “most spots were occupied by towels.”
To her frustration, she found that many of the chairs remained reserved “almost all day” or were “never used” and when she tried to get some towels from two sun loungers, a few showed up four hours later and “kick”[ed] us off with the help of an attendant.’
In an effort to counteract the weight of the chair, she decided to ‘take the towels off every unattended lounger after breakfast’.
Redditor @rabbit12 revealed that she found it impossible to find free lounge chairs on the beach or sea because ‘most of the spots were taken up by towels’ – so she removed them (stock image)
She then went to “watch the chaos” from her balcony.
She said that as a result of her antics “a lot of people complained and by the end of the week there was a sign that unattended towels would be removed.”
‘Good luck!’ she exclaimed.
The Redditor’s holiday story quickly sparked a furious debate, with over 900 comments.
One commenter applauded her actions, writing: “I’m British and I endorse your petty revenge. Beautifully orchestrated I might say.’
A less supportive Redditor advised @rabbit12 to pay some money and rent a cabana, as this gives you “the freedom to leave it empty for periods, rent a cabana.”
Many commentators shared their own sun-soaked horror stories.
One of them said, ‘I live in Aruba and see this madness going on all winter. People get up at 4 a.m. to put towels on chairs and line up to reserve a palapa.”
Many Reddit commenters shared their own tanning bed horror stories (stock image)
Another holidaymaker reminisced: ‘I stayed in a hotel in Tenerife a few years ago and it was hotel policy for staff to remove towels/belongings from sun loungers after clearly not using them for 30 minutes.
“We had a lot of fun every morning watching from our balcony as irate guests stampede at a member of staff to report their missing items, to learn what really happened!”
A Redditor offering a possible solution to tanning bed sweats describes a policy they witnessed at a hotel in Cyprus.
They explained, “The hotel did the recliner assignments every morning—two per room, and they rotated the “best” spots.
“You don’t have to reserve them with towels, you literally had to go to the concierge desk and ask which two seats were yours that day.”
“You might end up on the beach, or right next to the pool, or squashed next to a rock or the toilets. But you can’t complain, because tomorrow you have other seats. What a good policy!’
One traveler said they’d never seen this “all-day toweling habit,” with resorts in Mexico and Hawaii taking a more civilized and relaxed approach.
However, they said a friend showed them YouTube videos of ‘Europeans doing this and it was crazy’.
They concluded: ‘I think the hotels have a no dibs policy until 7am, and there’s a line of people waiting to claim a lounger. As soon as the clock strikes 7, there’s a bum and within seconds, every seat has been spoken for. It’s wild!’