Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 1

40-Plus Guests Sprint for Pool Loungers at Spanish Resort as Daily 9 a.m. Rush Goes Viral

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 1

40-Plus Guests Sprint for Pool Loungers at Spanish Resort as Daily 9 a.m. Rush Goes Viral

Q: Is reserving a sunbed a savvy holiday hack or the ultimate act of poolside selfishness?

In most cases, reserving a sunbed with a towel and then leaving it unused for hours is poolside selfishness, not a clever hack. The Salou scenes show why. Guests were queuing before 9 a.m., then sprinting to claim loungers they often did not use immediately. That behavior locks up a shared amenity and leaves later arrivals with no realistic chance of finding a seat. Travel complaints and even court action in Europe show this is more than a minor annoyance; it can materially damage the holiday experience. There is a narrow case for calling it a “hack”: in resorts where management fails to enforce rules and there are too few loungers, guests often feel they must join in or lose out. Experts increasingly describe this as a system failure as much as a manners problem. Scarcity, weak enforcement and fear of missing out create the daily “towel wars.” The practical answer is not to normalize chair hogging but to manage access fairly. Cruise lines such as Norwegian have begun removing items from unattended loungers after about an hour, and passengers have largely welcomed it. Some hotels are also introducing digital reservation systems that let guests book loungers transparently and automatically release no-shows. A reasonable standard is simple: briefly leaving a chair for a swim or drink is normal; claiming it and disappearing for breakfast or back to your room is not. If resorts want to end the scramble, they need clear rules, enough seating and staff willing to enforce them.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 1

More than 40 guests lined up outside a Salou resort pool before 9 a.m. on June 24, then rushed in to claim loungers with towels and bags as soon as the gates opened.
Chris, a 34-year-old tourist from Glasgow who filmed the scene, said the scramble happened every day of his week-long stay, with some guests queuing for an hour.
Many reserved chairs and then returned to their rooms or went to breakfast, leaving rows of loungers occupied long before anyone actually used them.
The rush reflects a wider summer-travel fight over "chair hogs" at resorts and cruise ships; Norwegian Cruise Line has started removing unattended items after about an hour.