New scam in the “towel war” on Mallorca
Tourists in Mallorca have apparently found a new way to get a deck chair as early as possible. Towels also play a role here.
The fight for sun loungers at the hotel pools on Spanish holiday islands has reached a new dimension. While it used to be early risers who tried to reserve their deck chair with a towel during the night, there seems to be a new trend in the “towel war”.
The British newspaper “Mirror” reports on the attempt by guests in the holiday resort of Camp de Mar in Mallorca to be in the front row before reaching the swimming area. Pictures from a hotel show British tourists apparently laying towels on the floor in front of the locked door to the pool. Apparently they want to reserve the position they have in the morning when the doors to the pool are opened.
A hotel guest told The Mirror that the hotel’s doors were locked on purpose to curb the early-morning sun-lounger frenzy. “So people put their towels on the floor like in a queue in front of the door before it opened,” the tourist told the newspaper. There were no young people, but rather older guests and those of middle age.
He took a picture of the stairs leading to the pool entrance. Nine folded towels can be seen on it. But there should have been more. The owners would have sat outside the picture area. “I don’t know when they started, but when we went to breakfast at 6:30 a.m., the towels were already there.”
Run on sunbeds also in the Canary Islands
Only recently, a video on Tiktok caused a stir showing a real run on the sun loungers in a hotel in Tenerife – when the barriers were opened at 7.47 a.m. You can see some guests even tossing their towels on the lounge chairs to secure their spot.
In Thailand, too, reservations are made on the ground
By the way, travelers could have copied the idea of pre-reservation on the ground from Thailand. Because there it is common for authorities and other institutions to put down their shoes in a row in front of the counter and then go to the waiting area. This keeps the passages free and often avoids standing around for a long time until you are finally called. In banks, however, the system has now been replaced by the assignment of numbers – maybe a solution for hotels as well?
You can also reserve loungers
The fact that guests are always coming up with new ideas to get a berth could also be due to the high demand. “People have been waiting for their vacation for a long time due to the corona pandemic and perhaps have the feeling even more than before that they have to get everything out of their vacation,” said tourism expert Alexis Papathanassis last year.
A hotel on Tenerife is said to have even commissioned a pool sheriff to collect towels again early in the morning: Reservations are only possible there from 10 a.m. in the morning. If you want to save yourself the morning stress, you can simply ask at reception. The travel agency Tui recently told t-online that its hotels usually have enough sun loungers for everyone.
The staff is also happy to set up additional loungers or help to clear loungers that are apparently no longer used, says spokesman Aage Dünhaupt. In some hotel complexes you can also reserve a lounger for a fee. It’s becoming increasingly popular, he says. At Club Med there are usually enough loungers, says a spokeswoman. In smaller facilities, it is forbidden to reserve loungers.
