It started the way so many vacation squabbles do: with a towel, a sun lounger, and a person who just wanted to sit down. At a popular resort hotel this week, several guests said they found most pool chairs “reserved” from early morning until late afternoon—despite nobody actually using them. When questioned, the towel-placers reportedly shrugged and offered the same explanation: everyone knows that’s how it works.
The scene—half comedy, half low-grade social drama—sparked a steady stream of complaints at the front desk and a lively debate among guests about what counts as fair play on vacation. Is the chair yours because your towel got there first? Or does a chair only belong to someone who’s actually, you know, in it?
A pool deck full of “phantom guests”
By mid-morning, the pool area looked busy at a glance: rows of loungers topped with neatly folded towels, paperback books, and the occasional pair of sunglasses. But guests walking through said many of the chairs stayed empty for hours at a time. One family said they circled the pool twice before giving up and sitting on the edge with their feet in the water.
“It felt like the pool was fully booked, but the people weren’t,” said one guest, describing an almost eerie mismatch between the “claimed” chairs and the actual crowd. Another guest joked that the towels were having a better vacation than anyone else, “just soaking up the sun without paying for the room.”
“Everyone knows”: the unwritten rule that isn’t actually written
Guests who placed towels early in the day defended it as a standard resort ritual—part strategy, part tradition. In conversations around the pool, several said they’d learned to do it from other travelers. The logic is simple: chairs are limited, and if you don’t claim one early, you’ll spend the day wandering around like you’re searching for a parking spot at the mall.
But what surprised some visitors wasn’t that towel-reserving happened—it was how confidently it was presented as a universal rule. “Everyone knows” is a powerful phrase, but it’s also the kind of thing people say right before someone else replies, “Actually, I didn’t know, and I paid to be here too.”
How a small habit turns into a big headache
Hotel staff said the issue tends to snowball: once a few guests start reserving chairs at dawn, everyone else feels pressure to do the same. It’s less about being sneaky and more about not wanting to lose out. The end result is a pool deck that looks “taken” even when it isn’t actively being used.
That pressure can quietly change the vibe of a vacation. Instead of a slow morning and a relaxed stroll to the pool, guests feel like they have to set an alarm to compete in what one traveler called the “Sunbed Olympics.” It’s hard to feel carefree when your first activity of the day is tactical towel placement.
What the hotel says the policy is (and why it matters)
According to staff familiar with the situation, the hotel does have guidelines—though they may not be posted prominently enough to stop the towel economy from thriving. Many properties officially prohibit saving chairs for long stretches, especially when the chairs are unattended. In practice, enforcement can be inconsistent, partly because nobody wants a poolside confrontation to become the day’s main event.
Some guests said they were told chairs couldn’t be “held” for more than a certain period without someone present, while others said they received no clear answer. That inconsistency is where things get messy. When rules are vague, people default to whatever benefits them most, then call it “common sense.”
Enter the staff: towel tags, timers, and quiet diplomacy
To address the complaints, staff members at the resort reportedly began monitoring chair use more closely during peak hours. Some hotels use a simple system: they place a tag on unattended items with a time note, then remove them if nobody returns within a set window. It’s a low-drama way to say, “We’re not accusing you of anything, but we are keeping this moving.”
Guests who’ve seen this approach elsewhere say it works best when it’s predictable and evenly applied. If everyone knows the rule is “30 minutes and then your towel goes to lost-and-found,” people plan around it. The alternative—random enforcement—just encourages more early-morning chair-grabbing because nobody trusts the system.
Why people get so weird about pool chairs
There’s something about limited lounge chairs that brings out a very specific kind of vacation intensity. It’s not just the chair; it’s what the chair represents: the good spot, the shade, the proximity to the water, the feeling that you’ve secured your little slice of relaxation. When that feels threatened, otherwise reasonable adults can become surprisingly territorial over woven plastic and a view of the deep end.
Socially, it’s also awkward. Confronting someone about a towel can feel petty, even when you’re genuinely stuck without a place to sit. And towel reserving is subtle enough that it gives people plausible deniability: “I was just in the pool,” “I was grabbing breakfast,” “I was coming right back.” Sometimes they were. Sometimes… not so much.
Guests share their own “fair play” pool rules
Poolside conversations this week sounded like an informal town hall. Some guests argued that saving a chair for a short time is totally normal—bathroom breaks, a quick dip, a drink run. The frustration, they said, comes from chairs being held through long lunches, off-property excursions, or entire mornings spent anywhere but the pool.
Others said the fairest approach is simple: if you’re not using it, don’t claim it. A few guests proposed compromises, like designating a portion of chairs as “no-reserve” zones or adding more seating where possible. The most popular suggestion, though, was also the least glamorous: post the rule clearly and enforce it consistently.
What travelers can do without starting a poolside feud
If you run into a wall of empty-but-claimed chairs, the easiest first step is asking staff what the hotel’s policy actually is. Not in a dramatic way—just a straightforward, “Hey, is it okay to reserve chairs all day?” That gives the hotel a chance to clarify expectations without making you the towel police.
If the hotel does allow holding chairs, at least you’ll know you’re dealing with a system issue, not just rude neighbors. And if the policy says chairs can’t be saved for hours, staff can handle it more neutrally—moving items to a designated area rather than having guests argue face-to-face. Nobody wants their vacation memory to be “the day I fought a beach bag.”
In the meantime, seasoned travelers suggest a bit of flexibility: try different pool times, check for quieter areas, or ask if there’s overflow seating. It’s not as satisfying as winning the best lounger, but it can save you a lot of annoyance. And if you do score a chair, the golden rule seems to be: use it, enjoy it, and don’t let your towel be the one out there living rent-free all afternoon.
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