German, French, even British tourists are at it – the ‘sunbed wars’ and why the conflict is escalating

Britons call them the “beach towel brigade”. In hotels across Europe, some tourists – let’s face it, often Germans – like to get up early to reserve a sunbed by the pool by putting down their towel. That is unrelated to how much time they plan to spend by the pool. Even if they’re heading out on a trip for a couple of hours, in the mind of the German tourist, that sun lounger is theirs for the rest of the day, not to be touched by anybody else. This tends to elicit a range of responses, from bewilderment to amusement and rage. In 1994, British beer maker Carling Brewing made an advert featuring a throng of German tourists racing to a hotel pool while a Brit hurls a towel from a window that skims across the pool before unrolling on a sun lounger to reveal a can of beer inside. 4 flights, several trains, 9 days: London-Bangkok for US$990. A bargain? YouTube is packed with videos on the subject, from the “Sunbed Wars” to “Swimming Pool Stampede for Sunbeds”. And industry insiders say the fight for loungers is tougher than ever. “People have waited a long time for their holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic and perhaps they feel even more than before that they have to get everything out of their vacation,” says tourism specialist Alexis Papathanassis. At the same time, many popular destinations are struggling with a shortage of staff, meaning services are likely to be restricted, he says, so minor nuisances like someone reserving a sunbed for the day may weigh more heavily on people’s minds. As director of a college in Germany where he teaches business administration and tourism, Papathanassis has researched the phenomenon at length. A hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife, loved by German holidaymakers, has hired a pool sheriff to monitor the problem. People hear something is in short supply, then their behavioural response means it comes to be in short supply Tourism specialist Alexis Papathanassis A TikTok video shows staff freeing up sunbeds people have tried to reserve before 10am, leaving a notice for owners of confiscated towels. The hotel decided to make its own video after a guest filmed staff clearing the loungers. Responses have been very positive, but it’s a tough balancing act for hotels that want to keep all guests happy, including the towel brigade. Tour operators and hotel chains approached for comment on how they deal with the towel brigade were reserved on the issue. French hotel chain Accor says it has no guidelines on the issue of “reserving pool loungers”. ‘Pure chaos’: how Maldives’ whale shark tourism puts animals’ lives at risk German travel operator Tui says its hotels usually have enough sunbeds for everyone. Staff have also been instructed to set up more on request, or help clear sunbeds that do not appear to be in use, spokesperson Aage Dünhaupt says. In some places, tourists can reserve a more luxurious sunbed plus canopy for a fee, a model that is becoming increasingly popular, according to the spokesperson. In 2019, Papathanassis and colleague Stephanie Boecker published a series of papers on the issue, analysing dozens of sources and comments online and interviewing 28 tourists. Many holidaymakers fear poolside sunbeds will be scarce due to media reports so race to reserve one first thing in the morning, the analysts concluded. One of the best places to see wild tigers in India, a conservation success Papathanassis says it is a bit like the early days of the pandemic, when people suddenly started to hoard toilet paper, which then sold out in many places. “People hear something is in short supply, then their behavioural response means it comes to be in short supply,” he says. People also assume others think the same way they do, he adds. Further issues such as the desire for security and a routine also come into play when people reserve sunbeds, he says. The situation does not appear likely to change any time soon, while it seems that tourists around the world have rolled their eyes, shrugged and accepted the fact that Germans reign the pool. What’s Buckingham Palace really like? Inside the British royals’ State Rooms Or do they? A spokesperson for French travel operator Club Med sees a clear correlation between the number of German tourists and the number of sunbeds reserved by the pool. At Club Med Kamarina, on the Italian island of Sicily, the notice banning the reservation of sunbeds is the only one that has been translated into German. But others question whether Germans are the only offenders. Brits are also “fierce actors in the towel wars”, Accor says in its travel magazine. French, Greek and British tourists are all often eager to lay out a towel first thing in the morning, Papathanassis and his team found. A Miss Longan contest? Thai town celebrates the fruit like nowhere else The trouble is that other people often hesitate to remove a towel from a sunbed that appears to be occupied “out of fear of a confrontation with an angry sunbed blocker”, the researchers say. Instead, frustration builds up, meaning most people prefer clear rules that are then enforced, as in the hotel on Tenerife. Although YouTube videos tend to suggest many are amused by the daily pool run, Papathanassis believes the topic doesn’t deserve all the attention it gets. “I also do research on tax evasion and money laundering, on alcohol, crime and sexual violence in the tourism industry. These are really scandalous issues that need to be addressed – but the most attention revolves around the sunbed wars.” Given the industry’s larger problems, towels are not such a big deal, in his view.