If there’s one thing I try to avoid when picking out a hotel for vacation it’s the ‘resort factory’ – the kind of large place where you have to get down to the beach or pool before 8 a.m. and place a book or towel out to have any hope of getting a chair.

The term for this first struck me years ago at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman. It was supposed to be a nice property, commanding room rates over $1,000 a weekend night in peak season. But if you didn’t put out that book early, you’d wind up four rows back from the beach.

One group of Brits took things to new extremes at the GF Fañabé Hotel in Tenerife, Spain. Instead of reserving loungers by leaving towels on them very early in the morning or maybe a book, they slept overnight on the chairs to guarantee a spot for the next day. They brought pillows and blankets, turning the spots into makeshift beds, and settled in. (HT: One Mile at a Time)

A couple of decades ago I won a four-night stay at the El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico. It was part of Wyndham at the time, and later a Waldorf Astoria Collection property. I enjoyed dozing off at night on the balcony of my junior suite down by the water. But I couldn’t imagine sleeping on a beach chair just to ensure I had one for my holiday. That’s dedication. It’s also… not a holiday.

Indeed, I’ve never understood buying a plane ticket and paying for a resort – and then having to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning just to reserve a pool or beach chair in order to ‘relax’. That puts me out of step with many travelers who flock to resorts where this is the standard.

Just this. Its 7 AM and everything is “taken”.
byu/Krytykx2 inmildlyinfuriating

And how did placing your belongings on a chair to reserve it, when you won’t be back for hours, even become a norm? It’s one thing when your stuff is on a chair and you go to the bathroom or to get a drink. “Saving chairs” for hours with towels or belongings is not acceptable. If hotel staff won’t address it, vigilantism seems like an option – just remove all the towels from loungers.

Otherwise you get scenes like this one. At the Spring Hotel Bitacora in Tenerife here’s video of guests literally lining up at 6:30 a.m. – waiting 90 minutes for the hotel’s pool gates to open at 8 a.m. – so they can storm this relaxation area like it’s Black Friday at Walmart in order to avoid missing out on a chair for the day.

@chloeturner_1 Another day another sunbed war 😂 #holiday #tenerife #playadelasamericas #sunbeds ♬ original sound – Chloe Turner

In Tenerife, Spain I suppose this would be called “the running of the guests.”

Here’s one dad trying to be a Vacation Hero for his family’s relaxation by the pool – by sprinting from lounge chair to lounge chair, putting a towel on it to mark territory.

If you’re like me, and this isn’t how you want to spend your vacation, research your spots carefully and avoid places where this is necessary – or acceptable.