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For some the first sign of summer is the sun rising earlier. For others it’s the smell of barbecues. But for us, it’s the sprouting up of sunbed wars at all-inclusive resorts across the world.
The hardy perennial entertains thousands every year as Brits rise earlier than they would if they were at home to get the best loungers by the pool.
This year’s first sunbed war happened at a resort in Lanzarote, accompanied with the battle cry ‘you picked on the wrong person’ and threats of speaking to the manager.
The spat at the Hyde Park Lane hotel was caught on camera by Callum Lines, 31, after a Scottish woman marched over to a woman on a sunbed declaring that she had taken her spot.
The resort doesn’t let people reserve loungers – as evidenced by a sign just out of shot – so the woman she is berating gestures at her saying ‘turn around and walk away.
Callum said: ‘The Scottish lady said they had been using those beds all week, accusing the couple lying down of moving their items.
‘The Scottish lady left to apparently seek management but they never showed up.’
It was at this point Callum got involved, referring to the woman as a Karen, sparking the woman’s fury.
She told him: ‘Don’t be cheeky, don’t be smart mouthed either. You don’t know who you’re talking to and you don’t know who we’re here with.’
Callum responded: ‘Ronnie Pickering?’
He added: ‘I’ve always got two pence to share even when it’s probably not required, but you come away for a rest and some relaxation.
‘There were plenty more available beds – all with equal sun exposure – so this really wasn’t needed.’
Lanzarote is far from the only holiday resort which deals with sunbed hogging on a regular basis, with some taking drastic measures to prevent it.
Last year, drones were deployed across ‘beach-hogging’ hotspots in Greece, including Corfu and the region around Athens.
Members of the public use an app to report people placing towels and reserving patches of beach in restricted areas – and the Greek government said it issued about €350,000 (£296,000) worth of fines in a five day period last summer.
Locals on the island of Paros even launched a ‘Towel Movement’ in 2023 to try and reclaim their beaches.
Spain also rolled out new measures against sunbed hoggers last summer, with authorities in Calpe, Alicante, handing out €250 (£211) fines to people who reserve the beach with towels, chairs or umbrellas before 9.30am.
Spanish tourism industry leaders said they wouldn’t tolerate ‘empty but reserved’ loungers – and with ongoing anti-tourist sentiment growing in the country, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this sentiment grow throughout the summer 2025 season.
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