Holidaymakers filmed lining up early in the morning to put their towels on sunbeds in Benidorm

Holidaymakers in Spain were filmed getting up early and queuing for a sun lounger at a hotel.

Every summer, hotels become the scene of frantic battles as guests try to reserve the best loungers with their towels first thing in the morning.

2

At a hotel in Benidorm, guests were already filmed getting up early to get their towels down and reserve their spot.

In a video shared on TikTok by vacationer Iain Railton (@iaingr79), a steady stream of people can be observed leaving their markers at the poolside at 8:27 a.m.

Though it’s early in the morning the footage showed numerous hotel guests in bathing suits and with towels in the hotel lobby.

As Iain walked to the pool, he followed a line of people who were already queuing for a coveted poolside seat.

Holidaymakers were then filmed laying their towels on the sun loungers – many of the beds were already occupied when Iain came out.

Even though the footage has only been viewed a few hundred times, it’s already a sign of the inevitable sunbed wars this year.

In recent weeks, other holidaymakers in Spain have been filmed fighting for sunbeds at dawn.

Thomas Clifford (@thomaswclifford) captured the footage while on vacation in Tenerife and shared it online.

In the videoYou can see people queuing around the pool before making their way to the best spots to make sure they put down their towels.

The footage begins with a close-up of Thomas’ watch, showing the attack on the sunbeds at 7:47 a.m.

More than 3,000 users have seen the video since it was posted online, and some were stunned by what they saw.

One wrote: “This is not a holiday.”

Another said: “Oh my god, hideous!”

In response to some comments, Thomas said people were acting like snipers “by throwing their towels off the stairs.”

In the summer months, quarrels in the solarium are common, but there are some rules that should be observed.

Renowned etiquette expert William Hanson posits that there’s a 30-minute grace period for poolside reservations.

Here hotel guests can reserve a seat for a maximum of half an hour with a towel or a book.

William told Sun Online Travel: “In the morning, early in the day, and you’re at the pool after breakfast, then it’s okay to put your towel on the bed at 8.30am to reserve your spot.”

“But later in the day, after you’ve used the lounger and go, for example, to a massage that will last an hour, you can’t reserve the sun lounger with a towel.”

If you want to grab a bite to eat at lunchtime, William says holidaymakers are allowed to eat in the hotel bar or restaurant as long as they aren’t gone more than 30 minutes.

He said: “It also gives your towel time to dry.”

Despite the grace period, William said: “You can’t sit on the sun lounger all day.”

In the meantime, Laura Akanothe Polished Manners head coach and trainer, who’s also an etiquette expert, doesn’t think vacationers have any right to reserve a lounger.

She told Sun Online Travel: “I think it should be on a first come, first served basis – if the resort doesn’t have a booking system.”

From Laura’s point of view, the only sensible way to reserve a lounger by the pool is to use a booking system.

Staff at a Tenerife hotel were caught picking them up after cheeky tourists threw their belongings away and left.

2