Canary Islands sunlounger wars erupt as Tenerife hotel employs ‘sunbed police’
A hotel in southern Tenerife has made a splash online after introducing what holidaymakers have jokingly dubbed "sunbed police" to keep order during the daily scramble for a prime spot by the pool. The scenes, filmed by British holidaymaker Hope Davies during her stay at a hotel in Playa de las Américas, show dozens of guests queuing as early as 7.30am to access the pool area.
In the video, shared on TikTok, a security guard stands watch over the entrance, ensuring that nobody reserves a sunbed before the official opening time. Then, when the barrier is lifted at exactly 8am, around 40 guests can be seen racing towards the loungers in a bid to secure the best spot for the day. "I woke up early, so I watched the queue forming from about 7.30am while everyone waited for the gates to open at 8am," Ms Davies said.
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"Then everyone was allowed in to put their towels on the sunbeds for the day. There were about 40 people running for the loungers," she told The Sun.
It wasn't long before the video went viral, with dozens of people taking to the comments to share their thoughts. One said: "Imagine this for two weeks, it would be torture. Never understood people who go on holidays like this."
Another said: "Very sad, not my idea of a holiday!"
"It's like letting kids into a free candy store," a third wrote.
Often dubbed the "Dawn Dash," guests in holiday hotspots across Europe, including Greece and Spain's mainland and islands, have been known to set their alarms as early as 5am to sprint to the pool area, quickly draping towels and setting out books or hats to claim prime holiday real estate.
Frustrated by the scarcity of prime spots in the sun or shade, some tourists controversially reserve multiple beds for family members who won't arrive for hours.
The practice causes immense frustration and has led to verbal disputes and even physical altercations. As a result, European courts have ruled that failing to manage sunbed reserving constitutes a breach of the package holiday contract. Last month, a German court ordered a major tour operator to pay a family an £850 refund after they found all loungers reserved by empty towels every morning.