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Louise Thomas

Editor

Tourists at holiday resorts across Spain have been filmed sprinting to secure the best poolside spot this summer.

The peak season practice – often called “sunbed wars” – returns every summer, with reservation etiquette a great debate.

This year, holidaymakers at Ohtels Vila Romana in Salou have been racing to reserve recliners before breakfast.

Several social media users have filmed their fellow guests running to the pool early in the morning in fear of missing out on a coveted lounger.

One TikTok video, posted by @kirstyp89 with the caption “crazy people” on Tuesday showed tourists clutching towels, bags and inflatables as they queued for staff to open the doors to the poolside.

Dozens of holidaymakers, including Brits, are then seen sprinting from the lobby to secure a sunbed next to one of the resort’s two swimming pools.

A similar clip captioned “Salou Sunbed Wars Idiots” was shared by Garath McKeown of Vila Romana’s morning chaos in Tarragona.

The sunbed race clip of people throwing towels onto beds was posted three days ago and already has over 1.8 million views.

TikTok users were quick to condemn the sunbed reservation system in the comments.

“We were there last week, the amount of people who ‘reserve’ sunbeds all day and don’t use them is ridiculous! We couldn’t get a sun lounger or even just a chair most days, so we went to the beach,” wrote one user.

Another commented: “I remove the towels of people who are not there. Simple.”

Some hotels have outright banned the towel reservation trend and staff will remove towels and possessions left on loungers early in the morning if no people are present.

In July, sunbed wars escalated in Calpe, Spain with tourists warned not to reserve a beach bed in the early morning or risk a fine.

The seaside town in Costa Blanca is dissuading tourists from setting up at sunrise with fines of up to €250 (£210) to halt sunbed wars in peak season.

Those who continue to pitch up on beaches on the Calpe coast, including Arenal-Bol and Playa de la Fossa, face losing their belongings to local police.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast.

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