Resorts Fed Up With "Towel" Sunbed Reservations: Fines, Lawsuits and Beach Raids

Popular seaside resorts have launched an open crackdown on tourists who claim sunbeds at the crack of dawn with a towel, only to show up hours later. According to a YouGov survey, this habit is familiar to holidaymakers across many countries — and some cases have even ended up in court.

The survey unexpectedly shattered the stereotype that Germans are the worst offenders when it comes to hogging sunbeds. While Germans are indeed most often blamed for this behaviour (51% of Germans themselves and 46% of Britons think so), in reality only 38% of German tourists admitted to doing it. Meanwhile, 45% of both French and Italian respondents confessed to the same, while the British were the least likely to admit it, at just 33%.

Most respondents (between 60% and 82%, depending on the country) consider the practice unacceptable. At the same time, between 51% and 63% of tourists admitted they had personally been left without a sunbed because all the spots were taken by other people's belongings. And between 14% and 28% confessed to angrily removing someone else's towel to claim the spot for themselves.

Italy's "Umbrella Tricksters"

In Italy, people who leave umbrellas and loungers out overnight to secure a spot for the morning have earned their own nickname — "furbetti dell'ombrellone", or "beach tricksters". The practice is officially banned there, and the Italian coast guard regularly carries out raids as part of the nationwide Mare e Laghi Sicuri operation.

In late July, for instance, an early-morning raid on a popular free beach near Naples saw authorities confiscate 40 items of beach gear — umbrellas, sunbeds and beach chairs. Similar raids have taken place on the coasts of Apulia and Sardinia. Offenders face fines of up to €500, and getting confiscated items back is quite the bureaucratic hassle.

Court Sides with the Tourist

The issue gained widespread attention after German father-of-two David Eggert successfully sued a tour operator for compensation. According to him, during a ten-day stay at a five-star hotel in Greece in 2024, his entire family was never able to use a single one of the 400 poolside sunbeds — all of them sat empty for hours, "reserved" by other guests' towels.

A court in Hanover ordered the tour operator to pay Eggert €986.70 in compensation. The judges ruled that while a guest cannot expect guaranteed access to a sunbed at all times, the tour operator, together with the hotel, is obliged to put a system in place to prevent such conflicts.

Hotels Introduce Strict Rules

Many resorts are already rolling out their own measures against sunbed hogging: dedicated booking apps, warning stickers, patrol teams, and a strict 30-minute rule, after which an unattended sunbed is considered free.

Cruise line P&O Cruises uses a "lonely lounger" system: staff drape a beige cover over the back of an empty sunbed with a warning — if the owner doesn't return within half an hour, their belongings are taken to a designated collection point. American company Carnival Cruise Line, meanwhile, uses time-stamped stickers: a dedicated team monitors sunbeds, and if a spot with personal items remains empty for more than 40 minutes, the belongings are removed and stored until the owner returns.

Read also: 8 best swimming spots near Prague: lakes, quarries and beaches within an hour of the capital

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz