The British say the Germans do it. The Germans say the British are actually worse. Whoever’s to blame, the European custom of reserving sunbeds with towels for ridiculously long periods seems to be infiltrating Australia, if scenes from this Brisbane hotel’s pool are to be believed.
A TikTok posted by a Melburnian holidaymaker in Brisbane staying at The Calile Hotel in Fortitude Valley (one of BrisVegas’ hippest hotels) shows that as early as 5:45 am, hotel guests were already out in force, plonking their towels down on sunbeds by the chic hotel’s pool in order to reserve them before other guests arrive.
Many of the spot-hoggers weren’t even sticking around to swim or sunbake, they were just there to reserve the spots for later. By 6:52 am, every single sunbed, cabana and spot by the pool had been snapped up.
This selfish, ‘un-Australian’ behaviour has been roundly criticised online – with some Aussies worried that this sort of behaviour, which has long been one of the worst aspects of holidaying in Europe, is starting to infect Australia.
WATCH the #poolwars at The Calile below.
The whole practice of people reserving spots by beaches or pools with their towels is a contentious one. Some call it common courtesy – others hate it. A Welsh bus driver even got arrested back in 2007 after gathering up 20 towels laid down by German tourists and setting fire to them on an Italian beach, Metro reports.
Personally, we sympathise with the Welsh bloke. Remember when back in 2020, an entrepreneur unveiled plans to build a private beach club on Bondi Beach, and Australians savaged him for it? This sort of slavish towel-spreading inspires similar feelings of rage.
RELATED: Bondi’s ‘Amalfi Coast’ Ambition Forgets Uncomfortable Truth About European Beach Culture
One of the best aspects of Australian swimming culture is its egalitarianism. There’s nothing wrong with reserving a spot with your towel if you’re having a swim or quickly going to the toilet – but getting up at sparrow’s fart so you can hog a sunbed for hours is poor form.
We also want to know what sorts of psychos are waking up that early while on holiday…
It’s not all bad news, though. Reportedly, The Calile is enforcing a new rule that says if sunbeds are left unoccupied for longer than 15 minutes, they will be reallocated to other guests.
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