Bed, Breakfast And Sun Lounger
The British tend to have a stereotyped view of Germans when it comes to poolside holidays – they’re the ones who rise at dawn to lay claim to the sun-loungers in the best spots.
But this early morning ritual of ‘the draping of the towel’ may be a thing of the past as the travel firm Thomas Cook is giving some German guests the option of pre-booking their sun beds when they choose their next Mediterranean holiday package.
Nine hotels in places such as Turkey, Egypt and the Canary Islands have signed up to the scheme, which Thomas Cook hopes will end the perceived ‘beach towel wars’ between holidaymakers. For 3 euros (£2.50 / $4) a day, the client can pay in advance for a sun lounger and umbrella.
At the moment, the scheme applies only to some winter holidays booked in Germany, but it could be extended if it proves popular.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook, which is German-owned, said: “With this we’re relieving our clients of early morning stress.”
Predictably, this story has attracted many comments on message boards, with several saying that the British are as bad as the Germans, if not worse, when it comes to the dawn raids on sun beds.
One writer puts forward the view that hotels should provide enough poolside loungers and shade for 98 per cent of the total number of guests their hotel can accommodate. Another said that on holiday in Tenerife some years ago, a pool attendant collected any towels left on sun beds that had been unoccupied for one hour. They had to be collected from the hotel’s poolside office.
by Andy Moreton
