Hotels handle this differently. Photo credit: Rachael Rogers11 on TikTok
Rachel Rogers, a British tourist on holiday in Spain has gone viral after filming herself at a Tenerife hotel pulling towels off sun loungers that had been left “reserved” but not actually being used. The clip has spread quickly online, with people split between calling it justified and saying she went too far.
In the video, she walks along rows of sunbeds around a busy pool area and removes towels that have been placed down but are not being used at the time. She films herself as she goes and talks directly to the camera, clearly aware she is making a point rather than quietly stepping in. At one stage she refers to the people responsible as “nasty sunbed hoggers”, a line that has since been clipped, reposted and repeated across social media.
The footage was taken at a hotel in Tenerife’s Playa de las Américas area, a resort where poolside space during peak season is often gone early in the day. Once the clip was posted, it moved quickly across platforms and picked up reactions, arguments and commentary along the way.
The reaction split immediately
There was no real middle ground on this one.
Some people watched it and said she had done what others think about doing but usually do not act on. One user said, “that’s exactly what the hotel should do,” arguing that unused sunbeds should not be left blocked for hours just because a towel has been placed on them.
Others were not convinced. One commenter said, “the fact there was like 200 chairs with no towels and you felt the need to police the pool yourself for 8 chairs is kinda weird,” questioning why there was any need to intervene when there was clearly plenty of space available. Another added, “be different if there weren’t any free sunbeds,” suggesting the reaction would depend entirely on how busy the area actually was.
Most viewers seemed to fall somewhere in between, recognising the situation immediately even if they did not fully agree with either side.
How the sunbed situation actually plays out
The routine is familiar in busy resorts. People wake up early in the morning, often before breakfast, and head down to the pool area. They place towels on sun loungers to secure a spot, then go back to their room, sometimes to sleep again, sometimes to get ready for the day.
By the time other guests arrive later in the morning, many of those sunbeds are already “claimed” but still empty. The towels stay there for hours, even though the people who put them down are not using them yet. It can leave large parts of the pool area looking occupied on paper but completely unused in reality.
Some hotels try to stop this by removing towels from unattended sunbeds after a set time. Others put up signs asking guests not to reserve loungers at all. In many places though, enforcement is inconsistent, so the habit continues and becomes part of the daily routine of the pool area.
Why people reacted so strongly
The video of course spread quickly because most people recognise the behaviour straight away. It is not specific to one hotel or one holiday. It is something that happens in resorts everywhere, especially during busy periods when demand for sunbeds is higher than supply.
That familiarity is what drives the reaction. People see it and immediately think of their own experiences, either struggling to find a lounger or watching rows of empty ones that have been “saved” early in the morning. One comment summed this up simply: “look at all the empty beds…”
Once that shared frustration is triggered, the debate tends to follow the same pattern. Some people see it as fair to challenge the behaviour directly. Others think it should never be handled by guests at all. One viewer added, “the hotel should do that,” reflecting the belief that enforcement should not fall on holidaymakers.
A familiar holiday standof
In the end, the clip is not unusual in itself. It is a small moment that happens in hotel pool areas every summer, just usually without anyone filming it.
Some guests wake up early and reserve sunbeds with towels. Others arrive later and find nowhere to sit. And occasionally, someone decides to do something about it.
That is what has turned this particular moment into a viral clip, not because it is rare, but because it is instantly recognisable to almost anyone who has spent time in a busy resort.
