22-07-2025
British mother on holiday in Spain causes outrage after reserving EIGHT sunbeds for her family at the pool - before going out for the day
A mother has been caught up in the great sunbed debate after revealing she gets up early to reserve eight loungers for her family - before heading off for breakfast and a shopping trip.
Stephanie is currently on holiday in Fuerteventura in Las Palmas, Spain, with her partner and six children, and has faced a common dilemma affecting holidaymakers across the continent - the battle for a spot around the pool.
The 29-year-old mother from Wales revealed her answer to securing sun loungers is to wake up at the crack of dawn to place towels on the beds, before going about her morning as normal.
Posting a clip of her strategy on TikTok, Stephanie argued she has a 'big family' and so needs to take drastic measures to ensure they're all comfortable during the day.
The video - which racked up 120,000 views - was met with criticism from viewers who questioned why she had taken up spaces at the pool during the height of summer.
Stephanie told her followers: 'First things first, we have to claim our sunbeds at the pool area. We have come as a big family so we have to be there early.'
However, instead of spending the first hours of daylight soaking up the Spanish rays, took her brood out for breakfast and a shopping trip - while their towels remained on the empty sunbeds.
The family travelled into the town where they tucked into a traditional English breakfast at a cafe they had visited 'every single day' of the trip so far.
She said the baked beans, sausages, black pudding, bacon, hash browns, tomato, toast and eggs were 'amazing', while her children opted to tuck into a frittata and pancakes.
After tucking into their cooked breakfasts, the family set off on a shopping trip in the area, searching for holiday souvenirs in tourist shops.
But it wasn't until they'd finished purchasing clothes that they returned to their hotel, where they then enjoyed the pool and the loungers, after seemingly spending a couple of hours sightseeing.
This angered some viewers who commented their thoughts on the clip, with one writing: 'I can't believe you claim the sunbeds and then leave.'
Another penned: 'Why claim sun beds if you're going out for the day?'
A third said: 'All hotels should do the same thing. After 30 minutes of not being on sun lounger, towels are removed and other people get them.'
A fourth commented: 'Sorry but your towels would be in the pool.'
Elsewhere on her profile, Stephanie - who is a 'mummy to five boys and one girl' -was also unclear about whether her annual leave had been approved by her work.
She filmed her Ryanair flight taking off and said: 'Too late when you're in another country.'
Stephanie also wrote in another clip 'School: Your child is absent' and accompanied it with a video of her young daughter paddling around the pool in the resort.
'[She's] living her best life,' the content creator wrote.
The reignition of the sun lounger debate comes as the UK regions with the worst offenders for sun bed snatchers was revealed - with the West Midlands topping the list.
Brits who live in this area are most likely to get up early when they're on holiday in order to reserve their sunbed.
This was closely followed by people living in England's North West and North East, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The results come from a YouGov survey of more than 2,500 UK adults, who were asked about their part in the so-called 'sunbed wars'.
Those living in the South West and Yorkshire and the Humber are least likely to spring out of bed to snatch a lounger.
Across the UK, 12 per cent of those asked admitted to this behaviour – with people in Northern Ireland and Wales just above the UK average, and Scotland coming in at 10 per cent.
Though over one in ten revealed this habit, it marks a decrease from the 72 per cent who admitted doing so five years ago, according to GetYourGuide, an online marketplace for travel activities.
Benjy Potter, a spokesperson for the company, said this shows that 'the days of getting up at the crack of dawn to simply sit are fading fast' – though footage on social media from this summer shows the dawn scramble is very much still a thing.
Sunbed snatchers: Which area is guilty of breaking poolside rules?
Region % of those of admit to waking upearly to reserve a lounger
West Midlands 15
Wales 13
North East England 13
North West England 13
Northern Ireland 13
East of England 12
London 12
South East England 12
East Midlands 10
Scotland 10
Yorkshire and the Humber 8
South West England 8
But it seems that some habits are harder to break.
The research revealed that almost a quarter of Brits still indulge in a full English breakfast at the airport before jetting off.
Booze has been given a brush-off, with 30 per cent of UK travellers saying they drink less alcohol on holiday now than they did five years ago.
Only 12 per cent admit having a tipple at the airport before flying, with those in the North East (18 per cent) most likely to hit up Wetherspoons for a pint.
