The great sun-lounger debate 

This is a complicated question, with no easy answers. At heart, it boils down to issues of realpolitik, game theory, and the gap between the world of ideals and the world as it is. In an ideal situation, nobody cheats, everyone is kind, and children listen to their parents. But this is not how life is. So, we must modify our behavior—even if it makes us squirm—to acknowledge certain real-world constraints. 

One such constraint is that at a lot of hotel pools, barring a miracle, if you don’t reserve your sun lounger with a towel, you will not get a lounger. This is not an ideal system. But it’s the system we have. It’s a bit of game theory: If everyone claimed a lounger only when actually using it, the pool would run like clockwork. But because most nab their loungers in advance, this is your only way to play the game.   

Many years ago—the exact date is lost to our collective memory—an exceptionally lazy, selfish, shameless person decided to claim a chair with their towel, and then drift away to grab breakfast. Someone else noticed this, raised an eyebrow, and then did the same. Others followed. Now it’s an established custom—right or wrong—and if you fail to claim, you fail to lounge. (You can even buy clips to fasten down your beach towel and further exert ownership.) 

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There are, however, unspoken rules to be followed. Even in this dog-eat-dog struggle, don’t sprawl across multiple loungers; take your towels with you when you go; don’t constantly reposition and move your lounger around the pool to maximize your time in the sun like some oversized photosynthesizing plant. And above all, consider the ratio of “usage” to “idle.” If you claim your lounger when the pool opens at 8 a.m., it’s bad form to reserve it all day and then only show up for 20 minutes, at 5 p.m., for a quick swim. Your usage is low and your idle-time is high.

That caveat has a natural corollary. If you spot a towel-only chair that has been vacant all day—with no evidence of an owner—then you have clearance to claim said chair as your own. If someone gives you a dark look, simply shrug and tell them, “Realpolitik. Game theory,” in a mysterious voice, like some suncream-slathered Henry Kissinger. Then, sit back, enjoy the spoils of victory—and lounge.

Jeff Wilser

Writer

Jeff Wilser is the author of seven books, a frequent traveler (living in 24 countries in the three years to 2020), and a contributor to The New York Times, GQ, and Fast Company.