The dispute over sunbeds has once again caused talk at a holiday resort in Mallorca, after a British tourist took revenge on guests who reserved poolside seats with towels. The attitude went viral on social media, but is far from reaching consensus.
The case involves 31-year-old Tom Caunce, who was on vacation with his family on the Spanish island. According to the British newspaper, the tourist was frustrated to notice that some guests left towels on the sun loungers early in the morning, securing the best seats, but only returned several hours later.
Tourist observed the behavior for several days
Before taking action, Tom would have spent a few days observing guests who repeated the practice. According to him, there were people who always chose the same sun loungers, left their towels in place and disappeared from the pool area for long periods.
Tired of the situation, the tourist decided to take controversial action. Instead of removing the towels or alerting hotel staff, he chose to put itching powder on the fabrics used to reserve the sun loungers.
Itching powder on towels
On the first attempt, Tom tried to spread the product while passing it along the towels, but he didn’t get much of a reaction. He later returned to the scene and rubbed the powder onto a white hotel towel that was on a reserved lounge chair.
According to the report, the man who used the towel began scratching himself shortly after. Tom stated that the irritation started mildly, but ended up turning into a more obvious reaction, a moment that helped fuel the repercussion of the video on social media.
Social networks were divided
The published videos received hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of likes, but opinions were divided. Some users considered the attitude exaggerated and argued that, at most, the tourist should have removed the towels or called the hotel staff.
Others, on the contrary, praised the action and saw the gesture as a response to the practice of reserving sunbeds for hours without using them. Still, several comments warned of the risks of putting substances in objects used by other people.
Common practice in summer
Reserving sun loungers with towels is one of the most frequent complaints in hotels and resorts during the summer, especially in popular destinations like Mallorca. In many tourist units, there are rules that prohibit leaving occupied spaces for long periods without the presence of guests.
Despite this, the practice continues to generate conflicts between tourists. Tom’s case ended up exposing a common vacation irritation: arriving at the pool and finding several sun loungers apparently occupied, even with no one around.
Attitude can have consequences
Although it was treated by some as a joke, the action could have consequences. Placing itching powder or any other substance on towels used by others may cause irritation, allergic reactions or other health problems.
Therefore, the safest solution is to report the situation to the hotel and ask staff to intervene. Between those who found the revenge “genius” and those who considered it unacceptable, the episode once again put into debate one of the most controversial practices of the summer holidays.
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