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Hotels Struggle with Pool Chair Hogs

A while back we linked to a story on the shortage of pool chairs at major resorts. A new story highlights what hotels are doing to combat "chair hogs."

Last Friday the Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy feature on the battle between resorts and their guests when it comes to reserving chairs by the pool or beach. Here's an excerpt: Hotels Cracking Down on Chair Hogs.

It's a pitched battle. On the one hand, there are often just plain not enough chairs, especially in prime spots by the pool or under the shade on the beach. "We have 1,800 pool chairs at the hotel, but everybody wants the same 200," says the manager of the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui. During peak season and holidays, it gets worse. The industry rule of thumb is 1.5 chairs per guest, but when occupancy is at 100%, every couple is likely to be out of luck, not to mention families.

The preferred solutions seem to be either ignore the problem and let the guests wake up at dawn to throw their towels on prime chairs (the chair hog wins approach), or make it clear that belongings will be removed if the chairs stay unoccupied for a set time, like an hour. (The "use it or lose it" approach.) Naturally, early-to-rise chair hogs prefer the first approach, even if it means tipping well for preferential treatment. Everyone else likes the second approach as it means getting to the pool at a leisurely hour and still having a fair shot at a chair. And none sitting unused for hours.

Hotels struggle to reconcile it because it means telling some guests they can't always have their way, which doesn't always go down well. It takes extra effort and staffing as well. Pool attendents with clipboards keep tabs on chairs at cited upscale hotels such as Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos and the Peninsula in Bangkok. Leave the lounge chairs you reserved for you and your extended family unattended for too long and your belongings will be waiting for you in a pouch.

[Photo: motelchatter]

Related Stories:
· Hotel pools face massive chair shortage [HotelChatter]
· Hotels Cracking Down on Chair Hogs [San Diego Tribune]