Why do people want to pre-book sun loungers?

I’ve never understood those holidaymakers who wake up at the crack of dawn, ready to beat the neighbours to the pool and reserve sun loungers for their family of 26, luckily, thanks to Thomas Cook’s new trial scheme – people don’t have to do this anymore.

Being abroad, you will always cross paths with those families, like the Garvey’s from TV’s Benidorm, who think that anything goes and don’t follow poolside protocol when it comes to reserving sun loungers.

They commonly use the excuse, “I’m on me ‘olidays” to justify their selfishness.

Many of those sun lounger-stealers think that placing their Union Jack towel, or even something as pathetic as a pack of playing cards (as I have encountered before), is sufficient proof that their sun lounger is claimed.

And, not only for the day but for the entirety of their two-week holiday and that’s not on.

Thomas Cook have implemented an utterly ridiculous premium trial scheme, to “prevent” the early morning sun loungers storm, that allows customers to pay an extra £22 to claim their sun lounger in advance.

Customers will be able to pick their preferred poolside location from a virtual map that details the sunniest spots and areas more ideal for shade-seekers.

But don’t worry, they are doing everything that they can to make sure that non-premium paying customers are catered for: you get first dibs of the leftover portion of segregated sun loungers to choose from (yay!).

Going on holiday is a luxury that many have to save for to be able to afford, so why should there be a separate fee that denotes whether or not you can enjoy your sunny holiday in Spain?

It’s not as if the sun lounger fee is cheap, either, at £22 per pop. Not to mention the stress that comes with organising a summer holiday; making sure that the deposit for your all-inclusive holiday is paid on time, booking the mini-bus to take you to the airport and the costs of brand-new beachwear, you now have a new problem on your hands.

Woe betide any of you who forget to pre-book a sun lounger because you are too busy to prioritise it.

But I wouldn’t worry too much, there’s plenty of choice over in the non-premium area for you to choose from. But make sure you set a daily alarm to bag yourself a spot by the pool. Otherwise, it’s a week spent on the red-hot terracotta tiles for you.