Cash grab or stroke of genius? A UK travel company is charging travellers to reserve their sunbeds before they set off on their holidays.
UK giant Thomas Cook has made the game-changing move, announcing holidaymakers can now pre-book their lounging spots by the pool for GBP22 per person.
Here’s Thomas Cook’s spin on “Choose your favourite sunbed”:
“Head off on your holiday knowing that when you arrive at your hotel, you’ll already have your chosen sunbed reserved; perfect for your needs. And what’s more? It’ll be yours for the duration of your holiday, meaning it’ll still be there when you come back from your lunch. So relax and enjoy!”
Customers can pre-book loungers at three Canary Islands hotels with the offering to be rolled out to 30 hotels by the start of the European summer.
So how does it work? Six days before their departure date, customers will receive an email giving them the chance to make the lounger booking.
They’ll be given access to an online tool which offers a map charting the sun’s journey over the beds so they can decide what time and where to set up their sunbaking base.
Although many package holidaymakers will be horrified at the charging of such a fee – yet another cost to consider – others will likely be relieved.
The battle for the best sunbeds often sees travellers set their alarms so they can run down and mark their territory with a towel. For them, this new charge could mean the return of the holiday lie-in.
Of course, the real winners will be the operators that have created a new source of income. But in this age of ancillaries, it comes as no great surprise that they are seizing opportunities where they can. Airline ancillaries were forecast to hit US$82.2 billion worldwide last year.
So, maybe the question isn’t whether other operators will follow suit, but rather, what else can you slap a price tag on?