Sun lounger by app New booking system causes trouble in Majorca - people get angry
The new online reservation system for beach loungers on Mallorca is causing frustration among spontaneous visitors and locals who feel left out.
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- On Mallorca, the introduction of online reservations for beach loungers via app is causing frustration among locals and spontaneous visitors.
- Many sunbeds are reserved in advance or blocked by hotels, which restricts free access to public beaches.
- Luxury loungers sometimes cost over 50 euros per day, and spontaneous bookings are made even more difficult by time-limited app activation.
On the Spanish vacation island of Majorca, a new digital system for reserving beach loungers is causing red flags.
More and more municipalities on the island are using the app, which allows tourists to conveniently book their sun loungers online in advance. However, this leads to frustration and anger among spontaneous visitors and locals who feel left out when they arrive at the beach without a reservation.
The system is already widespread on popular beaches such as Calvà, Alcúdia and Santa Ponça.
Visitors can choose their sun loungers days or even weeks in advance via platforms such as "Beach Manager". Bookings are made online and payment is also made digitally, which makes spontaneous access more difficult, reports "bild.de".
Those who turn up without booking in advance are often turned away by the beach staff. The sun loungers are marked as "reservado" with red plastic bands, even if they remain unused.
And the cost? A set of two sun loungers and an umbrella usually costs around 18 euros per day. For additional comfort, such as premium loungers with extras, the cost can rise to over 50 euros per day.
It is particularly annoying that many hotels reserve large contingents of loungers in the front row to offer them exclusively to their guests. This is often done at the same price as for direct bookers, but is often only available internally. For tourists without a hotel connection, the coveted front row seats are therefore hardly accessible.
There is great public outrage, as many feel that public beaches, which are considered common property, are becoming inaccessible as a result of the system. It is particularly problematic that the booking portal for some beaches is only active between 4 p.m. and 6 a.m., which makes spontaneous visits even more difficult.
