Once upon a time, sunbeds were free at hotels, beaches, and pools.
Once upon a time, sunbeds were free at hotels, beaches, and pools.
Although they are still free in certain places, some hotels and third-party enterprises turned it into a profitable business venture.
And it is for a good reason.
The notorious “Towel wars” and “Sunbed wars” were causing headaches to holiday vacationers and administrations worldwide.
Yes, “Sunbed wars” are the real thing and people fight over the sunbeds.
Here are a few headlines from reputable news agencies:
“Sunbed wars: Costa chaos as tourists fight for a place by the pool” by Euronews
“Sunbed wars escalate across Europe” by The Irish Sun.
“Tourists filmed in ‘sunbed wars’ as holidaymakers sprint from hotel to pool to bag best bathing spots” by Independent.
“Insane video of resort guests racing to reserve sunbeds stuns viewers” by Escape.
You can also search “Sunbed wars” on YouTube and watch videos of holidaymakers racing to reserve their sunbeds like true warriors.
Here is one of those moments:
Although It may seem funny, the hotels needed to solve the issue to give a better customer experience and not risk their reputation.
Because it allows guests to pre-book their sunbeds, ensuring a stress-free, luxurious sunbathing experience.
It’s a win-win: hotels can better manage their spaces and make extra income while guests get guaranteed comfort.
Thanks to modern technologies, it is easy to implement sunbed rentals into entities' existing business models.
For example, Reservety offers rental software that lets customers independently book & reserve sunbeds and other related services through the entities' website.
Renting a sunbed isn’t just about securing a spot and avoiding conflicts like the ones we mentioned.
It’s also about upgrading customers' relaxation experiences and adding new revenue streams for the hotels to provide better sunbeds for their guests.
Although it may sound odd, we must mention that people do not value free things.
Not seeing value in things can lead to neglect, lack of enjoyment, irresponsibility, and a bunch of other negative behaviors.
We believe implementing a pre-booking system with Reservety offers great benefits, such as:
Hotel guests no longer need to race against time to claim a sunbed!
When customers rent a sunbed, it’s theirs for a specific period based on their booking.
And they do not have to wake up early in the morning and stay in line to secure their spot.
They can relax, sleep in, and have a leisurely breakfast. Their spot by the pool will be waiting for them.
Hotels and resorts can offer exclusive perks to boost customer experience and revenues.
They can add things like:
Many hotels designate the best poolside or beachfront spots for VIP guests.
Usually, those locations have an unobstructed ocean view and are located in private and peaceful areas away from the crowd.
They can rent those prime locations for higher rates.
Reservety enables the hotels to create varying rates for different spots and lets their customers choose them autonomously from the website.
Holidaymakers come to the resorts to relax and distract themselves from worldly problems. Things like unavailable sunbeds and engaging in tiring sunbed wars do not align with their purpose.
Letting them secure their sunbeds with a booking & reservation system, can give them peace of mind, and plenty of time to enjoy their time.
Concisely, sunbed rentals take the guesswork out of the customers' day, leaving them nothing but to relax and enjoy.
Yes, we talked about the VIP spots earlier. On top of that, hotels and resorts can sell VIP services to sunbed renters.
If you pay attention to some resorts, their sunbed rentals come with VIP perks.
Those VIP services may include welcome drinks, a private server, or even complimentary sunscreen and refreshing cold towels.
It depends on their business model.
Some would argue that sunbed rentals may not be feasible for small hotels and resorts that get fewer customers as there is not enough demand to spark “sunbed wars”.
We believe even small hotels can implement sunbed rentals by offering more amenities and comfort than the holidaymakers would normally get from the average sunbed.
In other words, customers may not be willing to pay for sunbeds unless you make the sunbeds more attractive with extra perks worth the payment.
In our research, we found the following places have sunbed rentals.
All those locations can implement sunbed rentals with Reservety as the software is customizable for each business model.
Pricing depends on several factors such as the hotel's reputation, location, and amenities that come with it.
To give you a general idea about sunbed rentals, we asked ChatGPT to price them.
Here are the results:
Although these rates may not be standard for all sunbed rentals, they may give you a sense of how profitable it would be if you managed to implement them.
Please note: Some hotels also offer weekly packages or discounts for guests staying longer. And during the off-season, hotels can offer sunbeds for free. You can implement this strategy with Reservety as it automatically applies discounts to qualified clients and sets the seasonal prices.
We suggest using Reservety.
It does not handle only sunbed bookings, you can also use it to rent and sell anything on your website.
Every booking & reservation will be managed at the convenient dashboard.
The software syncs the orders with the calendar system to automatically schedule the received bookings & reservations, and prevent double-bookings.
Integrate or Build from scratch.
You can integrate Reservety into your existing website or build a new website from scratch. Both of these are handled by the Reservety team at no charge.
Please note: The new website can be used to accept bookings and reservations for sunbeds as well as for hotels and resorts in general.
Organize your sunbeds by categories.
Reservety lets you create different categories of sunbeds and set different prices for each as examples shown below:
The system automatically calculates the total based on the customer selections.
Sunbed Mapping
You can upload the sunbed locations as a map and display them on the booking process so customers will know exactly where their sunbeds are.
The mapping makes it easier to select and find sunbeds among hundreds.
Bundle sunbeds with extras.
You can make your sunbeds more attractive by listing relevant items and services with prices.
For example, if a client wants snacks, cold drinks, fresh towels, or even a massage while enjoying their sunbed, they can instantly order them through their smartphone.
Let customers pick their spots.
Reservety lets customers book sunbeds independently.
Customers can choose sunbed type, location, quantity, and add-ons and pay with secure electronic gateways.
You can also accept orders at the counter or over the phone as Reservety can also be used as a POS system.
Manage orders and clients in a single dashboard.
Once bookings are completed, the reserved sunbeds automatically get disabled on the calendar system to avoid double bookings.
You, as administrator, can view and change orders, add or remove items or fees to customer accounts, apply discounts, create customer memberships & set different privileges for each, and more.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial and enjoy the free installation & support for a limited time.
Reservety handles your website, bookings, inventory, and payments — so you can focus on growing your business.