Rat race mindset ruining luxury resort vacations, travelers cry stressful pre-dawn pool runs to snag coveted chairs now the norm

They need a vacation from this vacation.Staying at a luxury resort nowadays can be anything but relaxing — that’s according to avid travelers and industry insiders, who call competition-beating techniques like pre-dawn trips to snag poolside loungers the new, stressful normal.

Speaking to a range of sources, the Wall Street Journal has thrown a spotlight on the space-saving scrum that’s leaving some sun-seekers cold — as luxury travel booms and pricey properties stuff in more guests.Florida man Mark Toler had his hopes of a relaxing few days by a pool in the U.S.V.I.last year dashed — when he realized he’d have to be out of bed before the crack of dawn to ensure good seats for himself and his girlfriend.

“We hated getting up at 4 a.m.,” Toler told a reporter of his stay at an unnamed hotel.“It is a brutal payoff to have a great chair in the premium spot or at all, in some cases.If you get up at 5 or 6 you might still get a chair, just not the best one.

If you get there at God-forbid 7 a.m.you might miss out altogether,” he said.Because many hotels don’t provide enough chairs for their guests —  even while often charging exorbitant resort fees for the amenity — travelers have no choice but to spend their vacations in a battle mindset.And often, it’s not nearly as simple as being first — lots of resorts choose to enforce a whole set of rules to keep things as democratic as possible, the outlet detailed.Some even seek to capitalize on the shortages, offering guests the chance to pay more to guarantee a cabana or other upgraded seating.

That’s not in the budget for clients of travel agent Kristian Beck of Honeymoons, Inc., who said she gets specific requests for resorts where guests don’t have to “play the chair game.” It’s a game even pros like Beck, administrator of a busy Facebook group where thousands of fans discuss all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, are forced to play sometimes — the insider detailed a rece...