Holidaymakers have had their towels seized from beaches in Croatia in a crackdown against overnight reservations on the sand. The popular Adriatic resort of Makarska is located along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.Officials in the dreamy destination have started patrolling beaches in the early hours of the morning and collecting anything left unattended. It means beachgoers are arriving to find some of the best areas, including coveted shady patches, are already claimed by towels and inflatables with nobody in sight. Municipal crews have teamed up with wardens and harbour staff to carry out the clear-outs as soaring temperatures send tourists scrambling for the best spots.During one raid last week, officials seized enough abandoned towels and inflatables to fill an entire truck.The operation is designed to free up space and give everyone a fair chance of grabbing a prime patch on the beach.Despite signs warning against reserving spots, some holidaymakers have continued leaving their belongings overnight.Officials have now emphasised the dawn raids will continue until holidaymakers get the message, as reported by creatorzine.com. Officials are clamping down on tourists reserving spots on the beach with towels and inflatables Wardens in Makarska, located along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, are carrying out the clear-outs Municipal company Makarski Komunalac issued a blunt warning on Facebook alongside images of wardens in action.It read: ‘It’s hot and more people are really coming to the beach early, but it’s not hard to notice items left overnight to “save a spot” for later arrivals.’In cooperation with the municipal authority and Makarski Coast, we will repeat the actions of collecting abandoned objects as long as there are those who refuse to accept the clearly indicated rules for using city beaches.’Authorities are also tackling commercial sunbed operators who spread loungers across large stretches of beach.They insist the beaches are there for everyone to enjoy rather than those who manage to reserve the best spots overnight.Holidaymakers have been warned to take their towels and other belongings home with them at the end of the day, or risk having them carted away in the next dawn raid.Hotels have also been clamping down on the similar issue of sunbed hogging, with videos going viral on social media of holidaymakers queuing up early in the morning to reserve a lounger by the pool with a towel.An app called Reservato has been launched and can be used by establishments around the world. Wardens in Makarska, located along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, are carrying out the clear-outsDuring one raid last week, officials seized enough abandoned towels and inflatables to fill an entire truck.It pitches itself as ‘the ultimate resolution to the sunbed wars’ and allows guests to book a lounger. Users enter their name and room number in the app and are then required to hold their smartphone near a Reservato device attached to a sunbed. The application then shares whether the lounger is available to reserve.Guests can use the sunbed for as long as they like, but once they leave it unattended, they can only hold it for 30, 45 or 60 minutes before someone else will be able to book it. A countdown on the app, much like a parking spot reservation, shows how much time is left. There are even options to pay for ‘premium’ sunbed bookings.If a guest leaves their belongings on a sunbed after their booking is over, a hotel staff member can remove the items and log on the app what they picked up, informing the guest. Other hotels are taking slightly different approaches to tackling sunbed hogging, including simply removing items from unused loungers.’I went to a resort in the DR once that had a lifeguard who would patrol around and gather “left behind” towels/belongings and take them to the towel return area,’ a holidaymaker shared on Reddit. ‘It was amazing and every resort should do this.’Someone else experienced a similar tactic and explained: ‘Recently stayed some place with a very simple rule posted by their pools “all items left unattended for 45 minutes will be moved to the lost and found”. The operation is designed to free up space and give everyone a fair chance of getting a good spot on the beach’I assume it must be enforced, because it seems to work pretty well and we’ve been able to find loungers at almost all times, except when people are actively using them.’Security guards and bouncers have even been hired in some locations, like Sunset Beach Club hotel in Benalmádena, Costa del Sol.The Sun reported in 2023 how the hotel had security workers to unlock gates to the pool and sunbed area at 9am and if any sunbeds remained unoccupied by 10am, the towels would be removed.