The man took his tour operator to court
A German tourist who was on holiday in Greece has won a payout after being unable to get a sun lounger, because other holidaymakers had reserved them with towels. The man was given £850 after taking his tour operator to court.
A court in Hanover heard the man, who was on holiday with his family in 2024, got up at 6am and spent 20 minutes trying to find a sun lounger, but they had all been taken. He argued that the fact that the reservation system was allowed meant sunloungers were unusable.
The judge ruled the family of four was entitled to a refund on their package holiday, saying it was ‘defective’.
The man had paid €7,186 (£6,211) to take his wife and two children on holiday to the Greek island of Kos. He told the court his tour operator had failed to enforce the resort’s ban on reserving loungers, and did not confront guests.
He said his children had to lie on the floor. The tour operator had already agreed a £302 refund, but the court awarded a payout of £852.89.
The court said that while the tour operator did not run the hotel, it had an obligation to ensure there was a system in place to ensure a reasonable ratio of sunbeds to guests.
Sun lounger ‘wars’ are now a common factor of holidays in Europe with Brits abroad frequently filming queues and crowds of people trying to bag a sunbed at the start of the day, rushing across hotel leisure areas to find somewhere to spend the day close to the pool, bar or beach.
Hotel staff have also been filmed throwing towels off loungers to ensure they are not reserved.
