German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race
TL;DR
A German tourist received over €900 after suing his tour operator for not securing sun loungers during his holiday in Greece. The court ruled that the family's package holiday was defective due to the reservation practices.
Key points
- German tourist won over €900 payout
- Sued tour operator for defective holiday package
- Family paid €7,186 for the trip to Greece
A German tourist has won a payout of more than €900 (£850) after he was unable to secure a sun lounger due to other guests reserving them with towels.
The man, who has not been identified, was on holiday in Greece with his family in 2024, and said he spent 20 minutes a day trying to find a sun lounger, despite waking up at 06:00.
He then sued his tour operator for allowing the reservation system, arguing the sunbeds were reserved so often, they were unusable.
Judges at a district court in Hanover ruled in his favour, and said the family of four were entitled to a larger refund on their package holiday as it had been "defective".
The man had initially paid €7,186 (£6211) to take his wife and their two children on the package holiday to Kos, an island in Greece.
In his arguments to court, he said that his tour operator had failed to enforce the resort's ban on towel reserving, and did not confront guests who were engaging in the practice.
He added that even when his family rose at 06:00, loungers were unavailable, and his children were forced to lie on the floor.
Though the tour operator had initially paid out a refund of €350 (£302), judges in Hanover ruled the family was entitled to a refund of €986.70 (£852.89).
They said that although the travel company did not run the hotel and could not ensure every customer could access a sunbed at any given time, the operator did have an obligation to make sure there was an organisational structure that would guarantee a "reasonable" ratio of sunbeds to guests.
Many tourists will have encountered "sunbed wars" or "dawn dash" on holiday, which is the practice of reserving loungers with towels.
Last year, videos circulating on social media suggested holiday-goers in Tenerife were sleeping on sun loungers in order to secure a poolside spot.
Some tour companies are trying to combat the practice, with operator Thomas Cook offering tourists the option to pre-book a spot beside the pool for an additional fee.
In Spain, tourists in certain regions have been threatened with a €250 fine for reserving a sun lounger and then disappearing for hours.
Q&A
What was the payout amount for the German tourist's sun lounger case?
The German tourist won a payout of more than €900.
Why did the German tourist sue his tour operator?
He sued the tour operator because he was unable to secure sun loungers, which he argued made the holiday package defective.
How much did the family initially pay for their holiday in Greece?
The family initially paid €7,186 for their package holiday to Kos, Greece.
