German holidaymaker wins payout after losing sunbed war!
A German tourist has been awarded more than €900 in compensation after claiming he and his family were unable to use hotel sun loungers during a package holiday in Greece because other guests repeatedly reserved them with towels.
The man, who has not been named, took legal action after staying at a resort on the Greek island of Kos with his wife and two children in 2024. He told the court that despite waking up at 6:00am every day, the family still struggled to find available sunbeds around the pool.
According to the ruling, the tourist spent around 20 minutes each morning searching for loungers, only to find most had already been claimed by towels left unattended by other guests. He also said his children were sometimes forced to lie on the ground because no sunbeds were free.
The family had paid more than €7,000 for the package holiday. Although the tour operator initially refunded around €350, judges at a court in Hanover ruled the compensation was not enough and increased the payout to almost €987.
The court said that while the travel company did not directly manage the hotel, it still had a responsibility to ensure there was a reasonable number of sunbeds available for guests. Judges described the holiday as “defective” because the family could not properly use the pool area included in their booking.
The case highlights a problem many holidaymakers know well, often referred to as the “sunbed wars” or “dawn dash”, where tourists rush to reserve loungers early in the morning using towels or personal belongings.
The issue has also caused frustration in the Canary Islands. Last year, videos shared online appeared to show tourists in Tenerife sleeping on sun loungers overnight to secure the best poolside spots before breakfast.
Some holiday companies have started introducing measures to tackle the problem. Tour operator Thomas Cook now allows guests at some hotels to pre-book loungers for an extra fee, while certain areas in Spain have warned tourists they could face fines of up to €250 for reserving sunbeds and leaving them unused for hours.
For British tourists heading abroad this summer, the ruling could encourage more travellers to complain if hotel facilities advertised as part of a package holiday are not reasonably available during their stay.
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