Tourist wins payout after missing out on sun loungers during family vacation

Empty sun loungers stand on the beach of Kefalos on the Greek island of Kos by the sea in October 2020. (Robert Michael/picture alliance/dpa/Getty Images/FILE via CNN Newsource)

A German tourist has been awarded more than 900 euros (about US$1,100) by judges after his family was left without sun loungers while on vacation in Greece because other guests had got there first.

While vacationing with his wife and two children on the island of Kos during the summer of 2024, the man, who has not been identified, claims the loungers were unavailable from as early as 6 a.m.

The traveller initially paid 7,186 euros (roughly US$8,500) for an 11-day trip at a 384-room hotel, which boasted multiple pools, relaxation spots and access to a beach, according to a ruling from the Hanover District Court.

Despite wooden signs prohibiting people reserving sun loungers with towels and then leaving them, the father-of-two said guests routinely ignored the warning.

Unimpressed by the reservation habits of others, he reported the issue to his tour operator but was informed that it was the hotel’s responsibility to enforce the house rules. When he attempted to contact the hotel staff with his concern that many loungers were rendered useless daily, he said he was unsuccessful.

Although the family woke early every day hoping to relax on loungers by the pool, they were successful just once, according to the ruling. Even on that occasion, the man said, only he and his wife were able to use the sun loungers while his children laid on towels on the ground.

Judges at the district court ruled in the man’s favour against the tour operator, deeming the vacation defective as the family’s needs were repeatedly unmet.

Following his original claim just months after the vacation ended, the man was given a partial refund. Now, judges have ruled the family is entitled to a further 986.70 euros (around US$1,160).

Under German law, a travel defect exists if the organized trip fails to provide the agreed-upon characteristics stipulated when the booking was made.

While the court recognized the tour operator and hotel were not obligated to supply a sun lounger to every guest staying at the accommodation, it said the service provider must supply loungers in reasonable proportion to the number of hotel guests.

The court also reflected on the man’s claim that his children did not gain access to a lounger throughout their vacation, saying that even at the ages of nine and 12, the children had both a need and a right to a chair rather than the ground.

But the news of compensation might just put the mind of some sunseekers at ease. Every year, many cave under the pressure of early morning poolside sprints to bag the ideal spot in what has been termed “sunbed wars.”

The fight for loungers has forced some destinations across getaway hotspots Spain and Cyprus to ban the reservation of sun beds entirely