A court in Germany has awarded a holidaymaker nearly €1,000 after ruling that a lack of available sun loungers significantly affected his family holiday in Greece.
The tourist, whose identity was not disclosed, travelled with his wife and two children to Kos in 2024 on a package holiday costing €7,186.
According to the case heard in Hanover, the family struggled each day to find free sunbeds around the hotel pool because many guests reserved them early using towels.
The man told the court he spent around 20 minutes every morning searching for loungers, even after waking at 06:00. He also claimed the hotel failed to enforce rules banning guests from reserving seats in advance.
The tourist argued that the situation left his children with nowhere to sit, forcing them at times to remain on the ground near the pool area.
Although the tour operator had already refunded €350, judges ruled the amount was insufficient and ordered a larger payment of €986.70.
In their decision, the judges stated that the package holiday was “defective” because guests did not have reasonable access to hotel facilities. While acknowledging that the operator did not directly control the hotel, the court said travel companies still had a duty to ensure adequate organisation and a fair ratio of loungers to guests.
