Finally a holiday, but every morning the same frustrating scene: all the sun loungers next to the pool are already occupied with towels, before anyone actually lies there. For a German tourist who was on holiday with his family on the Greek island of Kos, this annoyance became so great that he went to court. With success.
The Hannover court ruled that the tour operator must intervene when hotel guests massively reserve sun loungers with towels. If this does not happen, the trip can be considered defective and part of the travel price must be refunded.
The man had booked a package trip to Kos in August 2024 for 7,186 euros. According to him, the sun loungers at the pool were ‘reserved’ with towels every day from 6 a.m., while guests often did not show up for a long time. That was against hotel rules.
Although the resort had several pools, the family could almost never find a lounge chair. Even getting up early didn’t help. The tourist stated that he had to search for a free spot for up to half an hour every day. Sometimes his children had to settle for a towel on the floor.
The man complained to hotel staff and his contact person at the travel company, but according to the court, nothing was done to solve the problem. As a result, the service was substandard.
Because the swimming pool was an important part of the family’s holiday, the court ruled that there was a travel defect. The price could therefore be reduced by 15 percent per day for ten days of vacation.
The tourist had already received compensation of 350 euros from the tour operator, but according to the judge this was insufficient. Ultimately, he was entitled to a refund of a total of 986.70 euros. The tour operator therefore has to pay an additional 636.70 euros.
According to a spokesperson for the court, the ruling fits within existing case law: if travel organizations do not take action against structural problems in hotels, this could lead to a price reduction for holidaymakers.
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