Court in Hanover says man entitled to payout after he and his family had to lie on concrete
A German holidaymaker has won a payout of almost €1,000 after being unable to find a sunlounger for himself and his family because other guests had got there first.
The man, whose identity is not known, holidayed on the island of Kos, in Greece, with his family in 2024. He said that, despite waking up at the crack of dawn every morning to carry out a 20-minute search, he had not been able to lay claim to a lounger.
The man, who had paid more than €7,000 to take his wife and two children on the holiday, was given a partial refund by the hotel after he complained. But Hanover district court ruled last month that the family of four was entitled to the larger sum of €986.70, and held that the tour operator in Germany was responsible.
The court ruling was an unusual intervention in the so-called towel wars – or handtuchkriege – which many consider to be as integral a part of European package holidays as all-you-can-eat buffets and sunburn.
