Arabic version: سائح ألماني يفوز بتعويض عن نزاع حجز كراسي الاستلقاء

A German tourist has won a payout of more than €900 (£850) after he was unable to secure a sun lounger due to other guests reserving them with towels. The man, who has not been identified, was on holiday in Greece with his family in 2024, and said he spent 20 minutes a day trying to find a sun lounger, despite waking up at 06:00. He then sued his tour operator for allowing the reservation system, arguing the sunbeds were reserved so often, they were unusable.

According to BBC News, judges at a district court in Hanover ruled in his favour, and said the family of four were entitled to a larger refund on their package holiday as it had been “defective.” The man had initially paid €7,186 (£6,211) to take his wife and their two children on the package holiday to Kos, an island in Greece.

In his arguments to court, he said that his tour operator had failed to enforce the resort’s ban on towel reserving, and did not confront guests who were engaging in the practice. He added that even when his family rose at 06:00, loungers were unavailable, and his children were forced to lie on the floor. Though the tour operator had initially paid out a refund of €350 (£302), judges in Hanover ruled the family was entitled to a refund of €986.70 (£852.89).

The court acknowledged that while the travel company did not manage the hotel directly and could not guarantee sunbed availability for every guest, it had a responsibility to ensure a reasonable ratio of sunbeds to guests. This ruling highlights ongoing frustrations among holidaymakers regarding the practice of reserving loungers, commonly referred to as “sunbed wars.”

Many tourists will have encountered “sunbed wars” or “dawn dash” on holiday, which is the practice of reserving loungers with towels. Last year, videos circulating on social media suggested holiday-goers in Tenerife were sleeping on sun loungers in order to secure a poolside spot. In response to the issue, some tour operators, including Thomas Cook, have begun offering options for guests to pre-book poolside spots for an extra fee. In certain regions of Spain, tourists face fines of up to €250 for reserving loungers and leaving them unattended for extended periods.