If there’s one topic that may divide Europe like no other it’s the annual sunbed wars that grip beach resorts every summer.
Tourists get up on the daybreak and wait for the gates to the hotel pool to open, before making a mad dash to order a lounger with a towel.
Now one German dad has successfully sued his tour operator because he kept on losing the battle for a sunbed.
The unnamed man had spent £6,200 on a vacation along with his wife and two children to the Greek island of Kos in August 2024.
He thought he wouldn’t should stress about reserving a spot within the sun since the hotel had an explicit rule banning loungers with towels.
Nonetheless a district court in Hanover heard how the family’s mornings became a rush for pool space, with guests ignoring the ban in practice.
Join for all of the newest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
The dad said that even after they got up at 6am, many of the sun beds had already been nabbed by other guests.
He complained to the court that the situation was so dire the family spent as much as 20 minutes every day trying to seek out a spot they may all sit togehter,
The youngsters were sometimes left lying on the ground due to lack of loungers, he said.
The German man claimed hotel staff refused to step in to assist.
The tour operator – which was not named in proceedings – previously offered £300 to the family in compensation.
However the court sided with the holidaymaker and ruled he was entitled to a partial refused of £850.
The court ruled the package holiday had been ‘defective’ since it had not provided the ‘character’ that the shopper was contractually entitled to expect.
The ruling acknowledged that the travel company didn’t operate the hotel itself so couldn’t guarantee sunbed access.
Nonetheless the judges said the operator still had an obligation to make sure there was a structure in place that meant a ‘reasonable’ ratio of loungers available.
Germans actually dislike the annual sunbed wars, despite the stereotype as one of the crucial dogged participants.
One poll showed that as many as 66 per cent of them opposed it and 14 per cent had even removed offending towels.
Nonetheless a survey of German tourists last summer revealed that 71 per cent of them thought it was a ‘predominantly German’ custom.
British holidaymakers thought that the most important culprits were fellow Brits, a special survey showed.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Recent train launched links two of Europe’s coolest capitals — with tickets from £53
MORE: Manchester Airport gets two first-ever routes to lush Greek island and Africa’s largest country
MORE: Two dead and at the least 20 injured after automobile ploughs into crowd in German city