Tourist wins €900 after ‘sunbed wars’ ruined Greek holiday

A German holidaymaker has won £850 compensation after telling a court his family could not use poolside loungers at a resort in Greece because other guests reserved them with towels before sunrise

A German tourist has won a landmark payout after his family were unable to use poolside sun loungers because other guests had reserved them with beach towels.

The holidaymaker was awarded €986.70 in compensation by a district court in Hanover after judges ruled that his package holiday to Kos had been “defective”.

He had paid €7,186 for the trip in 2024.

The man, who has not been named, said he was forced to spend around 20 minutes-a-day trying to find loungers at the Greek resort, and that most had already been taken by 6am.

His children were sometimes forced to lie on the floor, the court heard.

The tourist sued his tour operator, arguing that the sunbeds were effectively unusable because they were so often reserved in advance.

The company had already refunded him €350, but the court decided he was entitled to more.

Judges said that, while the tour operator did not run the hotel itself, it should still have ensured there was a “reasonable” ratio of sun loungers to guests.

The man also argued that the company knew the resort had a ban on towel-reserving but failed to enforce it.

The ruling comes after repeated rows over “sunbed wars” at European resorts. 

The issue flared again last summer when social media videos showed holidaymakers in Tenerife sleeping on loungers or sprinting poolside to reserve them with towels.

In parts of Spain, tourists have even faced threats of fines of up to €250 for hogging loungers, while some tour operators have been forced to review their policies.

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