German tourist awarded payout after losing early morning sun lounger race

Germans will be hard-pressed to shake off their sun lounger-reserving reputation, after a German holidaymaker this week received an almighty payout for losing out on a race for a bed.

The male tourist, who wishes not to be named, has been awarded triple figures by a tour operator after complaining there were no free loungers available during a week-long family holiday two years ago.

By the man's own admission, on each morning of his vacation to the Greek island of Kos in 2024, he awoke at 06:00 to find that none of the deck chairs surrounding his hotel's on-site pool was without a towel spread across them.

The man, who'd been travelling with his wife and two young children, claims he walked the perimeter of the pool each morning for 20 minutes, but was without luck.

The man claimed he awoke at 6:00 every morning (Getty Stock Images)

The heartbreak repeatedly resulted in his kids being forced to lie on the ground.

Upon returning home to Germany, the holidaymaker sued his tour operator for not outlining an official reservation system for the beds, which were occupied each day.

Following a two-year fight, a district court judge in Hanover this week ruled in the father-of-two's favour, agreeing that the family were entitled to a considerable refund on their €7,186 (£6,211) package holiday.

The judge ruled that the package was 'defective', and did not deliver what had been promised.

The man accused the operator of failing to implement the hotel's reservation ban (Getty Stock Images)

As such, the family were awarded a refund of €900 (£850).

Appearing in court, the man argued that the travel agency hadn't enforced the hotel's on-site ban on reserving towels, and failed to reprimand guests who hadn't adhered to it.

Responding, the company claimed they couldn’t ensure every customer would have access to a bed at any time, and that they hadn't been obliged to implement the hotel's policy.

He explained that the operator had initially offered a much lesser refund of €350 (£302), which the judge subsequently agreed hadn't been enough to cover the cost of the inconvenience.

A judge ruled in the man's favour (Getty Stock Images)

Despite the stereotype surrounding German holidaymakers, a recent poll found that these nationals find sun bed reservations just as frustrating as the rest of us, with 66 per cent of people interviewed deeming it objectionable.

A further 14 per cent admitted to going as far as to remove towels being used to reserve loungers.

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