They refused to wake up early to reserve sunbeds": a family went to court and received compensation
A family from Saxony, East Germany, who chose not to wake up early to reserve sunbeds, has been awarded £280 for their vacation in the Greek resort of Rhodes, as reported by The Mirror.
Preferring a good night's sleep on vacation, they declined the practice of getting up early to place towels on sunbeds for reservation, which has become a common practice in resorts across Europe as "sunbed wars" escalate, as per the Daily Record.
The family received a partial refund for their £4,529 package holiday after proving in court that the daily battle for sunbeds violated the hotel's policy, which stipulated that a sunbed cannot be reserved for more than 30 minutes when not in use.
They argued that the Tui Kids Club Atlantica Mikri Poli resort employees did not adhere to this rule. They mentioned that around 9 a.m., after breakfast, they usually went to the pool, but only one day did they find available sun loungers at the hotel's six pools.
Tui challenged their lawsuit, contending that if they had broken the rules like other guests, they would have found free poolside seats.
However, the Hanover District Court ruled that tour operators were obligated to intervene if guests used towels to reserve poolside loungers without using them.
The judge presiding over the case stated in court: "The visitor should not remedy the situation on his own by removing other people's towels on his own initiative or reserving sunbeds contrary to the rules of conduct. This is unreasonable, as one should fear disputes with other hotel guests, in which no traveler should be involved."
