German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race

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.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).