A German tourist has won compensation after taking legal action over the lack of available sun loungers during a family holiday at a luxury resort in Greece.
David Eggert, 48, sued his tour operator after claiming that all 400 sunbeds at the five-star Grecotel Kos Imperial hotel on the island of Kos were being reserved with towels early each morning, leaving other guests without places to sit.
The Düsseldorf pilot, who spent more than 6,200 pounds on a 10-night holiday for his family in 2024, was awarded around 770 pounds after judges in Hanover ruled in his favour.
According to reports by the Daily Mail, Eggert said hotel guests would place towels on loungers early in the morning before leaving for hours, despite signs banning the practice.
“It was a big hotel, very fancy, with about 400 loungers. And all 400 loungers had towels on them,” Eggert said. People were not actually using the loungers, and the guests went into town or back to bed and slept, he claims.
Eggert said he woke up early every morning in an attempt to secure a spot by the pool, but was unsuccessful throughout the stay. He claimed his children were forced to sit on the concrete floor while unused loungers remained reserved for hours.
The court rules in favour
The case has drawn attention to the long-running issue of “towel wars” at holiday resorts, where guests reserve poolside loungers early in the day before using them later.
Judges ruled that tour operators could not simply ignore the issue and said hotels should have fair systems in place to manage sunbed access.
According to court documents, Eggert and his family chose not to participate in the reservation practice and were therefore unable to access loungers during their holiday.
The court concluded that holidaymakers should not be expected to remove towels placed by other guests themselves, and that tour operators had a responsibility to intervene when problems occurred.
Tour operator TUI Deutschland had already paid Eggert 350 euros in compensation before the case reached court.
A wider holiday debate
While towel reserving has long been associated with package holidays across Europe, Eggert said the issue was not limited to one nationality: “I would not really divide it into British people or Germans,” he said.
Eggert also admitted he had previously reserved loungers himself on family holidays, arguing that parents often felt they had little alternative if they wanted to remain close to their swimming children.
Although there is no law specifically banning the practice, many hotels warn that towels left on empty loungers for extended periods may be removed.
Eggert said he believed the ruling could encourage more travellers to file complaints against tour operators if hotels fail to address the issue in future holiday seasons.