Just read this on the BBC News and honestly… I had to comment.
BBC News - German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race
A German tourist has won compensation after repeatedly failing to get a sun lounger during a family holiday.
The man reportedly paid £6,211 for an all-inclusive holiday in Spain, but found that other guests were reserving loungers early in the morning, leaving his family without places together around the pool.
A court awarded compensation of £852.89 after ruling that the hotel failed to provide the expected holiday experience.
I honestly think I’ve heard it all now.
Now before anyone jumps in… I do actually understand the frustration. If I’d paid more than £6,000 for a family holiday, I’d probably expect to be able to sit around the pool together too.
But there are a few things in this story that I’d genuinely like to understand.
First of all, did the guests complain to the hotel or tour operator at the time? Surely you have to give somebody the chance to put things right before taking legal action afterwards.
Secondly… were they also not up early trying to get loungers?
Because let’s be honest, nobody discovers "the great sun lounger race" by accident. If you know towels are going down at 7am, chances are you’ve been down there at 7am yourself at least once.
And another thing… were there actually no loungers available at all, or just none together?
Because those are two very different complaints.
Anyone who has stayed at a busy family hotel abroad knows the drill. You either get down early, accept sitting separately, or spend half your holiday glaring at people who have "reserved" loungers with a paperback and a single flip-flop.
I just wonder where this sort of thing ends.
Can people now claim because the lifts broke and they had to use the stairs? Been there, done that.
Or because it rained for two days during a beach holiday? Been there too.
What about exchange rates moving against you while you’re away, so everything suddenly costs more than expected?
Or because the "sea view" involved leaning over the balcony, squinting between two palm trees, and technically spotting a blue line in the distance?
Or because the hotel buffet chips were somehow both undercooked and cold?
Or because the evening entertainment was a man with a keyboard murdering ABBA songs while dressed like a cruise ship magician?
At some point holidays stop being holidays and start becoming consumer disputes with swimming pools attached.
Don’t get me wrong, hotels should absolutely provide what they advertise, and some hotels genuinely do a terrible job managing lounger shortages. But part of me feels that modern holiday culture has become obsessed with compensation.
Sometimes things just go wrong.
Sometimes the pool is busy.
Sometimes you end up three floors up because the lift is broken.
And sometimes somebody called Klaus has put a towel on six loungers before sunrise and vanished until lunchtime.
That’s not a legal case… that’s just being on holiday.
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