Can YOU sue if beaten to the sun loungers? Lawyers on your rights

With summer fast approaching, the sunbed wars appear to have already begun.

But one German holidaymaker managed to claim back £850 by suing a Greek tour operator after other hotel guests kept getting towels on the sunloungers before he could.  

The man, who travelled with his wife and two children to Kos in August 2024, had paid £6,200 for what was meant to be a relaxing break.

But the family’s mornings became a daily battle for space by the pool, with sunbeds effectively ‘reserved’ before 6am – despite the hotel having an explicit rule banning reserving loungers with towels.

The tourist said the situation was so bad that the family spent up to 20 minutes each day trying to find four beds next to each other, claiming the children had been left lying on the floor because there was nowhere else available.

The court ultimately sided with the holidaymaker, ruling that he was entitled to a partial refund.

So, can you sue your hotel if you keep missing out on prime sun loungers? 

The short answer is yes.

This image from a video captured on X shows Brits jostling for a prime position by a resort pool

Dozens of British tourists are seen in this image taken from a social media video eagerly waiting by a door before sprinting to grab the best poolside loungers at a hotel in Spain

Two sunseekers were seen in footage making a dash for sunloungers at a resort with towels in hand

However, the chances of actually winning a sunlounger lawsuit are incredibly slim.

As a holidaymaker, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you are entitled to the services provided by the hotel to be carried out with reasonable care and skill. 

What is classified as reasonable will depend on the type and cost of the hotel and will vary between each one.

Quality Solicitors suggests complaining to hotel management at the time of the inconvenience rather than waiting until the holiday is over to begin a case.

This is because it can become difficult to prove that you were disappointed by the service received. 

As a paying guest, you are entitled to compensation if you do not receive reasonable service as per the hotel’s contract and guidelines.

Compensation could look like a refund of all or part of your hotel charges.

You also may be able to claim back any additional expenses you have had to pay as a result of the poor service.

If a lack of sunloungers available at the resort resulted in you having to fork out for access to a private beach club, you may be able to prove ‘damages’ in court.

This may allow you to make back that specific amount, but it is not promised. 

The law is simple. You, as a tourist, have a contract with the hotel. They provide the accommodation and services. In exchange, you pay the agreed price.

Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that if the hotel does not carry out its end of the deal, you’re entitled to receive compensation or money off for their failure. 

However, language is important. 

Within the resort’s booking terms, there will be confirmation of the amenities and facilities the hotel provides for guests. 

Dozens of guests were seen charging towards available loungers at a Greek hotel last year 

Hilarious footage captured the moment a holidaymaker (in a black T-shirt) bagged five sun loungers by sprinting through the sun beds before throwing his towels on the best poolside spots in 2023

This may include ‘access to the swimming pool’ or ‘loungers available to guests’.

But many resorts will not promise a guaranteed individual lounger for every guest at all times.

Under the facilities section of one easyjet holiday resort in Lanzarote, the operator clarifies: ‘All hotel and room facilities are subject to safety and wellbeing measures (including height and/or weight restrictions on slides and rides), board basis, seasonal availability, opening times, age, dress code, and may attract additional charges.’

If a hotel has clarified that its use of particular facilities is ‘subject to availability’, this may be harder to stand up in court.  

‘If your resort experience differs significantly from the way it was presented before booking, it may be considered misleading or deceptive conduct,’ writes Carter Carpenter Law.

This includes photos that don’t match reality – images show spacious, modern rooms, but you receive cramped or outdated accommodation, missing or unavailable amenities – pool, gym, spa, or restaurants are closed, under construction, or non-existent, false claims of luxury or star ratings – advertised as ‘5-star’ but lacks expected quality or service, and misrepresented location – described as ‘beachfront’ or ‘central’ when it’s far from town or down an alley.

In some cases, it is possible to claim for emotional distress if your experience causes significant loss of enjoyment, stress, or anxiety, and you can show it resulted from false or misleading conduct.

However, this is typically reserved for once-in-a-lifetime events, including honeymoons and milestone birthdays, where the accommodation was the centrepiece of the experience, the law firm added. 

One easyJet holiday to a Lanazarot resort clarifies in its facilities section that certain features are subject to availability

Should you still want to approach a solicitor and raise a claim if you’re beaten by the dawn dashers while on holiday, you’ll need to prove that the hotel services were not provided.

Quality Solicitors says: ‘You should complain at the time – explaining your concerns with the service – why it is not of a reasonable standard, and any problems or expenses this may cause you.

‘Depending on the problem, it may be relevant to take photographs, such as of broken items in your room or signs saying a service is not available.

‘It can be helpful to keep a diary or record of the issue and any complaints made, and any problems or expenses this causes you’.

The firm also advises that, in extreme cases, you take the names and addresses of other affected people in the hotel, as you may be able to contact them at a later date and build a stronger case. 

‘You should keep your bill and also any receipt as proof of how much you were charged and then paid,’ it added.

In the case of the German tourist, the court found that the package holiday had been ‘defective’ because it had not provided the ‘character’ that the customer was contractually entitled to expect.

While acknowledging that the travel company did not operate the hotel itself and could not guarantee individual access to sunbeds at any given time, the judges said it still had a responsibility to ensure there was an organisational structure in place that provided a ‘reasonable’ ratio of loungers to guests.