A German tourist has won a four-figure payout in one of the latest rounds in the “sunbed wars” that have plagued resort hotels for years.

Pilot David Eggert has been awarded nearly $1500 by a German court after suing his tour operator after a five-star holiday he said was ruined because he had to spend so much time trying – and often failing – to find sun loungers for his family.

Eggert told the court he paid more than $11,700 for a 10-day holiday with his wife and two children at a luxury resort on the Greek island of Kos in 2024. But his kids were often left lying on concrete by the pool because every one of the 400 sunbeds was taken, often as early as 6am.

“It was a big hotel, very fancy, with about 400 loungers. And all 400 loungers had towels on them,” he told The Daily Mail.

“The people were not actually using the loungers, and the guests went into town or went back to bed and slept. Some stayed away until midday. Then they came back later, and you still could not get a lounger. And that was the main problem. There were signs everywhere in German and English saying it was forbidden to reserve loungers.”

Eggert, from Dusseldorf, said the signs were ignored and hotel staff did nothing to alleviate the issue.

He argued in court that his tour operator had also failed to enforce the resort’s ban on towel reservations. The tour operator gave him an initial $570 refund, but judges in the Hanover court ruled he was entitled to $1603.

They acknowledged the travel company did not run the hotel and could not ensure every customer could get a sunbed when they wanted. But they said the operator had an obligation to ensure there was an organisational structure to guarantee a “reasonable” ratio of sunbeds to guests.

At the weekend, Eggert told the newspaper that the “very, very important ruling” should be a warning to tour operators and hotels that allow what is sometimes called a “dawn dash”.

“When the [northern hemisphere] holiday season starts in June and July and people face the same problem, they will say: ‘Look, somebody sued a tour operator over this. I’ll do the same’,” he said.

“If thousands of holidaymakers start suing travel companies, the costs will run into the millions.”

Battles over sunbeds have been an issue in Mediterranean resorts for some time.

In 2024, the Spanish seaside town of Calpe warned tourists they faced a $350 fine if they reserved loungers at sunrise during peak season.

About the same time, a TikTok video, posted by @kirstyp89 with the caption “crazy people” showed tourists clutching towels, bags and inflatables as they queued for entry to the pool area at a resort.

Dozens of holidaymakers were then seen sprinting from the lobby to secure a sunbed next to one of the pools.

“You would need a holiday after doing this for a week,” one commenter wrote on video.

But some resorts are finding solutions.

One British man told the BBC that two popular holiday camps on France’s Mediterranean coast sounded a horn twice a day.

“If you’re not at the lounger, all the items are removed to lost property,” he said.

Another spoke of hotels that allowed “sunbed tenants” to reserve a lounger for their whole holiday. Guests can also request to change their spot.

Others also revealed more rough justice methods adopted by other guests.

“Once when in Ibiza, holidaymakers were putting towels on beds in the middle of the night,” one traveller told the BBC.

“It soon stopped when some lads were going down in the middle of the night and throwing all the towels into the pool.”