British holidaymaker wins compensation because his hotel was full of Germans

[mc_squared]

British holidaymaker wins compensation because his hotel was full of Germans

By Andy Dolan
Last updated at 3:56 AM on 31st May 2008

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Compensation: David Barnish took Thomson to the small claims court because his hotel was full of Germans

When businessman David Barnish treated his family to a holiday at a luxury resort, he was soon dismayed to find their hotel dominated by Germans.

But it wasn't an abundance of beach towels on the sunbeds by breakfast time which was to spoil the family's fun - rather that the sports activities and entertainment were only offered in German.

Yesterday Mr Barnish told of his delight after a judge awarded him £750 compensation from tour operator Thomson after agreeing that the firm's brochure had mislead him by failing to make clear that the hotel on the Greek island of Kos catered for a mainly German clientele.
The self-employed finance broker had paid almost £4,000 to take wife Karen, 36, and daughters Molly, aged 12, Gemma, 19, and 21-year-old Kim, on a week-long holiday to the Grecotel Park Royal in Marmari last August.

But he took Thomson to Stoke-on-Trent county court claiming the all-inclusive holiday was spoilt because the family could not understand German and were unable to join in events.

Mr Barnish, 47, told the Daily Mail: 'My youngest daughter wanted to take part in activities with the kids club, but its timetable was only published in German.

'There was a treasure hunt which she liked the look off, but again, the clues were only given in German and she couldn't understand it.

'We tried to join a windsurfing lesson and yoga classes but all the instructions were in German so we gave up.

"Even the advertised satellite TV was all in German except for one channel - the BBC World News.

'I feel we were cheated by Thomson because at no stage did they warn us that this hotel was geared up to catering for Germans, not English people.

'I am not a racist, but when I pay so much money for a holiday, I expect to be able to make use of the facilities and activities we are paying for.'

Mr Barnish said that when he complained to the holiday firm half-way through the break, he was advised to take his family to the cinema in Kos because it screened English films.

Mr Barnish, from Madeley, Stoke-on-Trent, said that the only entertainment that was not tailored to the Germans was the evening cabaret, which he said consisted mainly of Greek dancing.


Grecotel Park Royal: The 700-bedroom hotel - which had just 25 Brits - catered for a mainly German clientele
After a small claims hearing, Deputy District Judge Naish awarded the family £750 - or 20 per cent of the week-long holiday's cost - in damages from Thomson to compensate for problems created by the language barrier.

Judge Naish said: 'The customer travelling abroad in these circumstances, going to a hotel which features in an English brochure, doesn't expect to have to press the hotel and providers of activities to be accessible by them in their own language - so I do take the view that the brochure is significantly misleading in failing to make that clear.'


Mr Barnish, who represented himself at the hearing, claimed he wouldn't have chosen the hotel - part of the firm's upmarket Beach Club range - if he had known it catered for a mainly German clientele.

Out of 700 holidaymakers only 25 were English.

He added: 'I have no problem with the hotel itself - the food, service, location and facilities were all excellent. It is the fact that we could not make the most of it because everything was in German that I am angry about.'

Nathan Smith, the barrister acting for Thomson, told the court the brochure did not 'specifically promise' all the TV channels or the activities would be in English and said the Barnish's did not tell hotel staff that they were English and needed help with the language.

A Thomson spokesman said: 'We are sorry that Mr Barnish did not feel the entertainment on his holiday was what he expected.'

On its website, Thomson describes the Royal Park as a 'superb hotel with a first-class service, all the comforts of home and an international atmosphere.'

[Imke]

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Quote:

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But it wasn't an abundance of beach towels on the sunbeds by breakfast time which was to spoil the family's fun ...

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Is that really a thing only German travellers do?

Anyway, I can understand he was angry, but a foreign language normally shouldn't spoil your vacation abroad.

[Texasluvsjonny]

Hey on one of my trips to England, my hotel was full of Germans and all I heard at breakfast was German. *considers lawsuit*

[Imke]

I will sue the next hotel I'm making vacation in, because the people do NOT speak German ...

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Ekmi;2362100
I will sue the next hotel I'm making vacation in, because the people do NOT speak German ...

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I think many Germans already do that when they holiday on Mallorca!!

[Imke]

Yeah, but that's different! It's our 17th state. And the Brits do the same with Ibiza, I saw it with my own eyes.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Ekmi;2362341
Yeah, but that's different! It's our 17th state. And the Brits do the same with Ibiza, I saw it with my own eyes.

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How come? Were you in San Antonio's West End??

[TracieMorgan]

Shucky-darn! I stayed at a couple of hotels in Montreal and my French isn't that great! I felt like such an outcast,lol. I should sue too!! (or maybe just take the time to improve my skills with another language...that might be easier!)

[mc_squared]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TracieMorgan;2363014
Shucky-darn! I stayed at a couple of hotels in Montreal and my French isn't that great! I felt like such an outcast,lol. I should sue too!! (or maybe just take the time to improve my skills with another language...that might be easier!)

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Or maybe stay away from French territory instead!!

[Larry]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mc_squared;2363002
How come? Were you in San Antonio's West End??

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Haha that reminds me of my holiday in San Antonio a few years ago. My family and I were at the beach and when we went back to our hotel there was a big fat English man sleeping on the seaside promenade. He probably drank too much and had the most horrible sunburn I've ever seen in my life! His friends made fun of him, too.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Larry;2363178
Haha that reminds me of my holiday in San Antonio a few years ago. My family and I were at the beach and when we went back to our hotel there was a big fat English man sleeping on the seaside promenade. He probably drank too much and had the most horrible sunburn I've ever seen in my life! His friends made fun of him, too.

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Yup. Common sight out there. It's called the "lobster" look!!
San Antonio is awful. It's only redeeming features are Cafe Del Mar and Cafe Mambo which are adjacent to one another.
If you're not interested in those, I suggest you avoid San An at all costs!

[Larry]

The lobster look?! Haha! Yeah it really looked like that!!!

I liked San Antonio, although it's not suitable for family holidays I'd say. We had a great time there though.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Larry;2363206
The lobster look?! Haha! Yeah it really looked like that!!!

I liked San Antonio, although it's not suitable for family holidays I'd say. We had a great time there though.

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Well IMO, it's far too commercialised, the beach is a joke and it's far too "British".
Ibiza Town is far more attractive and cultured.

[Larry]

Lol this story became a main topic here during the last days. Especially when the German "BILD" newspaper published the mean article from Britain's "The Sun".

I wonder why?! The whole story is just sooo ridiculous!

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German tabloid mocks UK tourists


Germany's tabloid newspaper, Bild, has printed a list of holiday resorts to avoid - those dominated by the British.

This comes after a British man was awarded £750 (953 euros) after suing his travel company over a holiday at a resort filled with Germans.

Bild quotes a German legal expert saying that Germans holidaying in all-British resorts would not have the same opportunity of suing.

It goes on to poke fun at British cuisine, drinking-habits and sport.

David Barnish, 47, was awarded compensation last week for a holiday in Greece which he argued had been spoilt by the amount of German tourists and the fact that all the activities were organised in the German language.

Penalty jibe

Bild points out that Germans will find it hard to get their money back if they find their hotel overrun with Britons.

"Even if the travel company announces in the brochure that the resort is 'favoured by Germans', the tourist has to accept the possibility that he will spend his holidays with up to 90% foreigners - above all with the English," Uta Stenzel, a legal expert, told the paper.

Bild recommends avoiding the best-known destinations for British holidaymakers and lists the top six 'black spots' as the Bay of Palma in Majorca, San Antonio in Ibiza, Playa de las Americas in Tenerife, Ayia Napa in Cyprus, Faliraki on the Greek island of Rhodes and Malia in Crete.

Just in case the Germans have a problem identifying British tourists abroad, Bild has a guide on its online version, illustrated with an unappealing photo of two sunburnt women on sun chairs.

It also ridicules British cuisine, binge-drinking, fashion and sport, "athletically they are not up to much - they can't even take penalties" and points out that Austria and Switzerland - the venue of this summer's Euro 2008 championships - will be largely British-free zones this year as no British teams have qualified.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7433905.stm

[winnie]

silly season seems to begin quite early this year...