And then mosquitoes in the room and locals on the beach!What people complain about after traveling to distant countries
Monkeys are to be expected in Africa:
Anyone who walks around with a banana in Africa should not be surprised if monkeys try to “conquer” this banana. At least that’s what the district court of Cologne thought when it dismissed the lawsuit brought by a holidaymaker who was bitten by a wild monkey in Kenya because, contrary to all warnings, he left the hotel restaurant with a banana in his hand. On the day of arrival, travelers were warned that there were wild monkeys on and around the hotel grounds that should not be fed. There was also a sign at the restaurant exit stating that you should not take any food from the restaurant, and at the hotel pool another sign clearly stated: “Don’t feed the monkeys. If you do, you’ll see.” So it’s your own fault, no reason to complain. (Cologne District Court, file number 138 C 379/10)
Australia flight must not end in Florida:
This can happen to anyone: You book a flight to Melbourne in Australia and also land in Melbourne, but in Melbourne, Florida, USA. There is that too. This happened to three holidaymakers who had booked online and would now like to have their travel expenses for the Australia flight reimbursed by the website operator. The district court of Berlin thought that was the right thing to do, because after all, laypeople could not know that there was a city with the same name in Florida. Therefore, there is gross negligence here. Since the travelers had not received a booking confirmation in any case, in which the content of the transaction that had taken place was proven, the matter was very clear to the judges. (Berlin District Court, file number 33 0 130/03)
Four to five mosquitoes in the hotel room are okay:
There are four to five mosquitoes in his hotel room every evening and that is clearly too many for a deluxe room. At least that’s what one vacationer in Bali thought and sued his tour operator. And also complained about a dripping air conditioning system, the bacon at the breakfast buffet that was not quite fresh in his opinion, construction noise and a beach polluted with garbage. The district court in Charlottenburg ruled that construction noise and a polluted beach were indeed travel shortcomings. The dripping air conditioner, on the other hand, would not be a major defect, just an inconvenience, as would the four to five mosquitoes in the hotel room. (Charlottenburg district court, file number 221 C 95/11)
Burst sausages are not a travel shortage:
Anyone who has booked a package tour in a hotel of the simple category may also be served burst sausages. One vacationer had complained that the “snack buffet” advertised in the catalog consisted only of fast food, meaning that there were only hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza for lunch. The vacationer didn’t particularly like the breakfast either, as only white rolls, a single type of cheese, mortadella, ham and only two types of jam were offered. In addition, the scrambled eggs were watery and the breakfast sausages burst. However, the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main was of the opinion that these were by no means defects. The somewhat loveless breakfast was merely an “inconvenience to be accepted without compensation”. Well then: Bon appetit. (Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main, file number 2-24 S 228/05)
A bed must not consist of Coke crates:
An extra bed cannot just consist of a bed frame placed on a couple of Coke crates. At least that’s what the District Court of Düsseldorf thought and agreed with the vacationer who found such a bed not in order and awarded him a travel price reduction. A bit of mold in the wet room and the fact that the swimming pool could not be used after 6 p.m. did not bring anything to the package holiday maker. (Düsseldorf district court, file number 32 C 6159/97)
Locals are also allowed to stay on the beach:
A couple who had booked a holiday in Mauritius could not really relax because they met locals on the beach, who also organized a kind of folk festival. Since there are said to have been a few flies at the buffet and the food would have been inedible at all, the couple went to court. The Aschaffenburg district court found that the flies were not a defect, since the travel brochure advertised an “open restaurant” and one had to reckon with flies. The court found the couple’s complaint that the beach had to be shared with locals “simply incomprehensible”. Even a certain noise level, which is associated with celebrating their festivals, cannot “seriously” be presented as a lack of travel. (District Court Aschaffenburg, file number 13 C 3517/95)
