HW Legal
A holiday should be a time of peace, rest, and enjoyment. But what if a package tour turns into a nightmare full of problems that wreck all your plans? The law has these situations in mind too, and lets customers claim compensation for a spoiled holiday, which is a separate right alongside a reduction in the price of the tour or compensation for damage.
You have a right to compensation for non-material harm
If a travel agency breaches its obligations in such a way that your holiday is ruined or substantially spoiled, you have a right to compensation for non-material harm. Importantly, you can make this claim even if you have exercised other rights at the same time, for example if you withdrew from the contract with the travel agency or complained about defects in the tour.
When does the right to compensation arise, and who has it?
The right to compensation for a spoiled holiday belongs to all the customers who took part in the tour and suffered harm. The tour organiser must therefore compensate not only the person who signed the tour contract, but also their fellow travellers (those for whose benefit the contract was made). Interestingly, German courts, for example, only award children satisfaction from around the age of five.
The right to compensation does not arise for every minor inconvenience, such as a flight being delayed by an hour. The problem has to be serious enough to objectively spoil the enjoyment of the holiday. Typical cases include, for example:
- Unsatisfactory accommodation: dirty or unhygienic rooms, or a hotel of lower quality than the one agreed.
- Disturbance of the peace: excessive noise from the surroundings, for example from nightclubs or building work, that makes it impossible to rest.
- Failure to provide basic services: no food, no drinking water, or air conditioning that doesn't work.
- Transport problems: lost luggage that only turns up partway through the stay, or no reservation on the plane.
One example from Czech practice is the case of a family who ended up at a "peaceful spot" from the brochure but were in fact exposed to night-time noise from nearby nightclubs. The Supreme Court awarded compensation, because the situation significantly spoiled their stay.
Some interesting examples from practice
Court decisions from abroad show further cases where a claim for compensation was upheld:
- An unsuitable hotel: in Germany, a family was put up in a hotel 70 km from the original location. This fundamental difference spoiled the holiday and led to compensation being awarded.
- Noise on board ship: a married couple on a luxury round-the-world cruise endured constant noise in their cabin because of technical problems, which led to stress and health issues. The compensation came to several times the price of the tour.
- Wasted time: a family who spent the first four days of their holiday without their luggage received non-material compensation in Poland for the wasted time and the inconvenience.
How much can the compensation be?
The amount of compensation for a spoiled holiday depends on several factors, including:
- The price of the tour: compensation usually corresponds to a percentage of the tour price. German and British practice shows that it is often around 50% of the price of the tour.
- The length of the holiday: shorter holidays can attract relatively higher compensation for each spoiled day.
- The seriousness of the problem: compensation tends to be higher in situations where the holiday was completely ruined, for example when the tour was cancelled at the last minute.
The amount of compensation can also reflect things such as this being the family's only holiday of the year.
In one case, the Czech Supreme Court awarded a sum corresponding to 20% of the tour price, which came to 15,000 CZK, because the travel agency had, without agreement, put a family in a four-bed room with an extra bed instead of two double rooms, one of which was to have included an extra bed. Even after the customers complained immediately, the travel agency offered no alternative accommodation (NS 33 Cdo 1959/2017).
What to do if you want compensation
- Secure your evidence: photographs, witness statements, confirmation of your complaint, or your correspondence with the travel agency are key to proving how serious the disruption was.
- Make a complaint: tell the travel agency about the problems as soon as possible, ideally during the tour.
- Turn to the courts: if the travel agency does not meet your request for compensation, you can bring your claim before a court. In doing so, you can use the "Frankfurt Table", for example, as a rough guide for working out the amount of compensation.
A holiday is meant to be a time to rest, and if someone spoils it, you have the right to do something about it. If you find yourself in a situation like this, we will be glad to help you go about getting your compensation.