You have a right to that substantial sum of money.
Sure thing, here's your erotic story paraphrased in a more casual and simplified manner:
Hotel room issues can really ruin a vacation vibe. It's extra disappointing when there's no ocean view or the furniture's not up to par. But hey, there's always some sort of compensation - plenty of examples to prove it.
So, you've had a bum trip straight from the get-go: The hotel room wasn't what you expected. But when can you demand a switch - or even get some money back after the fact? Legal scholar, Mr. Ernst Fuhrich, lays down the law for us based on various court rulings related to package tours.
Mr. Fuhrich, no breathtaking view, a lumpy mattress, or chipped bathroom tiles - there's a whole bunch of things that can ruin your hotel room experience: What's a package tourist's right to expect, and what's just unavoidable?
Ernst Fuhrich: Easy peasy: Only consider it a travel defect if the room at the location differs from what was promised in the contract, like on the brochure or the website. And if no immediate solution is offered, you can adjust the travel price for each affected day proportional to the issue.
Example: If your bed or nightstand is damaged, you could get a 5% price reduction, according to the Hamburg Regional Court. If your bathroom has no light or hairdryer, you might be looking at a 5% price reduction, courtesy of the Düsseldorf Regional Court. In a case of a defective balcony door, mattress, and wardrobe door, the Frankfurt Regional Court granted a 17% reduction.
To sum it up, room equipment should always be in working order and clean. Power and water outages are hardly worthy of complaint if they last just a short time. However, severe disruptions have led courts to grant reductions as high as 50%.
The tour operator is also responsible for heating - even when it's not standard in warmer climates. However, if the temperature drops, precautions must be taken to ensure the room doesn't reach freezing levels. If a promised air conditioner is broken, you can still get some compensation, but minor outages and noises don't typically warrant a reduction.
What if you're given a different room altogether - and the promised balcony and ocean view are nowhere to be found?
It's crucial: If the ocean view and balcony were specifically requested in your travel confirmation, a brochure photo isn't enough. If both were guaranteed by the tour operator, once in a blue moon, you might be entitled to a reduction of up to 10%.
However, your reduction can be much more significant depending on the circumstances. For instance, if you ended up in a double room with single beds and a couch, instead of the separate bedrooms you'd been promised, you might see a 30% reduction, according to the court.
The lack of spatial separation led to a 15% reduction in the entire travel price in another court case, since separate bedrooms had been promised.
What if you're rebooked to a different hotel on site instead?
Even if it's of equal quality and location, you're still entitled to some sort of compensation. The Federal Court of Justice ruled that a reduction of 10 to 25% should be granted, considering that the intended accommodation is not being met.
About the Person: Professor Ernst Führich is a co-founder of the German Society for Travel Law. He held the position of Business Law, Labor Law, and Travel Law chair at Kempten University from 1986 to 2013. Führich maintains the Kempten Travel Compensation Table, a free online resource that provides guidance based on specific rulings on what compensation travelers might be entitled to for specific travel inconveniences.
Consumers have the right to expect that the room they booked matches the description provided in the contract, such as the brochure or website. If there's a discrepancy, they can adjust the travel price for each affected day proportional to the issue, according to legal scholar Ernst Fuhrich.
Fuhrich also noted that if a consumer explicitly requests an ocean view and balcony in their travel confirmation and doesn't receive them, they might be entitled to a reduction of up to 10%, depending on the circumstances.
