Foreign hotel had too many foreigners!

[Jock04]

Not sure this is the right section, but seems as good as any........

AFP - Saturday, May 31 01:45 am LONDON (AFP) - A British holidaymaker was awarded compensation by a court because there were too many German tourists at the hotel he booked in Greece, newspapers reported Saturday
David Barnish, 47, paid 4,000 pounds (5,100 euros, 8,000 dollars) to take his wife and three daughters to a resort in Kos, but the family were unable to take part in entertainment or children's activities because they were only organised in the German language, the Daily Telegraph and Sun reported.
Barnish sued holiday company Thomson for breach of contract, claiming it had failed to disclose that the Grecotel Park hotel was used almost exclusively by Germans.
A court in the central English city of Stoke awarded him 750 pounds in compensation after a judge ruled that customers at a hotel featured in an English-language brochure should be provided for in their own language, the reports said.
Barnish told the papers: "I'm not racist. I wouldn't like to take my family holiday at a hotel over-run by English holidaymakers and the same would also apply if there were French or Spanish or any nationality.
"But everything from the leaflets telling you what's on in the morning to the people staying there, the language the reps spoke in and service was all in German."
Barnish said just 25 of the 700 guests at the hotel were English when his family stayed there in August 2007, and the remainder were mostly German.
A Thomson spokesman said in a statement: "We are sorry that Mr Barnish did not feel the entertainment on his holiday was what he expected."

Imagine...a foreign hotel with too many damn foreigners!

A suitable case for compo, or complete madness?

 

[ajapale]

I don't see what the problem is?

The company contracted to provide the customers with services in the English Language. The company failed to meet its contractual obligations. The consumer sued and won their case.

Nothing more nothing less.

 

[Jock04]

I don't see what the problem is?

The company contracted to provide the customers with services in the English Language. The company failed to meet its contractual obligations. The consumer sued and won their case.

Nothing more nothing less.

I didn't say there was a problem.
Just expressed my surprise that compo could be claimed because a Greek hotel didn't advertise their activities in English.

 

[rmelly]

Imagine...a foreign hotel with too many damn foreigners!

A suitable case for compo, or complete madness?

If you ignore the headline grabbing references to racism & foreigners it was perfectly reasonable of him to take action.

Would you complain if there was no entertainment or childrens activities when you expected and paid for them? In effect that was the situation as they were in German and were meaningless to him and his family.

didn't advertise their activities in English

I also think you have misunderstood the point of his complaint - everything was in German - the entertainment itself, the reps etc NOT JUST the leaflets.

 

[Jock04]

If you ignore the headline grabbing references to racism & foreigners it was perfectly reasonable of him to take action.

Would you complain if there was no entertainment or childrens activities when you expected and paid for them? In effect that was the situation as they were in German and were meaningless to him and his family.



I also think you have misunderstood the point of his complaint - everything was in German - the entertainment itself, the reps etc NOT JUST the leaflets.

Yep, I can see past the headlines alright.
Yes I agree 100% that if the brochure/holiday company advertised services it did not fulfill, the complainant had a case. Indeed, he has my sympathy,for what it's worth. I understood the point of his complaint too - that it wasn't just the leaflets. My mistake to type "advertise" instead of "conduct".
However, taking the Judge's comments at face value - ruled that customers at a hotel featured in an English-language brochure should be provided for in their own language, the reports said. -
he seems to have gone much further.

The point of my original post wasn't to attack the complainant.
I'm curious as to whether holiday companies who sell holidays further afield, such as Kuoni,will have to print disclaimers that English may not be spoken in some of the resorts they offer, to avoid similar complaints.

Quite possibly the Judges' comments are over-edited. But, like I said, I'm just curious as to whether this will open the floodgates to similar claims from people who visit, say, Vietnam, and find the menu, bar entertainment etc are only in Vietnamese.

 

[gebbel]

Imagine...a foreign hotel with too many damn foreigners!

A suitable case for compo, or complete madness?

Don't share your amazement Jock. I think he was right in taking the action and was correctly compensated.