Can You Sue Over a Bad Vacation? Travel Lawyers Explain

As the price of leisure climbs, so do travelers’ expectations. Here’s when it’s worth pushing for a refund—and when it’s time to let it go

At some point, did leisure stop being leisurely? Maybe it happened when travelers began waking before sunrise to drape towels across resort loungers like territorial flags. That phenomenon reached a legal breaking point this spring when a German court awarded a tourist roughly $1,200 after ruling that his Greek resort vacation had been diminished by his inability to secure a coveted pool chair. Sounds like peak vacation absurdity, but it actually might reflect a new reality: as vacations become increasingly expensive, travelers are less willing to shrug off disappointments that undermine the rest and relaxation they paid for. But would a case like this ever succeed in the United States?

Probably not, says Danny Karon, a class-action trial attorney specializing in antitrust, consumer fraud,…