Tourist Being Sued By Austrian Hotel For Leaving Review Mentioning 'Nazi Grandpa'

A German tourist is being sued by the owner of a hotel after he left reviews online claiming they had hung up a picture of a 'Nazi grandpa'.

The guest, known only as Thomas K, hit out at the Austrian hotel, saying he saw a photograph of a man in Nazi-themed military uniform complete with a swastika on display at the entrance to the hotel.

Thomas was on holiday with his wife in the Tyrolean Alps last August, when he allegedly spotted the memorabilia.

He claimed that while they were checking into their hotel, he spotted two framed pictures in the lobby.

According to the disgruntled guest, one of them was of a young man in Wehrmacht with an eagle and swastika badge, the other was of an older man.

PA

Following his stay, Thomas left reviews on Tripadvisor and Booking.com, criticising the owner of the hotel for their alleged choice of decor.

He then posted reviews in German and English which read: "At the entrance, they display a picture of a Nazi grandpa.

"This made us wonder what the hotel owners are trying to tell us with this image. This incident speaks volumes about the current state of affairs in this region of Austria.

"Sadly, our desire to visit this mountain region has disappeared completely."

According to reports, the hotel's owner got in touch with the sites to ask them to take the reviews down, claiming they were defamatory.

And while Booking.com agreed to remove the comments, TripAdvisor did not, which led to a court case.

PA

Despite having posted his reviews under a pseudonym, authorities were able to identify him because of his booking reference.

Lawyer Stefan Kofler alleged that Thomas' comments 'gave millions of people the impression that my client sympathises with National Socialism' which damaged the reputation of the hotel owners.

An Austrian court in Innsbruck ruled today that the tourists had no right to use the travel sites to complain about the hotel.

The hotel owner argued that it is customary for people in Tyrol to hang pictures of dead relatives, and the man in the military uniform was allegedly 'forced to enlist' and killed in the war.

She managed to get a court injunction ordering the tourists to delete their comments. The couple is set to appeal the decision.

Topics: World News, Interesting, History, Hotel

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom