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A 100-year-old oak tree toppled over on the initial day of a vacation. Moments after James and his partner Andrew had finished breakfasting on the terrace, the massive tree destroyed their table and chairs and crushed their rental car's windscreen.

The vacation home in Provence, France was engulfed by branches that broke the living room window and harmed the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "If it had fallen minutes earlier, we could have been seriously injured or fatally wounded."

If it had fallen moments earlier we would have been critically hurt or fatally wounded

Urgent repairs took 24 hours after the host hauled the tree off the property, but the traumatized couple feared the building might be unsafe and chose to book a hotel for the rest of their week-long stay.

The booking platform showed little concern. "We understand this may have created some inconvenience," stated the first of many identical automated messages before concluding the pending case with a cheerful "Stay safe. Be well."

The host displayed little concern. "The only incident was you heard a loud noise and saw a tree lying on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You decided to remember the anxiety and distress instead of cherishing a unique memory."

Summer Vacation Problems Surface

With the peak travel period has concluded, numerous holiday horror stories are emerging.

Unfortunate travelers report being trapped inside or unable to enter their accommodation – when it existed – or abandoned at night in unfamiliar cities when it wasn't. Accounts include dirty bedrooms, unsafe equipment and unauthorized sublets. One common factor connects these ruined holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that declined refunds.

The expansion of rental platforms has prompted a rise in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms display global property listings on their websites and guarantee to satisfy wanderlust on a limited funds.

Customer safeguards, though, have not caught up with their popularity.

Regulatory Gaps

Package-deal customers have legal recourse for holiday disasters under consumer travel regulations, but those who reserve accommodation through third-party platforms find themselves reliant on their host's cooperation.

Some platforms promote additional protections, but your agreement is with the person or company providing the accommodation.

James and Andrew had paid £931 for their week in the French cottage and when they felt sufficiently endangered to return, ended up paying twice that for a hotel. They still await information about whether they are responsible for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program to reimburse customers for serious problems, the company stated it was up to the host to agree a refund; the host claimed the decision was the platform's.

After two and a half months of similar automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform announced the case had continued long enough and abruptly ended it. The host decided that since repairs had cost her €5,000 (£4,350), she would not be offering a refund either. She proposed that instead the couple commemorate their survival and "turn the event into a positive story."

The platform finally issued a full refund along with a £500 voucher after inquiries were raised about its health and safety policies.

Locked In

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a weekend stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were left trapped the property for the majority of their only full day in the city after a security lock on the front door malfunctioned.

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was could not to help," she says. "Finally they called a locksmith who tried for multiple hours to fix the lock from the outside. He had to buy a rope, which he threw up to our window and we lifted up a tool and pliers. With us levering the lock from the inside and the locksmith banging it from the outside, we eventually managed to remove it. It turned out loose screws had blocked the mechanism. By then it was almost 4pm."

We would have been at serious risk if there had been an crisis while we were locked in, yet the host faulted us for using the lock

Pocock asked for a full refund to make up for her spoiled trip and the stress. The booking platform indicated this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only declined, but withheld her €250 deposit to cover the replacement lock. The deposit was eventually returned by the platform but Pocock felt she was due the €446 rental cost.

Another platform customer, Philip, was locked out the London flat he reserved for £70 when, upon trying to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were abroad and could not help and suggested him to locate somewhere else for the night. He paid an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months attempting in vain to get this refunded.

"The platform has basically said that as the owner won't reply to them there's nothing they can do," he says. "I don't understand how a business can function this way with no responsibility. The additional frustration is that the property in question is still being advertised on the platform."

The platform reimbursed both customers after intervention. The company verified the host who had left Philip out of his rental had not responded to its questions. When asked why unscrupulous accommodation providers were not removed, it said customers should review guest feedback to ensure a property was "the right fit."

Review Processes

Ratings do not always reveal the whole story. A previous investigation highlighted that one platform's standard setup was showing reviews it considered "relevant." This means that it is simple for users to miss a current flood of reviews warning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform countered that customers could readily sort reviews by the newest or worst ratings so as to make their own decision on a property.

The same report stated that listings that had been repeatedly reported as scams were not taken down. The platform responded that it depended on hosts to abide by its terms and conditions and ensure that booking information was current.

Regulatory Uncertainty

The problem for travelers who do not get what they paid for is that their legal agreement is with the accommodation provider rather than the booking platform.

Major platforms promise to help find alternative accommodation in an crisis, but getting compensation for a interrupted stay is a more difficult struggle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The industry needs greater regulation, according to consumer advocates. "Since online platforms effectively police themselves, the only course of action if the dispute continues is legal action," experts say. "But against whom? As the contract is between you and the host you'd have to take legal action in their country."

They continue: "You could argue that the online marketplace didn't manage to look into your complaint thoroughly and try to sue them, but this is a grey area. Both firms are based overseas and have deep pockets."

Government authorities say new consumer protection legislation requires online platforms to "demonstrate professional diligence" in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms.

A spokesperson says: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have brought into force tough new financial penalties for breaches of consumer law to safeguard people's money."

They continued: "Businesses selling services to local consumers must comply with local law, and we have strengthened oversight authorities' powers to make sure they face severe penalties if they do not."