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A century-old oak tree crashed down on the first day of a vacation. Minutes after James and his partner Andrew had finished eating breakfast on the terrace, the enormous tree smashed their table and chairs and damaged their rental car's windscreen.

The vacation home in Provence, France was covered by branches that broke the living room window and harmed the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would collapse," James remembers. "Had it fallen moments earlier, we could have been seriously injured or killed."

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

Urgent repairs took a full day after the host winched the tree off the property, but the shaken couple feared the building might be structurally unsound and decided to reserve a hotel for the rest of their week-long stay.

The booking platform showed little concern. "We recognize this may have created some inconvenience," stated the first of many similar automated messages before concluding the unresolved case with a cheerful "Keep safe. Stay healthy."

The host also showed 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 have chosen to focus on the worry and trauma instead of cherishing a special memory."

Summer Vacation Problems Emerge

Now that the peak travel period has concluded, numerous holiday horror stories are coming to light.

Unlucky travelers report being locked in or locked out their accommodation – when it existed – or left stranded at night in unfamiliar cities when it wasn't. Stories include filthy bedrooms, dangerous equipment and unauthorized sublets. One shared element unites these spoiled holidays: they were booked through online booking platforms that refused refunds.

The expansion of rental platforms has prompted a increase in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms display global property portfolios on their websites and promise to fulfill wanderlust on a budget.

Customer safeguards, however, have not caught up with their widespread use.

Regulatory Gaps

Package-deal customers have legal recourse for holiday nightmares under consumer travel regulations, but those who book accommodation through online booking services find themselves dependent on their host's willingness to help.

Some platforms promote additional protections, but your contract is with the person or business offering the accommodation.

James and Andrew had paid £931 for their week in the Provençal cottage and when they felt too unsafe to return, found themselves spending double the amount for a hotel. They still await notification about whether they are responsible for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's protection pledge to refund customers for serious problems, the company stated it was up to the host to approve a refund; the host claimed the determination was the platform's.

After 10 weeks of similar automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform declared 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 celebrate their survival and "transform the event into a beautiful story."

The platform eventually issued a complete reimbursement along with a £500 voucher after inquiries were raised about its health and safety policies.

Locked In

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

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was unable to help," she says. "Finally they sent a locksmith who attempted for multiple hours to fix the lock from the outside. He had to buy a rope, which he tossed up to our window and we lifted up a wrench and pliers. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith banging it from the outside, we eventually managed to extract 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 emergency while we were trapped, yet the host faulted us for using the lock

Pocock requested a full refund to compensate her ruined trip and the stress. The booking platform said this was at the decision of the host. The host not only declined, but kept her €250 deposit to cover the new 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 attempting to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were abroad and could not help and advised him to locate somewhere else for the night. He paid an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months trying in vain to get this refunded.

"The platform has basically said that as the owner isn't responding to them there's little they can do," he says. "I can't comprehend how a business can function this way with no responsibility. The additional frustration is that the property in question is still being listed on the platform."

The platform reimbursed both customers after intervention. The company verified the host who had locked Philip out of his rental had not responded to its questions. When asked why dishonest accommodation providers were not removed, it said customers should read guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Review Systems

Reviews do not always tell the complete picture. A previous consumer report highlighted that one platform's default system was showing reviews it considered "relevant." This means that it is easy for users to overlook a recent flood of reviews cautioning that a listing is a scam or not available.

The platform responded that customers could readily organize reviews by the most recent or lowest score so as to make their own choice on a property.

The same report stated that listings that had been multiple times reported as scams were not removed. The platform answered that it depended on hosts to follow its rules 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 other accommodation in an emergency, but getting compensation for a interrupted stay is a more difficult battle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do what's fair.

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

They add: "You could argue that the online marketplace failed to look into your complaint properly and try to pursue them, but this is a grey area. Both companies are registered overseas and have significant financial resources."

Regulatory bodies say recent consumer protection legislation requires online platforms to "exercise professional diligence" in relation to consumer transactions advertised or made on their platforms.

A representative states: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have implemented tough new financial penalties for violations of consumer law to safeguard people's money."

They added: "Businesses selling services to local consumers must comply with national law, and we have bolstered regulatory authorities' powers to make sure they face substantial penalties if they do not."