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One 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 destroyed their table and chairs and damaged their rental car's windscreen.

The vacation home in Provence, France was covered by branches that shattered the living room window and harmed the roof. "I was certain the ceiling would cave in," James recalls. "If it had fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or killed."

If it had come down minutes earlier we would have been seriously injured or fatally wounded

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

The booking platform remained unperturbed. "We understand this may have caused some disruption," stated the first of many identical automated messages before concluding the pending case with a cheerful "Keep safe. Stay healthy."

The host also showed little concern. "All that happened was you heard a loud noise and saw a tree lying on the terrace," she replied to the couple's refund request. "You decided to focus on the worry and distress instead of celebrating a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Issues Emerge

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

Unlucky travelers report being locked in or locked out their rental – when it existed – or left stranded at night in unfamiliar cities when it did not. Accounts include filthy bedrooms, dangerous equipment and unauthorized sublets. One shared element unites these spoiled holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that declined refunds.

The expansion of booking websites has prompted a rise in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms showcase global property listings on their websites and guarantee to fulfill wanderlust on a budget.

Customer safeguards, though, have not kept pace with their popularity.

Regulatory Loopholes

All-inclusive customers have legal recourse for holiday disasters under travel protection regulations, but those who reserve accommodation through online booking services find themselves reliant on their host's cooperation.

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

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the Provençal cottage and when they felt sufficiently endangered to return, ended up paying double the amount for a hotel. They have yet to receive information about whether they are liable for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's protection pledge to reimburse customers for serious problems, the company stated it was up to the host to agree a refund; the host insisted the decision was the platform's.

After 10 weeks of similar automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform declared the case had dragged on long enough and summarily closed it. The host decided that since repairs had cost her €5,000 (£4,350), she would not be offering a refund either. She suggested that instead the couple commemorate their survival and "turn the event into a positive story."

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

Locked In

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a two-night 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 malfunctioned.

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was unable to help," she states. "Finally they called a locksmith who tried for several hours to access 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 tools. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith banging it from the outside, we finally managed to remove it. It turned out loose screws had blocked the mechanism. By then it was nearly 4pm."

We would have been at grave danger 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 ruined trip and the anxiety. The booking platform said this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only declined, but withheld her €250 deposit to pay for the replacement lock. The deposit was eventually returned by the platform but Pocock felt she was owed 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 informed him they were overseas and could not help and advised him to locate alternative accommodation for the night. He paid an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months trying unsuccessfully to get this reimbursed.

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

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

Rating Systems

Reviews do not always tell the complete picture. A recent consumer report highlighted that one platform's standard setup was displaying reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy for users to overlook a recent flood of reviews warning 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 claimed that listings that had been repeatedly reported as scams were not taken down. The platform responded that it depended on hosts to follow its rules and ensure that booking information was current.

Regulatory Uncertainty

The issue for travelers who do not get what they expected is that their contract is with the accommodation provider rather than the booking platform.

Major platforms promise to help find other accommodation in an crisis, but getting payment for a interrupted stay is a more difficult struggle. Both typically rely on the owner to do the right thing.

The industry needs greater regulation, according to consumer advocates. "Because online platforms essentially police themselves, the only option if the dispute isn't resolved is legal action," experts say. "But who against? As the contract is between you and the host you'd have to take court proceedings in their country."

They add: "You could argue that the online marketplace didn't manage to look into your complaint thoroughly and try to pursue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both companies are based abroad and have significant financial resources."

Government authorities say recent customer safety legislation requires online platforms to "exercise professional diligence" in relation to consumer transactions advertised or made on their platforms.

A representative states: "Government agencies are on the side of consumers and we have implemented tough new fines for breaches of consumer law to safeguard people's funds."

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