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

The rental cottage in Provence, France was covered by branches that broke the living room window and damaged the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "If it had fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or fatally wounded."

Had it come down minutes earlier we would have been critically hurt or killed

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

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

The host also showed little concern. "All that happened was you experienced a loud sound and observed a tree resting on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You decided to focus on the anxiety and distress rather than celebrating a unique memory."

Summer Vacation Issues Surface

With the peak travel period has concluded, countless travel nightmare accounts are emerging.

Unlucky travelers report being trapped inside or locked out their rental – when it existed – or abandoned at night in strange cities when it did not. Stories include dirty bedrooms, dangerous equipment and illegal sublets. One common factor connects these ruined holidays: they were reserved through digital reservation services that refused refunds.

The growth of rental platforms has prompted a rise in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms display worldwide property listings on their platforms and promise to satisfy travel dreams on a limited funds.

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

Legal Gaps

Package-deal customers have legal options for holiday disasters under consumer travel regulations, but those who reserve 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 individual or company offering 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 spending double the amount for a hotel. They still await information about whether they are liable for the damaged rental car. Despite the platform's protection pledge to refund customers for major issues, the company declared 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 concluded 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 "transform 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.

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to reserve 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 safety lock on the front door failed.

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was unable to help," she says. "Finally they called a locksmith who attempted for several hours to access the lock from the outside. He had to purchase a rope, which he tossed up to our window and we lifted up a wrench and tools. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith hammering it from the outside, we eventually managed to remove it. It was discovered loose screws had jammed the mechanism. By then it was nearly 4pm."

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

Pocock asked for a complete reimbursement to make up for her spoiled trip and the stress. The booking platform said this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only declined, but withheld her €250 deposit to cover the new 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 booked for £70 when, upon trying to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were overseas and could not help and suggested him to find 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 reimbursed.

"The platform has essentially said that as the owner won't reply to them there's little they can do," he says. "I don't understand how a business can operate this way with no responsibility. The additional disappointment is that the property in question is still being listed on the platform."

The platform reimbursed both customers after involvement. 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 review guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Rating Processes

Ratings do not always reveal the whole story. A recent investigation highlighted that one platform's default system was showing reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy for users to overlook a recent deluge of reviews warning that a listing is a scam or not available.

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

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

Legal Uncertainty

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

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

The sector 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 court proceedings in their country."

They add: "You could argue that the online marketplace didn't manage to investigate your complaint properly and try to sue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both firms are registered overseas and have significant financial resources."

Regulatory bodies say new consumer protection legislation requires online platforms to "demonstrate professional diligence" in relation to consumer transactions promoted 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 protect people's funds."

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