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A 100-year-old oak tree crashed down on the first day of a holiday. Moments after James and his partner Andrew had finished breakfasting on the terrace, the enormous tree destroyed their table and chairs and crushed their rental car's windscreen.

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

Had it come down moments earlier we would have been critically hurt or fatally wounded

Emergency repairs took a full day after the host hauled the tree off the property, but the traumatized couple feared the building might be unsafe and decided to reserve a hotel for the remainder of their week-long stay.

The booking platform showed little concern. "We understand this may have created some disruption," wrote the first of many identical automated messages before concluding the pending case with a upbeat "Stay safe. Stay healthy."

The host displayed little concern. "All that happened was you experienced a loud sound and saw a tree resting on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You decided to focus on the anxiety and trauma instead of celebrating a unique memory."

Peak Season Travel Problems Surface

With the peak travel period has ended, numerous holiday horror stories are coming to light.

Unlucky travelers report being trapped inside or locked out their accommodation – if it was real – or abandoned at night in unfamiliar cities when it wasn't. Accounts include filthy bedrooms, dangerous equipment and unauthorized sublets. One shared element unites these spoiled holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that refused refunds.

The growth of rental platforms has led to a rise in travelers organizing their own holidays. These companies display global property portfolios on their websites and promise to fulfill travel dreams on a budget.

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

Regulatory Loopholes

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

Some platforms advertise extra protections, but your agreement is with the person or company offering the accommodation.

James and Andrew had paid £931 for their week in the Provençal cottage and when they felt sufficiently endangered to return, ended up spending twice that for a hotel. They have yet to receive information about whether they are responsible for the damaged rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program to refund customers for major issues, the company stated it was up to the host to agree a refund; the host insisted the determination was the platform's.

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

The platform finally issued a full refund along with a £500 voucher after questions were raised about its 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 most of their single full day in the city after a security lock on the front door failed.

"The host sent a repair person, who was could not to help," she says. "They eventually called a locksmith who attempted 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 wrench and tools. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith hammering it from the outside, we finally managed to extract it. It turned out unfastened bolts 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 locked in, yet the host faulted us for using the lock

Pocock asked for a full refund to compensate her spoiled trip and the anxiety. The booking platform indicated this was at the decision 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 trapped outside the London flat he booked 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 somewhere else for the night. He spent an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the intervening four months trying in vain to get this reimbursed.

"The platform has basically 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 intervention. The company confirmed the host who had locked Philip out of his rental had failed to its inquiries. When asked why unscrupulous accommodation providers were not removed, it said customers should read 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 standard setup was showing reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy for users to miss a current flood of reviews cautioning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

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

The same report claimed that listings that had been multiple times reported as scams were not removed. The platform answered that it depended on hosts to abide by its terms and conditions and ensure that availability was current.

Regulatory Grey Area

The problem for travelers who do not get what they expected 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 disrupted stay is a tougher battle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The sector needs greater regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Since online platforms effectively police themselves, the only course of action if the dispute isn't resolved is lawsuits," analysts say. "But who against? As the contract is between you and the host you'd have to take legal action in their country."

They add: "One might claim that the online marketplace didn't manage to investigate your complaint properly and try to sue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both companies are based overseas and have significant financial resources."

Regulatory bodies say recent consumer protection legislation requires online platforms to "exercise professional diligence" in relation to consumer purchases 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 violations of consumer law to safeguard people's funds."

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