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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 massive tree smashed their table and chairs and damaged 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 certain the ceiling would cave in," James recalls. "Had it fallen minutes earlier, we could have been seriously injured or fatally wounded."

Had it come down minutes earlier we would have been seriously injured or killed

Urgent repairs took 24 hours after the host winched the tree off the property, but the traumatized couple worried the building might be structurally unsound and decided to book a hotel for the remainder of their week-long stay.

The booking platform showed little concern. "We understand this may have caused some disruption," wrote the first of many identical automated messages before concluding the unresolved case with a cheerful "Keep safe. Be well."

The host also showed little concern. "All that happened was you heard a loud noise and observed a tree resting on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You decided to focus on the worry and trauma instead of cherishing a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Problems Surface

Now that the summer season has ended, numerous travel nightmare accounts are coming to light.

Unfortunate travelers report being locked in or unable to enter their rental – if it was real – or left stranded at night in strange cities when it did not. Accounts include dirty bedrooms, dangerous equipment and unauthorized sublets. One shared element unites these ruined holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that refused refunds.

The expansion of rental platforms has led to a increase in travelers arranging their own holidays. These platforms display global property listings on their websites and guarantee to fulfill wanderlust on a budget.

Customer safeguards, though, have not kept pace with their widespread use.

Legal Loopholes

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

Some platforms advertise extra protections, but your contract is with the individual or company providing 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 twice that for a hotel. They still await notification about whether they are responsible for the damaged rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program to reimburse customers for major issues, the company stated it was up to the host to approve a refund; the host claimed the determination was the platform's.

After two and a half months of identical automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform announced 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 providing a refund either. She suggested that instead the couple commemorate 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 safety policies.

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to reserve a flat for a two-night stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were left trapped the property for most of their single full day in the city after a safety lock on the front door failed.

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was could not to help," she states. "Finally they sent a locksmith who tried for multiple 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 pliers. With us levering the lock from the inside and the locksmith banging it from the outside, we eventually managed to extract it. It turned out unfastened bolts had jammed the mechanism. By then it was nearly 4pm."

We would have been at grave danger if there had been an emergency while we were locked in, yet the host blamed us for using the lock

Pocock asked for a complete reimbursement to compensate her ruined trip and the stress. The booking platform said this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only refused, but withheld 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 trapped outside 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 overseas and could not help and suggested him to locate somewhere else for the night. He spent an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the intervening four months attempting in vain 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 says. "I can't comprehend how a business can operate this way with no accountability. The extra frustration is that the property in question is still being advertised on the platform."

The platform refunded both customers after intervention. The company verified the host who had left Philip out of his rental had failed to its inquiries. When asked why dishonest accommodation providers were not delisted, it said customers should review guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Review Systems

Ratings do not always tell the whole story. A previous consumer report highlighted that one platform's standard setup was displaying reviews it considered "relevant." This means that it is easy for users to miss a recent flood of reviews cautioning that a listing is a scam or not available.

The platform responded that customers could easily sort reviews by the most recent or worst ratings 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 removed. The platform responded that it relied on hosts to follow its rules and ensure that booking information was up to date.

Regulatory Grey Area

The problem 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 alternative accommodation in an emergency, but getting payment for a interrupted stay is a more difficult struggle. Both typically rely on the owner to do the right thing.

The sector needs more regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Because online platforms effectively police themselves, the only course of action if the dispute isn't resolved 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: "One might claim that the online marketplace didn't manage to look into your complaint properly and try to pursue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both firms are based overseas and have deep pockets."

Government authorities 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 says: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have implemented strict new fines for breaches of consumer law to protect people's money."

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