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One 100-year-old oak tree crashed down on the initial day of a holiday. Moments 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 shattered the living room window and damaged the roof. "I was certain the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "If it had fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or killed."

Had it fallen 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 shaken 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 similar automated messages before closing the pending case with a upbeat "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 rather than celebrating a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Issues Surface

With the summer season has ended, numerous travel nightmare accounts are emerging.

Unfortunate travelers report being locked in or locked out their rental – if it was real – or left stranded at night in unfamiliar cities when it wasn't. Stories include filthy bedrooms, dangerous equipment and illegal sublets. One common factor connects these ruined holidays: they were booked through online booking platforms that declined refunds.

The expansion of booking websites has prompted a increase in travelers organizing their own holidays. These companies showcase global property listings on their platforms and promise to satisfy wanderlust on a limited funds.

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

Regulatory Gaps

All-inclusive customers have legal options for holiday nightmares under consumer travel regulations, but those who reserve accommodation through third-party platforms find themselves dependent on their host's cooperation.

Some platforms promote extra protections, but your agreement 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 twice that for a hotel. They still await notification about whether they are liable for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's protection pledge to refund customers for serious problems, the company declared it was up to the host to agree a refund; the host insisted the determination was the platform's.

After two and a half months of identical automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform declared the case had continued 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 celebrate 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 most of their single full day in the city after a security lock on the front door malfunctioned.

"The host sent a repair person, who was unable to help," she says. "They eventually called a locksmith who attempted for several hours to access the lock from the outside. He had to purchase 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 remove it. It turned out 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 requested 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 pay for the new lock. The deposit was finally 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 reserved for £70 when, upon trying to check in, he found the lockbox empty. The owners told 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 isn't responding to them there's nothing they can do," he states. "I don't understand how a business can operate this way with no accountability. The extra frustration 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 delisted, it said customers should read guest feedback to ensure a property was "the right fit."

Review Processes

Ratings do not always reveal the complete picture. A previous investigation highlighted that one platform's default system was displaying reviews it considered "important." This means that it is simple for users to overlook a current flood of reviews warning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform countered that customers could readily organize reviews by the most recent or worst ratings so as to make their own decision on a property.

The same report claimed that listings that had been multiple times reported as scams were not taken down. The platform answered that it relied on hosts to abide by its rules and ensure that booking information was up to date.

Legal Uncertainty

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

Major platforms commit to help find other accommodation in an emergency, but getting payment for a interrupted stay is a more difficult struggle. Both typically rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The sector needs greater regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Because online platforms essentially self-regulate, the only course of action if the dispute continues is lawsuits," experts say. "But against whom? As the contract is between you and the host you'd have to take court proceedings in their country."

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

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

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

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