🔗 Share this article

A 100-year-old oak tree toppled over on the initial day of a vacation. Minutes after James and his partner Andrew had finished breakfasting on the terrace, the enormous tree smashed their table and chairs and crushed their rental car's windscreen.

The rental cottage in Provence, France was engulfed by branches that broke the living room window and damaged the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would cave in," James recalls. "Had it fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or killed."

If it had fallen minutes earlier we would have been critically hurt or fatally wounded

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

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

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

Peak Season Travel Problems Surface

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

Unlucky travelers report being trapped inside or unable to enter their accommodation – if it was real – or left stranded at night in strange cities when it did not. Stories include filthy bedrooms, unsafe equipment and unauthorized sublets. One shared element connects these spoiled holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that declined refunds.

The expansion of booking websites has prompted a increase in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms display global property portfolios on their websites and guarantee to satisfy wanderlust on a budget.

Customer safeguards, though, have not caught up with their popularity.

Regulatory Loopholes

Package-deal customers have legal recourse for holiday nightmares under consumer travel regulations, but those who book accommodation through online booking services find themselves reliant on their host's cooperation.

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

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the French cottage and when they felt too unsafe to return, ended up spending double the amount for a hotel. They still await information about whether they are responsible for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program 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 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 concluded that since repairs had cost her €5,000 (£4,350), she would not be providing a refund either. She proposed that instead the couple celebrate their survival and "turn the event into a beautiful story."

The platform eventually issued a full refund along with a £500 voucher after inquiries were raised about its safety policies.

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a weekend stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were stuck inside the property for most of their only full day in the city after a safety lock on the front door malfunctioned.

"The host sent a repair person, who was unable to help," she says. "Finally they called a locksmith who tried for multiple hours to access the lock from the outside. He had to buy a rope, which he tossed up to our window and we lifted up a tool and pliers. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith banging it from the outside, we finally managed to extract it. It turned out loose screws had blocked the mechanism. By then it was almost 4pm."

We would have been at serious risk 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 spoiled trip and the stress. The booking platform indicated this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only refused, but withheld her €250 deposit to pay for 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 booked for £70 when, upon attempting to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were abroad and could not help and advised him to find somewhere else for the night. He spent an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months trying in vain to get this refunded.

"The platform has essentially said that as the owner isn't responding to them there's little they can do," he states. "I don't understand how a business can function this way with no responsibility. 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 confirmed the host who had locked Philip out of his rental had not responded to its inquiries. When asked why unscrupulous accommodation providers were not delisted, it said customers should read guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Review Systems

Reviews do not always reveal the complete picture. A recent investigation highlighted that one platform's standard setup was displaying reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy for users to miss a recent flood of reviews cautioning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform countered that customers could easily sort 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 multiple times reported as scams were not removed. The platform answered that it relied on hosts to abide by its rules and ensure that availability was up to date.

Legal Uncertainty

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

Major platforms commit to help find other accommodation in an emergency, but getting payment for a disrupted stay is a tougher 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 self-regulate, the only option if the dispute isn't resolved is legal action," 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: "You could argue that the online marketplace didn't manage to look into your complaint thoroughly and try to sue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both firms are registered abroad and have significant financial resources."

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

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