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A 100-year-old oak tree toppled over on the first day of a holiday. Minutes after James and his partner Andrew had finished eating breakfast on the terrace, the enormous tree smashed 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 harmed the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would collapse," James remembers. "Had it fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or fatally wounded."

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

Emergency repairs took 24 hours after the host hauled the tree off the property, but the traumatized couple feared the building might be structurally unsound and chose to reserve a hotel for the remainder of their week-long stay.

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

The host also showed little concern. "All that happened was you heard a loud noise and saw a tree lying on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You have chosen to focus on the worry and trauma rather than cherishing a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Issues Surface

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

Unfortunate travelers report being locked in or locked out their rental – when it existed – or left stranded at night in unfamiliar cities when it did not. Stories include filthy bedrooms, unsafe equipment and unauthorized sublets. One common factor unites these spoiled holidays: they were booked through digital reservation services that declined refunds.

The expansion of rental platforms has led to a increase in travelers organizing their own holidays. These companies display worldwide property listings on their websites and guarantee to fulfill wanderlust on a limited funds.

Consumer protections, however, have not kept pace with their popularity.

Legal Gaps

All-inclusive customers have legal recourse 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 advertise extra protections, but your agreement is with the person or company offering the accommodation.

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the French cottage and when they felt too unsafe to return, found themselves spending twice that for a hotel. They still await information about whether they are liable for the broken rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program to reimburse customers for major issues, the company declared it was up to the host to agree 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 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 celebrate their survival and "turn the event into a beautiful story."

The platform finally issued a complete reimbursement along with a £500 voucher after questions were raised about its health and safety policies.

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a weekend stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were left trapped the property for the majority of their single full day in the city after a security lock on the front door failed.

"The host dispatched a maintenance man, who was could not to help," she states. "They eventually called a locksmith who attempted for multiple hours to fix the lock from the outside. He had to purchase 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 hammering it from the outside, we finally 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 emergency while we were trapped, yet the host faulted us for using the lock

Pocock requested a full refund to make up for her spoiled trip and the stress. The booking platform indicated this was at the decision of the host. The host not only declined, but kept 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 locked out the London flat he reserved 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 locate somewhere else for the night. He paid an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the intervening four months trying in vain to get this refunded.

"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 function this way with no accountability. The additional disappointment is that the property in question is still being listed on the platform."

The platform refunded both customers after involvement. The company confirmed the host who had left 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 "the right fit."

Rating Systems

Ratings do not always tell the whole story. A recent investigation highlighted that one platform's default system was displaying reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy 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 lowest score so as to make their own choice on a property.

The same report stated that listings that had been repeatedly reported as scams were not taken down. The platform answered that it depended on hosts to abide by its terms and conditions and ensure that availability was up to date.

Legal Grey Area

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

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

The industry needs more regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Since online platforms essentially self-regulate, the only course of action if the dispute isn't resolved is lawsuits," experts say. "But who against? 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 failed 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."

Regulatory bodies say new consumer protection legislation requires online platforms to "demonstrate professional diligence" in relation to consumer purchases promoted or made on their platforms.

A spokesperson says: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have brought into force tough new financial penalties for violations of consumer law to protect people's money."

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