🔗 Share this article

A 100-year-old oak tree toppled over on the initial 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 damaged their rental car's windscreen.

The vacation home in Provence, France was engulfed by branches that shattered the living room window and harmed the roof. "I was certain the ceiling would cave in," James recalls. "Had it fallen moments earlier, we could have been critically hurt or killed."

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

Emergency repairs took 24 hours after the host winched the tree off the property, but the shaken couple worried the building might be unsafe and chose to book a hotel for the rest of their week-long stay.

The booking platform showed little concern. "We recognize this may have caused some inconvenience," wrote the first of many identical automated messages before concluding the pending case with a cheerful "Keep safe. Stay healthy."

The host also showed little concern. "All that happened was you experienced a loud sound and observed a tree resting on the terrace," she replied to the couple's refund request. "You have chosen to focus on the worry and distress rather than celebrating a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Problems Surface

Now that the peak travel period has concluded, countless holiday horror stories are coming to light.

Unlucky travelers report being trapped inside or locked out their accommodation – when it existed – or left stranded at night in unfamiliar cities when it did not. Stories include filthy bedrooms, unsafe equipment and illegal sublets. One shared element connects these spoiled holidays: they were booked through online booking platforms that declined refunds.

The growth of booking websites has led to a increase in travelers arranging their own holidays. These platforms display worldwide property listings on their websites and promise to fulfill wanderlust on a budget.

Customer safeguards, though, 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 reliant on their host's cooperation.

Some platforms advertise additional protections, but your contract is with the individual or company providing the accommodation.

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the French cottage and when they felt sufficiently endangered to return, found themselves paying twice that for a hotel. They still await notification about whether they are responsible for the damaged rental car. Despite the platform's protection pledge to refund customers for major issues, the company declared 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 similar automated messages in response to James's complaint, the platform announced the case had dragged on 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 suggested that instead the couple celebrate their survival and "turn the event into a beautiful story."

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

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a two-night stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were stuck inside the property for the majority of their only full day in the city after a security lock on the front door failed.

"The host sent a maintenance man, who was unable to help," she says. "Finally they called a locksmith who attempted for multiple hours to fix the lock from the outside. He had to buy a rope, which he tossed up to our window and we hoisted 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 remove it. It turned out unfastened bolts 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 blamed us for using the lock

Pocock asked for a full refund to make up for her ruined trip and the anxiety. The booking platform said this was at the decision 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 locked out the London flat he reserved for £70 when, upon attempting to check in, he found the lockbox empty. The owners told him they were abroad and could not help and suggested him to find alternative accommodation 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 isn't responding to them there's little they can do," he says. "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 reimbursed both customers after involvement. The company verified the host who had left 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 "suitable for them."

Rating Processes

Reviews do not always reveal the whole story. A previous investigation highlighted that one platform's standard setup was showing reviews it considered "relevant." This means that it is easy for users to overlook a current deluge of reviews cautioning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform responded that customers could readily organize reviews by the newest or lowest score so as to make their own decision on a property.

The same report claimed that listings that had been repeatedly reported as scams were not removed. The platform answered that it depended on hosts to abide by its terms and conditions and ensure that booking information was up to date.

Regulatory Uncertainty

The issue 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 commit to help find other accommodation in an crisis, but getting compensation for a disrupted stay is a more difficult battle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The industry needs greater regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Since online platforms essentially self-regulate, the only option 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 pursue them, but this is a grey area. Both firms are registered abroad and have significant financial resources."

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

A representative states: "Government agencies are on the side of consumers and we have implemented tough new fines for breaches of consumer law to safeguard people's funds."

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