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One 100-year-old oak tree toppled over on the first day of a vacation. Minutes after James and his partner Andrew had finished eating breakfast on the terrace, the massive 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 damaged the roof. "I was certain the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "If it had fallen minutes earlier, we could have been seriously injured 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 structurally unsound and chose to reserve a hotel for the rest of their week-long stay.

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

The host displayed 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 have chosen to focus on the worry and distress rather than celebrating a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Issues Emerge

Now that the summer season has ended, countless holiday horror stories are emerging.

Unfortunate travelers report being locked in or locked out their accommodation – when it existed – or left stranded at night in strange cities when it did not. Accounts include dirty bedrooms, unsafe equipment and unauthorized sublets. One common factor unites these spoiled holidays: they were reserved through online booking platforms that refused refunds.

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

Consumer protections, though, 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 willingness to help.

Some platforms promote 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 too unsafe to return, found themselves paying twice that for a hotel. They have yet to receive 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 declared 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 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 commemorate their survival and "turn the event into a positive story."

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

Locked In

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to reserve a flat for a two-night 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 dispatched a repair person, who was could not to help," she says. "Finally they sent a locksmith who attempted for multiple hours to fix 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 pliers. With us prying 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 serious risk if there had been an crisis while we were trapped, yet the host faulted us for using the lock

Pocock requested a complete reimbursement to make up for her spoiled trip and the anxiety. The booking platform indicated this was at the discretion of the host. The host not only declined, but kept her €250 deposit to cover the new lock. The deposit was finally 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 informed him they were abroad and could not help and suggested 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 in vain to get this refunded.

"The platform has basically said that as the owner isn't responding to them there's little they can do," he says. "I can't comprehend how a business can operate 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 locked Philip out of his rental had failed to its questions. When asked why dishonest accommodation providers were not removed, it said customers should read guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Review Systems

Reviews do not always tell the whole story. A previous consumer report highlighted that one platform's default system 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 scam or not available.

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

The same report stated 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 terms and conditions and ensure that booking information was up to date.

Regulatory Grey Area

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 promise to help find alternative accommodation in an emergency, but getting payment for a interrupted stay is a more difficult battle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The industry needs more regulation, according to consumer advocates. "Because online platforms effectively self-regulate, the only option if the dispute isn't resolved is legal action," 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 continue: "One might claim that the online marketplace didn't manage to investigate your complaint thoroughly and try to pursue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both companies are based overseas and have deep pockets."

Government authorities say recent customer safety legislation requires online platforms to "demonstrate professional diligence" in relation to consumer purchases advertised or made on their platforms.

A representative says: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have brought into force strict new financial penalties for breaches of consumer law to safeguard people's money."

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