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A 100-year-old oak tree crashed down on the initial day of a holiday. Minutes after James and his partner Andrew had finished breakfasting 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. "Had it fallen minutes earlier, we could have been critically hurt or killed."

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

Urgent repairs took 24 hours after the host hauled the tree off the property, but the shaken couple feared 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 recognize this may have created some disruption," stated the first of many similar automated messages before closing the unresolved case with a upbeat "Stay safe. Be well."

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

Peak Season Travel Problems Emerge

With the peak travel period has ended, countless holiday horror stories are coming to light.

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

The growth of booking websites has prompted a increase in travelers organizing their own holidays. These platforms display global property listings on their websites and guarantee to satisfy wanderlust on a limited funds.

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

Regulatory Loopholes

All-inclusive customers have legal options for holiday disasters under consumer travel regulations, but those who reserve accommodation through online booking services find themselves dependent on their host's cooperation.

Some platforms promote extra protections, but your agreement is with the individual or business offering the accommodation.

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the French cottage and when they felt sufficiently endangered to return, ended up paying twice that for a hotel. They still await information about whether they are responsible for the damaged rental car. Despite the platform's guarantee program to refund customers for major issues, 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 dragged on long enough and summarily closed it. The host decided that since repairs had cost her €5,000 (£4,350), she would not be providing a refund either. She proposed that instead the couple commemorate their survival and "transform the event into a beautiful story."

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

Locked In

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 single full day in the city after a safety lock on the front door failed.

"The host dispatched a maintenance man, who was could not to help," she says. "They eventually called a locksmith who tried for several 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 was discovered 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 locked in, yet the host blamed us for using the lock

Pocock asked for 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 refused, but kept her €250 deposit to pay for the replacement 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 reserved for £70 when, upon attempting to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were overseas and could not help and suggested him to locate somewhere else for the night. He paid an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months trying unsuccessfully to get this refunded.

"The platform has basically said that as the owner won't reply to them there's little they can do," he states. "I can't comprehend how a business can function this way with no responsibility. The additional frustration is that the property in question is continues being advertised on the platform."

The platform reimbursed 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 unscrupulous accommodation providers were not removed, it said customers should read guest feedback to ensure a property was "the right fit."

Rating Processes

Ratings do not always reveal 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 simple for users to overlook a recent deluge of reviews warning that a listing is a scam or not available.

The platform countered 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 multiple times reported as scams were not taken down. The platform answered that it depended on hosts to abide by its rules and ensure that booking information was current.

Regulatory Grey Area

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 promise to help find alternative accommodation in an crisis, but getting compensation for a disrupted stay is a tougher battle. Both typically rely on the owner to do what's fair.

The industry needs greater regulation, according to consumer advocates. "Since online platforms effectively self-regulate, the only option if the dispute continues is legal action," 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 didn't manage to investigate your complaint thoroughly and try to pursue them, but this is a grey area. Both firms are registered overseas and have significant financial resources."

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

A representative says: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have implemented tough new fines for breaches of consumer law to safeguard people's money."

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