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A 100-year-old oak tree crashed down on the initial day of a holiday. Moments after James and his partner Andrew had finished eating breakfast on the terrace, the massive tree smashed their table and chairs and crushed their rental car's windscreen.

The rental cottage in Provence, France was covered by branches that shattered the living room window and damaged the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "If it had fallen minutes earlier, we could have been seriously injured or killed."

If it had fallen 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 traumatized couple worried the building might be structurally unsound and decided to book a hotel for the rest 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 concluding the pending case with a cheerful "Stay safe. Stay healthy."

The host also showed little concern. "The only incident 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 focus on the anxiety and distress rather than cherishing a special memory."

Peak Season Vacation Problems Emerge

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

Unlucky travelers report being locked in or unable to enter their rental – if it was real – or left stranded at night in strange cities when it did not. Stories include dirty bedrooms, unsafe equipment and illegal sublets. One shared element unites these ruined holidays: they were booked through online booking platforms that declined refunds.

The expansion of rental platforms has led to a rise in travelers arranging their own holidays. These platforms display global property portfolios on their websites and guarantee to fulfill travel dreams on a limited funds.

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

Regulatory Loopholes

All-inclusive customers have legal options for holiday nightmares under travel protection regulations, but those who book accommodation through third-party platforms find themselves dependent on their host's cooperation.

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

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the Provençal cottage and when they felt too unsafe to return, ended up paying twice that for a hotel. They have yet to receive information about whether they are liable 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 approve a refund; the host insisted 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 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 questions were raised about its safety policies.

Locked In

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to book a flat for a two-night stay in Barcelona. She and her daughter were left trapped 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 states. "They eventually called a locksmith who tried for several 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 wrench and tools. With us prying the lock from the inside and the locksmith hammering it from the outside, we eventually managed to remove it. It was discovered loose screws had blocked the mechanism. By then it was nearly 4pm."

We would have been at grave danger if there had been an emergency while we were locked in, yet the host blamed us for using the lock

Pocock requested a full refund to compensate her ruined trip and the stress. The booking platform said this was at the decision of the host. The host not only declined, but withheld her €250 deposit to cover 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 trapped outside the London flat he booked for £70 when, upon trying 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 spent an extra £123 on a hotel room and has spent the following four months trying unsuccessfully to get this refunded.

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

The platform refunded both customers after intervention. The company confirmed the host who had left Philip out of his rental had failed to its questions. When asked why unscrupulous accommodation providers were not delisted, it said customers should review guest feedback to ensure a property was "suitable for them."

Rating Systems

Ratings do not always reveal the whole story. A recent investigation highlighted that one platform's default system was showing reviews it considered "important." This means that it is easy for users to miss a current deluge of reviews warning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform responded 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 claimed that listings that had been multiple times reported as scams were not removed. The platform responded that it relied on hosts to abide by its terms and conditions and ensure that booking information was current.

Legal Grey Area

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

Major platforms promise to help find other accommodation in an emergency, but getting payment for a disrupted stay is a tougher battle. Both tend to rely on the owner to do the right thing.

The industry needs greater regulation, according to consumer protection experts. "Because online platforms effectively self-regulate, the only option if the dispute isn't resolved is legal action," 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: "You could argue that the online marketplace failed to look into your complaint properly and try to pursue them, but this is a legal uncertainty. Both firms are based overseas and have deep pockets."

Government authorities say new customer safety legislation requires online platforms to "exercise professional diligence" in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms.

A representative states: "Government agencies 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 funds."

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