Holiday Horrors: Travelers Struggle for Refunds as Bookings Turn Sour

One 100-year-old oak tree crashed down on the initial day of a vacation. Moments 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 rental cottage in Provence, France was covered by branches that shattered the living room window and harmed the roof. "I was convinced the ceiling would cave in," James remembers. "Had it fallen minutes earlier, we could have been seriously injured or killed."

If it had come down 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 decided to reserve a hotel for the rest of their week-long stay.

The booking platform remained unperturbed. "We recognize this may have caused some inconvenience," wrote the first of many identical automated messages before closing the pending case with a upbeat "Keep safe. Be well."

The host displayed little concern. "The only incident was you heard a loud noise and saw a tree lying on the terrace," she responded to the couple's refund request. "You decided to focus on the worry and distress instead of cherishing a special memory."

Peak Season Travel Problems Emerge

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

Unfortunate travelers report being trapped inside or unable to enter their accommodation – when it existed – or left stranded at night in strange cities when it did not. Stories include dirty bedrooms, dangerous equipment and illegal sublets. One shared element unites these ruined holidays: they were reserved through online booking platforms that refused refunds.

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

Consumer protections, however, have not caught up with their widespread use.

Regulatory Gaps

Package-deal customers have legal recourse for holiday nightmares under consumer travel regulations, but those who reserve accommodation through third-party platforms find themselves dependent on their host's cooperation.

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

James and Andrew had spent £931 for their week in the Provençal 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 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 decision 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 continued long enough and abruptly ended 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 commemorate their survival and "turn the event into a positive story."

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

Trapped

Kim Pocock used a booking platform to reserve 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 dispatched a maintenance man, who was unable to help," she states. "They eventually sent a locksmith who attempted for several hours to fix the lock from the outside. He had to buy a rope, which he threw up to our window and we hoisted up a wrench and tools. 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 loose screws had jammed the mechanism. By then it was almost 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 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 kept her €250 deposit to cover the replacement 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 booked for £70 when, upon trying to check in, he found the key safe empty. The owners told him they were overseas and could not help and advised him to find somewhere else 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 don't understand how a business can operate this way with no responsibility. The extra frustration is that the property in question is still being advertised on the platform."

The platform refunded both customers after intervention. 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 "the right fit."

Rating Processes

Ratings do not always tell the complete picture. A previous investigation highlighted that one platform's default system was displaying reviews it considered "important." This means that it is simple for users to miss a recent deluge of reviews cautioning that a listing is a fraud or not available.

The platform responded that customers could readily sort reviews by the most recent or worst ratings so as to make their own choice on a property.

The same report claimed 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 rules and ensure that availability was up to date.

Legal Uncertainty

The problem for travelers who do not get what they expected is that their contract 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 interrupted stay is a more difficult struggle. Both typically rely on the owner to do the right thing.

The sector needs greater regulation, according to consumer advocates. "Since online platforms effectively self-regulate, the only option if the dispute continues is lawsuits," 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: "You could argue that the online marketplace didn't manage to look into your complaint properly and try to sue them, but this is a grey area. Both firms are based abroad and have deep pockets."

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

A spokesperson states: "Authorities are on the side of consumers and we have brought into force strict new fines for violations of consumer law to safeguard people's funds."

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