Booking.com users have told the Guardian they struggled to obtain refunds after accommodation problems, including being moved to unsafe or poor-quality alternatives and being charged more than agreed. The cases highlight a legal grey area: platforms say the booking contract is with the host, leaving travellers with limited practical recourse when a host refuses to compensate them.

One family in Batumi, Georgia, paid £570 for an apartment rated “exceptional” but were redirected late at night to a shabby property, then spent a further £334 on alternative accommodation; they were offered only £36 in credits. Another traveller was charged £1,177 for a Mongolian hotel, £120 above the agreed price, and says he received no refund after cancelling despite free cancellation being advertised. Package holidays are protected by 2018 regulations, but Booking.com, Airbnb and Vrbo state they are not contractual parties, an approach consumer campaigner Martyn James says courts may view unfavourably.