What do I do if the accommodation is not as described?

The strength of your position is decided in the first hour, and mostly by evidence and by who you told. A problem reported at the time with photographs, from the property, to the company you contracted with, is a strong claim. The same problem raised a week after you got home, from memory, is usually not.

Safety

Step by step

1. Photograph and video everything before unpacking or cleaning.Wide shots of each room, close-ups of the specific problems, and something that establishes the date. If it is noise, record it with the time visible. Evidence gathered after you have moved things is worth much less.
2. Compare it against what you were told, in writing.Screenshot the listing as it appeared, including the photographs and the description of the specific thing that is wrong. Listings get edited, sometimes quickly.
3. Report it immediately to whoever you contracted with.The tour operator's representative for a package, the platform's messaging and its resolution process for a rental, the hotel's reception and then the booking site. Not a phone call alone — put it in writing so there is a record and a timestamp.
4. Say clearly what you want.Fixed, moved, or refunded. A complaint without a remedy attached gets sympathy. Being specific — 'we need to be moved to a room away from the road tonight' — gets action.
5. Give them a genuine chance to put it right.This is a requirement in most routes to a refund and it is where people lose otherwise good claims. Allow a reasonable opportunity and document what they did and did not do.
6. Escalate within the same day if nothing happens.Up a level at the operator or platform, and use the platform's formal resolution process rather than only messaging the host. Many platforms have a rehousing window measured in hours from check-in.
7. Keep receipts if you have to arrange something yourself.A hotel for the night, a taxi, meals you should not have had to buy. Reasonable costs incurred because they failed to fix it are the basis of a claim; unreceipted costs are not.
8. Know which route applies to how you booked.A package holiday carries specific statutory rights against the organiser. A booking platform has its own guarantee and resolution process. A direct booking leaves the contract and general consumer law. They are quite different in strength.
9. Use the card protection routes if the provider refuses.Paying by credit card can bring additional protection on qualifying transactions, and a chargeback may be possible on debit or credit cards. Both have time limits, so do not sit on it.
10. Write the complaint properly when you get home.Dated sequence of events, what you asked for, what they did, the evidence, and the specific remedy you want. Then escalate to the relevant ombudsman or trade body scheme if refused.

Tips

• Be firm and be civil. The person in front of you usually has some discretion and almost never has the authority to fix everything — anger spends the discretion.
• Do not accept a small gesture in exchange for signing anything. A voucher accepted 'in full and final settlement' ends the claim.
• If the property is genuinely unsafe or uninhabitable, that is different — record it, tell the provider, and find somewhere safe. Safety is not something to negotiate over.

Common mistakes

• Leaving immediately and claiming afterwards — Most routes require the provider to have been given a chance to fix it. Walking out first is the weakest position and often defeats an otherwise valid claim.
• Complaining only when you get home — A problem never raised at the time is much harder to prove and easy to dismiss. Report it from the property, in writing, on day one.
• Complaining only to the host or hotel — Your contract may be with the operator or platform. Tell whoever you paid, through their formal process, as well as the person on site.

Questions people ask