Staying in a holiday house can be like a home away from home. Unlike hotels and motels, holiday properties are often regular homes or apartments that haven’t been designed specifically for accommodation. They may be hosted, where the owner lives onsite, or un-hosted, where guests have exclusive use of the property during their stay.
Travellers usually book these holiday houses through online “sharing economy” platforms like AirBnB and Stayz.
Just like with any product or service you buy, your rights are protected by Australian Consumer Law if things go wrong. This means your holiday accommodation must be safe and of acceptable quality, match the advertised description, provided with due care and skill and be fit for purpose. These rights don’t change if you booked through a sharing platform, an app or directly with a provider, and they can’t be taken away by terms and conditions.
However, it is important to still take the time to read the platform’s terms and conditions and check how complaints are handled if something goes wrong and to know what your rights are should you need to cancel. Also make sure you agree with the house rules the host sets out in the listing before you hit the “confirm booking” button.
When you arrive at the holiday house take the time to look around and make sure everything is in order before you start unpacking the bags. If something is broken or not working, take a photo and send it to the host straight away.
Depending on what is wrong, the host should fix the issue within a reasonable time or offer you a remedy. A broken wine glass may not matter but it might be a different story if the pool is out of service.
The remedy you’re entitled to depends on whether the problem is major or minor. A problem with a holiday house could be considered “major” if it creates an unsafe situation, or where an issue or series of issues can’t be easily fixed or can’t be resolved within a reasonable time. In these cases, you could be entitled to a refund or to cancel without losing any money.
If you paid extra for something like a highchair or beach towels and they’re not there, contact the host in the first instance and if they can’t resolve this quickly you may be entitled to a refund of that hire fee.
If you break something during your stay, honesty is always best and you should also let the host know.
If contacting the host doesn’t resolve the issues, you should raise the matter through the platform’s dispute resolution process, if one is available. The sharing economy relies on customers reviews, so leaving a factual review can also help warn other consumers.
When all other avenues have been exhausted and the issue remains unresolved, you can lodge a complaint with Consumer Protection for further assistance – 1300 30 40 54.
Since 1 January 2025, providers of short-term rental accommodation within WA must register their property and display the registration number on the listing. You can easily check the holiday house is correctly registered via wa.gov.au