Booking.com
Reviews and Complaints

My name is Furkat Kasimov, and I was completely scammed by Booking.com. I recently booked a hotel for 22 nights using Booking.com, wanting to stay at my desired hotel from March 1 through 23. The day after I made this reservation, I received an email from Booking.com with details about my reservation. I went to click on the link in the booking confirmation email and discovered my reservation had been canceled.

I called Booking.com to ask why my reservation was canceled with no warning whatsoever. The customer service person on the phone told me that "Booking.com's internal team made a decision based on my data to cancel this reservation" and gave no further details. He then REFUSED to transfer me to a manager or may or may not have had more details for me.

I have used Booking.com before and never had a bad experience before this - I even left positive reviews of the property where I stayed. I have no idea what data would cause Booking.com to cancel this particular reservation. I felt like this was a complete scam, and anyone seeking to use Booking.com should beware that this company is a huge scammer.

My main issue with this situation is the poor communication from Booking.com. I did not receive any warning via email, SMS, text, or anything saying that my booking was canceled. I only discovered it after I clicked the link in the booking confirmation email. They charged me when I booked the reservation, and then the next day this cancellation happened. I can't even dispute the charge because it was "not refundable" even if canceled. Booking.com put me in this situation 3 days before I was supposed to make my trip, and if I hadn't discovered my stay was canceled, I would have shown up to the hotel thinking I had a room reserved, when in fact I did not. And when I did issue a complaint, I received no help.

What if this happened to a family with children? Imagine traveling and arriving after a long flight, and now with no warning you need to search around the city for a place to stay, with most places already fully booked with no vacancies. This was completely unacceptable, and Booking.com could have avoided this if they simply emailed me or sent me an SMS message explaining that the reservation was canceled and what the reason was. Instead, they hide behind customer service representatives who are trained to say they don't have any information why my reservation was canceled and cannot connect me to anyone who knows any details.

Booking.com is good at spamming people with emails to promote themselves, but they failed to set up any reliable email or SMS messaging to inform people about canceled reservations. They should spend less time hiring spammers and more time helping their actual customers, because my experience was a complete disaster. If you are thinking about using Booking.com, I hope you see this complaint and avoid falling victim to their scam. Booking.com is a true scammer, and needless to say I will not be using their services again.

I had no intention of cancelling my reservation. This was spring break; and I was going to visit family in The Dalles. Then the Corona virus pandemic happened. The Center for Disease Control says because I am 70, I should not travel. Why does booking.com turn a blind eye to customers and the problems we face? I just want to cancel my hotel room without having to pay a fee. I will NEVER use their website again! Customer service has been nonexistent. The Governor of Oregon and the President of the United States strongly suggest not travelling. But I don't have the money to pay the cancellation fee. So I will probably be travelling to The Dalles.

We were scheduled to fly to London on March 12th, obvious after President Trumps travel ban our trip was cancelled. AIRBNB was AMAZING! Booking, com SUCKED. Airbnb recognized that this pandemic was out of everyones control and gave us a 100% refund, no cancellation fees! Booking.com however chose to profit off this crisis and return NOTHING!
That is not how you do business in this worldwide crisis. You should be ashamed. I can promise you that when this country returns to normal, and it will, that people will remember how you treated them and I for one will not be using Booking.com!

Searched for pet friendly accommodation Mary borough QLD. Chose 64 Barkly St, ( Stranger Cottage). The day before I was to arrive (Friday 21
February I did a search on how to get there to find out the property was in VIC. Contacted lady straight away, and was told how disappointing this was and I wasn't the first person to make this "mistake".

I did get a partial refund, and asked for this problem to be fixed... the listing must have VIC (Victoria) on it, so people are not trapped into thinking the property is in QLD (Queensland). I have placed comments on her site but presume that they have been deleted and the person I phoned at Booking.com had no idea what I was talking about. This was an expensive mistake for me and I presume other people... PLEASE FIX search engine so that this property does not come up Maryborough Queensland and more people get caught out .

I was the victim of a big scam from Booking.com. You should beware if you consider using this service, because they are a bunch of spammers and were extremely unhelpful.

I made a reservation for 22 nights on Booking.com, to stay at a hotel from March 1 through 23. The next day after I made my reservation, I got an email from Booking.com confirming the details. But when I clicked on the link in the confirmation email, I noticed the reservation was canceled.

When I called Booking.com, I told them I was calling about a reservation for Furkat Kasimov (my name) to ask what the reason was for the cancelation. The customer service rep told me that their internal team made a decision "based on my data" to cancel the reservation. They had given me no warning, and they did not give any further details. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated with the lack of information and rude customer service that I experienced.

I have used Booking.com in the past and usually have a fine experience, but this time was so bad that I'll be recommending to my family and friends not to use this service. The customer service rep refused to connect me with a manager who might have had more information. And even worse, I was unable to cancel the charge. I had been charged when I first made the reservation, and because it was "non refundable, " they told me I could not cancel it even after my reservation was dropped. I had to book a new reservation at a different hotel, basically causing me to throw money away on my wasted Booking.com charge.

And the whole situation could have been much worse, if I had shown up to my original hotel without checking the confirmation email first. I could have arrived with all my luggage thinking my reservation was good to go, only to find it was canceled for no apparent reason. Imagine if this happened to a family traveling with children. It would have been terrible trying to find new lodging last-minute.

The biggest problem here is poor communication. I received no text, no specific email, or anything to notify me that my reservation had been canceled. I only found out after clicking the link in the "confirmation email." This was 3 days before I was supposed to make my trip, and I very easily could have just shown up to the hotel with no reservation. And when I called with my complaint, I received no help.

Overall, I'd say that Booking.com is great at spamming people with emails about promotions and sales, but terrible at actually letting customers know when something is wrong with their reservation. My experience was a complete failure. I hope anyone thinking about using Booking.com sees this complaint so you don't fall victim to the same scam.

I lost, or didn't receive, my reservation data containing reservation number and pincode. There is absolutely no way to communicate with Booking.com about this: all entrances have been blocked by having to provide reservation number and pincode. I even sent letters to Bookings head office in The Netherlands, via officially annotated mail, still no response.
I checked the accomodation: I do have a reservation there but there also do not have the pincode.
It's a business trip; I need the invoice. Impossible to solve this problem. Sounds familiar to anybody?

Dear Sir / Madam,

I did a booking last week in Crown Plaza Dubai under the impression and full trust that I always get the best rates from Booking.com as usual for my entire business with booking.com for so many years.
This was for the perion Feb 15-20.2020; with total amount of SAR 5, 528. Confirmation number is 3531.071.378.

When I was checking today, I realized that prices already droped by almost 15% and currently the price is SAR 4, 972 (SAR 816 Difference).

I would appreciate to kindly let me know how this difference amount will be refunded back to me.

Thank You in advance for your current prompt reply.
Rafik Zaky
[protected]@gmail.com

myBooking.com confirmation is [protected]
pin# 5752
I ordered a 2 night stay at Siesta INN Motel for $140 after I paid with my credit card they sent me a print out for a total of $292 with extra charges for cleaning & resort fees . I called to cancel and then they said it would me $140 to cancel because that is their cancellation policy. My credit card company tried to resolve it but they said they couldn't because that was their policy. This is wrong to double the bill then not let you cancel without fees.

I booked a holiday villa through booking.com in January 2020. The site advertised free cancellation up until July 2020 and there was no mention of any monies being taken up front (I have also since double checked the terms and conditions) My debit card was immediately debited £536.00. I immediately cancelled the booking and it took me several emails to the villa operator and two weeks to get a refund which was £40 less than had been taken. I would not recommend booking.com to anyone as if you have a problem they just refer you to the company you booked with.

Booked a property through booking.com. The property turned out to be an air bnb which required a security deposit which was to be refunded within a week of the checkout date. The refund was not issued. Booking.com was contacted but did nothing other than contact the owner of the property who claimed that a remote control unit for a soundbar could not be located and that the refund would not be granted. I explained that the remote was left on the sofa in the living room but of course had no means to prove it. The point being is that I believe that it was a scam from the beginning, but even in the event that it wasn't, there seems to be no recourse as booking.com does not support it's customers. Even in the event that the remote was misplaced, it has a value of under $20 and the security deposit was $300. Booking.com should have some policy in place to protect against this happening as the booking was made relying on their reputation. Private residences such as air Bnb's should not be supported on their website if the protection is not there for the customer.

I am furious at the lack of help received. Manager refused to take my call! I marked a guest as ‘no show' after they did not arrive! The box that pops up next asks: ‘Do you want to charge a cancellation fee?' Yes/No.
I clicked No, thinking that they were asking for a further charge to to guest! I clicked ‘No' only because I believed I would receive their booking payment in full still, especially as my policy states ‘NOT REFUNDABLE'. But instantly Booking.com refunded the full $1180 to the guest! At no time did I agree to refund full payment! I only said no to a cancellation fee which Is presented as an additional fee that can be charged for inconvenience!
I run a Farmstay, and work extremely hard on the land as well as run the Farmstay, just to cover costs and this loss has been financially damaging at an already difficult time!
Please intervene if you can help recover costs for me please!
Cathy

Hi,
I made a booking to Alpha Hotel, for 2 people, 21/04/2020 - 28/04/2020 costing £610 which said free cancellation up to before 18.00 on the 12th April 2020.
However I did not realise the payment would be taken straight away which has left me very overdrawn. I tried to cancel - but realised I have not received a confirmation email - I still haven't.
Without this confirmation email I have been unable to speak to anyone as the automated system you have will not let you proceed without a confirmation number and PIN - which I haven't got as I have no confirmation email - it is the same if I try to cancel on line.
The authorisation code for the payment is 175999
Could you please look into this as soon as possible as I would like to cancel this booking urgently.
Thanks
Jo-Anne Maycox
[protected]
[protected]@gmail.com

I had booked two rooms in Hayah Golden Hotel, Madinah via booking.com for a price of SAR 1150. Upon arrival in Madinah, it turned out that the property was permanently closed! I had a family of 6 along and it was a huge setback for us.

I had to start looking for a room all over again and managed to find one room (instead of two) for almost double the price. I ended up paying SAR 1810 for a single room in a compromised hotel and had to spend a night with 6 family members in a room meant for 4.

It has been very disappointing since it defeats the main purpose of being able to book ahead at a place of ones' choice within the budget.

I hope this case would be considered fairly and a compensation may be offered to make up for our loss.

We must be charged as much as we originally booked for. looking forward to hear from your team.

Please dont hesitate to contact, should you need more details.

We had no Wi-Fi or Internet the whole week. I was on vacation with gamers and we had no nothing
They said they did not get any information from us during our stay about complaints which they did, but they had no way of getting it because Wi-Fi did not work. I'm getting blown off and my son was basically almost electrocuted by Sparks that flew out on an electrical outlet in left char on his hand. No one is taking responsibility and the customer is right and I want a refund of at least $750.
This is not OK my son is traumatized by the whole event and that this whole incident has ruined my vacation along with no Wi-Fi Internet
and Almost electrocuted my child. Someone needs to take responsibility

12/16/19
RIDEWAYS MANCHESTER M3 GB

Reference #: 74143619350000719890051
Transaction Date: 12/14/19

The service (airport-hotel-airport transfer) that had been paid for around $55 has not been provided . The transfer been served only one way: from Moantevideo Airport to the honel. For return transfer the car did not arrive at proper time.I was about to miss my flight
And I needed to run around the hotel for the street taxi
I'm 73 old and had a heart promblem while/and after I was chasing the street taxi
I got one, paid and saved receipt
Please help to arrange immediate refund and send this case info to the properauthorities
Thanks
Julius Mastitski

Hi. I booked a hotel APM Inn & Suits on the 28th of december through to stay in Orlando, Florida. This was for me and my daughter. We arrived the hotel from airport at 11pm and found out that the hotel was overbooked. The receptionist there asked me to get the booking.com to find me an alternative place to stay. After a while the representative from booking.com found us a hotel which was over $200 more expensive. I explained that I cannot afford this. After an hour and a half of trying to sort everything out the receptionist in the hotel (APM Inn) said that someone didn't check in so they give us the room... then made the reservation and took the payment and then discovered that someone actually was in this room already. I explained all my frustration for the booking.com representative and he was very rude. The receptionist from APM then felt sorry for us as it was already after the midnight so she went and cleaned a room for us where the last quest had left but the maid hadn't been. So finally from 1 am we got a room that was cleaned with rush, the sheets were all stained, there wasn't even a bin in the room so we were left disgusted but had no chance to stay til morning as booking.com couldn't find us the alternative that would have matched our price range. With frustration I said that this is just not acceptable that I have to pay for this kind of treatment and room and Im asking for refund but the booking.com just offered me $20. Im beyond disgusted of how me and my daughter was treated. The hotel was in horrible condition, they didn't had enough staff working and the costumers were all complaining about the service and for not getting the rooms they had booked. It was a chaos and booking.com did not deliver on helping us or acknowledging that this situation was unacceptable and should be refunded... instead they suggested for me to have a shower and rest and when I asked where can I make an official complaint I got an answer that "we can discuss this later" Im expecting a full refund for that stay.

Dear Booking.com Complaints department.
I feel unfairly treated by you Company and I am writing a Complain regarding to your services and also connected provider (Booking.Basic).
On 29.December.2019 19.49 I made a booking trough your services for the followings:
The St. George's Park Hotel
Confirmation number [protected]
PIN code 413536
Booking details 3 nights, 1 rooms
Check-in Friday 14 February 2020
Check-outMonday 17 February 2020

I paid the sum requested by card, this was automatically taken off from my account, then, after another half hour, I got an email from you as below:
Your booking is declined
We've refunded you and cancelled your booking at The St. George's Park Hotel. We weren't able to confirm your booking with our partner provider. We're sorry for any trouble.
I thought that may be some mistake so first checked again the room availability which was still available so then I thought it may be some communication issue between Booking.com and the Hotel, and decided to check this.
Next day I called your Customer Support Team three times in a row, just to find out various things about your company related to the booking.
1.They said there is no escalation possibility when asking for a supervisor(please, can you confirm this so i can contact Customer
2.I was waiting at least 10 minutes each call just to get an operative from your end (this means that you have or a high volume of complains or low number of available operators)
3.First Call: I spoke with a guy called Achmed, whom when presented the situation he said it cannot do nothing because it wasn't some error, then I mentioned that must be a systematical error as the rooms they are still available, then I was told that basically this was made by your partner company which by the way has same customer support but they still can't help with my enquiry and the hotel doesin't have a phone number in your files so I shall call myself the hotel to be organised this, in behalf of your company?-which sounded really strange i even mentioned that i was expecting that your company to handle the whole situation, but finally when heard that he tells me to google the hotel phone number then I realized your company is lacking even for the required basic information(which is very sad and troubling for a company as yours ) so i agreed, and I called them, but no one answered, then I called again your customer service, just to find out that Achmed handles another complain, and unable to assist so i have to speak with another representative instead, then when I asked o speak with a supervisor he ended the call, this is not something what I would expect from a company as yours this is something very rude and unfair.So i had no choice then to wait another 10+minutes and start the whole game again, which i did agin as below.
4.After another long wait at third time, I managed to speak with another customer support representative, just to find out this time in polite way that he cannot escalate the call for a supervisor, and even the supervisor wont be able to sort out this, only the hotel, OK I told him that I already contacted the Hotel, which he didn't answer the phone, so what else i can do then I was told that I shouldn't make use of your services when Booking.basic acts as intermediary, which again surprised-me as this is something too ambiguous and strange to understand, if a service hallmarked by your company doesin't work then why is still listed?It damages your whole company credibility and lowers considerably customer ratings.
5.Not sure how it is possible that a Hotel represented trough your Company doesin't have contact number or an email address?Ah, then I realized why Booking.Com was unable to confirm my booking, that's why...Please let me know if this very concerning issue has been rectified, this is a very silly error still not sure how it is possible to have a hotel in your database without these absolutely basic details, that's something unheard, please confirm that this was rectified also.
6.I have checked my bank transactions and it shows clearly Booking.Com so legally then it is your company involved.
7.I would like to complain against your at least troubling if not fraudulent system to take of the payment from my card before the Hotel confirms the booking, hope this works like this only when booking.basic is involved, if not then this will create many otherwise avoidable complains.Please confirm this will be at least rectified soon as not always you are able to wait for a refund up to 2 weeks when payment was taken instantly, of if this is hard to organised then I am expecting that booking.com to organised immediately another alternative booking instead without being myself to be asked o contact the hotel on behalf of your Company which is again unheard.
Please read carefully my Complain as I am waiting soon for a reply and a follow up will commence soon until the situation it is resolved in reasonable manner, also I am going to liable your company for the expenses caused and time required to make this formal written and my previous complain over the phone, and implement when possible my recommendations and make sure that this wont happen again in future.I am expecting that your company to process my declined booking if not possible then to provide-me with a similar one with a considerable discount for all this hassle.

Regards