Booking.com
Reviews and Complaints

Long story short I booked a hotel and didn't receive an e-mail confirmation so later on the same day thinking the first booking hasn't worked I booked again and received a confirmation. A few days later I decided to stay at a different hotel and cancelled my booking which should have had no cancellation fees since I was cancelling over 7 days prior to arrival date. But it was charged because it turned out I had 2 bookings as the 1st booking did go through and the reason I didn't receive a confirmation is because I misspelled the e-mail address (it was missing one letter) and so I was charged because it was a non-show. My fault? Yes however a day after I cancelled the booking the booking.com some how realised I had two accounts and offered me to merge them together and so I did. After merging the accounts I still only see one booking for that hotel which is the one I cancelled. Why did it not show the booking from the other account? And why is that when I log in to the other account (the one with the wrong e-mail address) it shows no bookings in my bookings section. If the account merge had worked properly it would have shown the 1st booking I made and I would have been aware of it and would have had the opportunity to cancel it. So is that still my fault? Booking.com didn't accept responsibility over it though they did admit that the 1st booking should have shown on my bookings after I merged the accounts and that also the other account with the wrong e-mail address should display there's a booking. So for mistyping an e-mail address by missing one letter I had to pay £222.08

I booked the hostel called " El Misti Hostel Ipanema" in Rio through booking.com before I departed for Brazil. The final free cancellation date of it was 24/06/2016. I flew out from London on 25/06/2016 and only after few day did I find out someone else in Sao Paulo used my card to take uber and paid stuff on goolge play on 24/06/2016.

Based on other complaints as follows filed by users for example:

1. https://goo.gl/8DlgFP
2. http://goo.gl/vnBwDi

I believe it is highly likely the hostel and the booking.com holds the responsibility for this credit card fraud event.

Instead of using a trustworthy third party payment system, the company apparently passes one's credit card information to a hotel and let them use it with their discretion. The whole third party security statement in the term and condition document (http://goo.gl/vnBwDi) proves to be a lie.

My credit card was hijacked and money was lost. After a few years using booking.com successfully around Europe, this is a completely disappointment.

Attitude with No Empathy

Late last year when excitedly planing my vacation to Japan, I tried making a reservation at this traditional Ryokan in Kyoto. The reviews were awesome. I imagined the place to be one steeped in tradition, providing exceptional care with respect for its guests. It was not inexpensive, this would be a once in a lifetime experience.

I attempted to secure the reservation through booking.com but due to an technical glitch
the reservation was never confirmed and I failed to receive the letter of introduction
for the facility welcoming me and my family to old Japan.

An alternate reservation was made elsewhere.

On my return from Japan, I was informed by the Ryokan that the reservation had in fact gone though in spite of me having no knowledge of the above.

This was confirmed by booking.com who openly recognized that they had received bounced back emails that they felt no responsibility to remediate.

Saddened by this fact, I tried to enquire what had transpired and attempted to work with the
Merchant and Vendor to ensure that any losses could be shared respectfully by each of the affected parties. This is when my faith and respect for the Merchant and Vendor was lost.

Abruptly with little empathy, respect and consideration, I was informed by the Ryokan, that they would not entertain any flexibility nor culpability and that further more they were resistant to any settlement that would not provide them with the full amount of the reservation. $4000.

I tried to engage them with respect, with courtesy and finally with sound financial reasoning
that surely a settlement that would discount my young daughter’s supplement to our room or a discount on food that we had not consumed could still more than compensate them for the cost of the lost reservation, but management proved unsympathetic. They remained firm that it was not their issue and they were entitled to full restitution.

They felt that only booking.com could alter the situation.

In my dealing with booking.com, they were pleasant, obliging to assist but in spite of promises
to try and mediate the matter, they ultimately left me on my own with no recourse.

They refused to recognize their failure to provide the services as detailed on their own website and suggested that I try and get the credit card company to mediate the matter, although they were never a real party in the dispute in the first place.

While I have since paid the amount and ended this conflict, it has left me saddened by the manner that I was treated by their establishment and booking.com. Their attitude and manner, cold and distant, their empathy, lacking and their respect of me, absent. There was no service nor customer satisfaction offered nor provided.

I imagine the property is wonderful, its staff, careful and attentive and its venue, magnificent, but to me they have demonstrated only a hard view of themselves, and in is not one demonstrating care and attention to others.

I also was a loyal and respecting customer of booking.com and had used them exclusively to book all my vacations over the past 4 years. This clearly was not reflected in their resolution of my dispute even though I received responses from their CEO and other senior executives.

In both cases, I was treated as only a transaction and held solely responsible for a error that involved and affected us all.

I wish them all well. Alexandros

I have made a reservation fro a hotel in Sankt Petersburg, it was in serbian, my mother language, so it wasn't possible that I misunderstood the information. It was stated that I can cancel it and that the card data are required only for the purpose of the reservation. later on, when my reservation was confirmed, I saw that my card will be charged at any moment and that cancellation is not possible without charging me the whole amount. I was shocked.
Two hours after making a reservation I started writing emails to Booking.com and hotel stating that I have made a mistake (although I don't think it was my mistake but unfair practice) and that I want to cancel my distance contract with Booking.com as my service provider. Nobody responded timely but the hotel - by charging all that money using my credit card details.
I have been trying to get my money back ever since, but they act as there are no laws in EU nor elsewhere...
Can you please help me regarding my rights in this issue, or tell me who to officially complain to as a consumer.
Thank you in advance,
Jasmina Maravic
(Res. No. [protected], PIN 1019)

Here are my email attached, I have been speaking to operators twice since

Jasmina Maravic
16. јун (пре 11 дана)

Booking.com
dear Sirs,
I declare that was mislead by information on the website. I was told that I can cancel it up to August 21st, and that hotel won-t charge my card but need the card data for the reason of reservation. When the confirmation came, I saw completely different info and now I want to cancel it and I have the right to cancel the distance contract free of charge according to the law.

Best regards, Jasmina

[protected]:18 GMT+02:00 Booking.com :
Manage booking
Dear mrs Jasmina Maravić,

We received your request to cancel reservation [protected].

Even though there is a charge associated with this cancellation, we'll try to find the best possible solution for you. We've asked Courtyard by Marriott St. Petersburg Pushkin to make an exception for your reservation, and hope to have an answer for you shortly.

The reservation policy you selected does not allow for free cancellation or modification at this time. This means that there will be a fee if you decide to cancel or make changes to the reservation. The policy details were stated at the time of booking, and are included in your reservation confirmation for reference.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Booking.com Customer Service Team
"

Postovani,
Ako poslujete u Srbiji pretpostavljam da poslujete po zakonu. Ja cu ovo sada prijaviti inspekciji nadležnoj za ove poslove, jer sam se vama obratila juce, NEKOLIKO MINUTA nakon što sam shvatila da sam pogrešno informisana. Odgovarate mi tek sad kad mi je hotel rezervisao sav novac, što piše na rezervaciji sitnim slovima.
Molim vas odgovorite mi da li vas sajt kao posrednik mora da poštuje Zakon i zaštiti potrošača?
Jasmina Maravic
On Jun 17, 2016 2:10 PM, wrote:
Upravljaj rezervacijom
Poštovani/-a mrs Jasmina Maravić,

Hvala vam što ste kontaktirali Booking.com.

Obratili smo se objektu Courtyard by Marriott St. Petersburg Pushkin u vaše ime sa zahtevom za otkazivanje vaše rezervacije. Nažalost, objekat nije u mogućnosti da napravi izuzetak u ovom slučaju, i biće vam naplaćena celokupna naknada za otkazivanje rezervacije.

Molimo odgovorite na ovu poruku odabirom jedne od ponuđenih opcija:

Nemojte da otkažete moju rezervaciju.
Prihvatam troškove otkazivanja i molim vas da otkažete moju rezervaciju.
Vaša rezervacija je aktivna u našem sistemu i ostaće aktivna dok je ne otkažete. Ukoliko se odlučite da je otkažete, ubrzo ćemo vam poslati e-poruku sa ostalim detaljima.

Ukoliko imate pitanja, slobodno nas kontaktirajte.

Srdačan pozdrav,
Booking.com Korisnički servis

The Waverley Guest House in Inverness is a grungy flophouse masquerading as a guest house and charging exorbitant prices for poky, dilapidated rooms. The rooms are excessively noisy, with live bands playing three metres from your head, then locals departing the pub shout to each other with canyon-like echoes along Union Street and finally shrieking seagulls until the traffic begins the next day. None of this is described on the website. Nor was I told there was a shared bathroom.
The unnaturally glowing reviews cast serious doubt on all other reviews on www.booking.com.
when I tried to write directly about this to www.booking.com, there is no option for direct contact. You are directed to a series of FAQs.
Until www.booking.com takes some responsibility for accurate representation of properties on their website, I will be forced to use other websites.

I would like to complaint about recent unauthorised credit card charges for accommodation in Koh Lanta, Thailand.
I did booked an accommodation in Koh Lanta for 22nd June but today I received text message saying my card was charged for THB1500 for accommodation that I am not aware. I am sure I didn't make any transaction to this accommodation and surely my information may have slipped from Booking.com. I am really disappointed to the level of security that booking.com provide.

Here is the detail of the accommodation
Transaction Date: 19 June
Hotel: Baan Pakgasri Hideaway
Amount Charged : THB1500

Do not use this service!
I used booking. Con to reserve a hotel in hawaii and they charged my card for the full week upfront! I have never prepaid a hotel upfront. I should have booked directly with the hotel. When I called booking. Con, the rep said that I agreed to their terms of prepaying for the room. Nowhere during the process was it mentioned that I would be prepaying for the entire week! Do not use this scam of a service! Book directly through the hotel. I wish I would read these reviews before I did business with this outfit.

I booked a special deal through Booking.com to stay here from 27/5-31/5/2016. The negotiated rate was about Rs 1300 per night. I arranged directly with the hotel management to arrive 1 night earlier & to check out 1 night later.
After checking out, I noticed that my bill showed an amount of Rs 12390 but my credit card slip Rs13390. I had been charged more for the negotiated lower rate through Booking.com. I can understand paying a higher rate for the additional nights.
I sent several mails to both Booking.com & Optimum Palm D'Or without eeceiving a notification that my credit card is re-credited with the overcharged amount of Rs1000. The hotel said I would get a discount at my next stay. Why on earth would I go back where I was overcharged.
What can I do to get my refund?
Thank You

this morning, 10 June 2016, I made a reservation for the first time through my.booking, com at Millenium Madejeski Hotel, UK: Pin 6120; Booking ref: [protected]

At the time of booking, mybooking.com website informed me expressly, as copy pasted in the attached document, that payment would be made only at check-in! I proceeded to reserve this booking on this express basis. There were other prices in this selection which also said that in fact payment would be taken on reservation. I expressly avoided those, knowing that I may need to cancel. I have since seen an email from the hotel/mybooking.com, that my cancellation, which I went on to make after a few hours of booking, will attract a fee. I have written to them to request a full refund on this transaction on the basis that the information provided on their website at the time of booking, and in fact throughout the booking process, was an express misrepresentation.

This booking was being made for my daughter's 8th birthday. I am saddened and disappointed that it has turned out so sour, especially as this is the first time I am using booking.com. when I called, the person who answered the phone made things worse for me. he kept pointing out to the information sent to me after the transaction, which says that there is a cancellation fee in the small print. If this had been the information at time of booking, I would not have gone ahead.

I just had a very unhappy experience with booking. com.
I reserved a hotel via them and provided my credit card detail on the 5 june, they are not supposed to charge me anything and I should only pay the hotel when I arrived. However, I found out today that few hundreds were taken from another hotel that has a similar name of the hotel I booked. I called the customer service representative to clarify the situation and the representative, serena, just blamed the hotel and claimed that it may be the hotel’s system problem. And she said that the amount that they charged is close to the amount printed on my reservation. (Accuracy is not important to them) she only offered to help and call the hotel but she did not solve my confusion about the charge from another hotel. Finally, they told me that it is a pending amount after calling the hotel directly without explaining the difference. The amount of money that they hold is more than the amount that is printed on my reservation receipt. Later on, I made a long distance call to the hotel for clarifying the situation, the hotel told me that they only charge local currency, after one or two weeks of our stay, they will give us back the amount of money. They also explain that the difference may be caused by the exchange rate.
Overall, I am dissatisfied with the service booking. com provided. They do not help me to understand the situation. First, they do not explain that the hotel may hold the money at the very stage of my booking process. Second, they do not take the responsibility of keeping my personal credit card detail. They said it’s the hotel keep my credit card detail not them. (But I provide them via booking. com!). This made me spends extra time and energy to call the bank and booking. com for clarification! I had also invested my emotion to understand the situation and deal with the inpatient, angry (The tone) , irresponsible customer service representation that is hired from a third world country and maybe exploited by the company. She is not taking any responsibility at all and so thus the company! She kept saying that she understands my situation but I did not think she really does. She even said that I didn’t listen to her! (What a customer service representative) if I have to deal with the hotel and the bank for my booking, why should I use booking. com? This is not my first experience with online booking agency, but my very first time with booking. com. With this experience, I don’t think I will book anything with booking. com again. It is just frustrating and disappointing and pointless to book things with them.

We have been in contact with Booking.com serveral times via phone over the
past several weeks. We have stayed at Villa Letizia (773.642.187)
from April 19, 2016 until April 2016, 2016 and have left the
following review on our stay (http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/villa-letizia-
scopello.de.html?aid=387746;label=review_am;appvl_email=1;rurl=5b645-
[protected];tab=4;type=total&). Further, we are frequent users of
booking.com both private and business use.

The reply we received from them (see email below) is not at
sufficient for us. Most definately, we expect more from a trustworthy
company like Booking.com and still do not understand why they would
cooperate with a company like Scopello-villas.com.

What we experienced is -after our definition of hospitality and service-
simply fraud:

- Villa Letizia was booked, but we were accomodated in Villa Desiree
- Villa Letitza was chosen by us as destination because of specific
features that were not available at Villa Desiree (Pizza Oven,
hammock, sea view...)
- Reason of the relocation "water damage" turned out to be a lie as a
dutch family moved in to Villa Letizia two days after our arrival
and no workers were seen before
- The provided BBQ was useless at it would have been a risk to our
health to prepare food on it (see pictures attached)
- 8 of 10 phone calls to the local representative were not being
answered nor called back later
- Promises were made to offer compensation upon check-out (e.g. a 2
nights voucher) but nothing happened - not even a 1-hour later check-
out was granted
- Threats were expressed to post charge our CC since we were blamed
to have used the heating during our stay, which was not the case
- no apology at all even though we expressed our feeling of
being fooled

Their excuse of the hosts' offer to extend our stay in order to compensate
for the deficiencies is not comprehensible to us, since most people
on vacation have their departure itenerary set before their arrival.
Also, the question of why we have not contacted Booking.com directly during our stay,
can be blamed on the hosts as they kept promising us a discount on
day of departure which we would have been happy with.

All we got from Booking.com was:

" We understand that you approached the accommodation staff or at least you tried to do so during your stay and tried to find a solution to the issues you raised. We’re sorry to hear that the staff members were not reachable or helpful. In these difficult situations you can also reach out to our team by calling our 24-hour customer service line. Our multilingual staff, who know the culture and speak the language of the property, can facilitate communication by breaking down language barriers. Ultimately, we’d like our guests to play an active role in these discussions in order to find a solution on which everybody can agree. Our team has also contacted the accommodation to discuss your complaint, but unfortunately in this situation Villa Letizia is not able to offer any compensation.

Unfortunately we can do nothing at this point since, as already said before, we didn't know anything before your call on the 3rd of May, when your check out was on the 25th of April. We totally understand that you tried to fix the issue directly with the property till the check out day, but we could have been helpful on the check out date if you would have reached us over the phone since we are always available for our customers. "

Ridiculous!

Summary of Compalint:
I booked an apartment online in Stresa, Italy through Booking.com. Although we were physically at the apartment building, we could never speak or meet the owner because the contact number was incorrect. We were charged 250 Euros but did not stay at the apt.

Complaint Description:
After making the booking for 14-16 May, 2016, we called the the apt contact number at 0800 on the morning of our arrival [14.5], but an operator's recording said "This number has not been issued." We wanted to change our arrival time from 1400 to 1600. We then arrived at the apt at 1600, but no one was there, no note, no sign. I called the contact number again twice. Always the same recording. It is in a large building with many apts and a locked gate. We waited at the gate until neighbours came out and we asked them to help us. They also called the contact number for us and got the same operator message. We waited around the apt for 2 hours and then left at 1800.

The key problem was that there was no other contact information given for the apt owner: no email, no name. The phone contact # was incorrect and there was no other way to contact the owner.

While waiting outside the apt gates, I then signed up for Italian internet service so that I could check for possible emails from the apt owner. There were none. On Booking.com, my contact preference is 'email, ' but the apt owner never once contacted me by email, before, during or after the rental time. He or she could have emailed or left a paper message at the building gate or with a neighbour.

So we left the apt building and I contacted Booking.com on 14 May at 1820 and left a detailed message about the problem. We then waited for a reply but none came within an hour.

It was a long weekend in Italy and very busy. It was getting late: 1900 on a Saturday night, long weekend. We needed to find a place to stay and I know from looking at Booking.com that most hotels were full this weekend. We found a hotel later that evening but this took time and the weekend was more expensive as we stayed in a hotel room and not an apartment. We therefore needed to eat out instead of cooking in the apt.

At the end of the weekend on 16 May, we finally learned that the problem with the apt contact number was simply a wrong number on all the booking details. We saw this number on our home telephone display [no message left] after the weekend in Stresa. A call from the property owner came at 2030 on 14 May on our home phone. This is long after the check-in time. The number was written on Booking.com as 39 ### ##2 #### but the number is actually 39 ### ##3 ####; one digit is incorrect. It is on the original booking. So either the apt owner or Booking.com wrote the contact number incorrectly.

The experience was quite unpleasant and frustrating for us:
arriving at the apt, waiting for several hours, calling the apt owner and getting a recorded message that the number does not work, then having to look for a hotel on a long weekend.

I then emailed Booking.com on May 16 to explain the contact number problem. A Booking.com agent called me approx 2 days later. But then we were informed that we had been charged the entire amount for the apt booking 250 Euros.

I called Booking.com on 20 May and spoke with an agent regarding this booking. She said that she would look into it further and ask the apartment owner to not charge the 'cancellation fee.' Booking.com responded several days later saying that the 'cancellation fees' could not be changed as the apt owner insists on the full amount. I wrote another email on 23 May asking for details of how I can make a formal appeal against the cancellation fee and a formal complaint to Booking.com. No response has come to this request. Booking.com has never responded to the issue of the incorrect contact info, which is one of the key problems with this booking.

It is now almost 2 weeks since this booking was completed and it is still completely unresolved for us. I do not agree that I should pay a cancellation fee for this booking when the contact information was incorrect and we tried for hours to meet and contact the owner but were unable to. We made many efforts from our side to contact and meet the apt owner.

As can be seen from my Booking.com history, I have made and completed many bookings in different countries without any issue. Ca del Bosco is a new listing and provided incorrect contact information.

I am now very frustrated & angry with Booking.com's customer service. I do not understand why Booking.com does not simply come to a separate agreement with the apt owner and give us a refund or credit. I feel that Booking.com could do much more to resolve this very routine dispute more quickly and smoothly. But it has allowed it to drag on for over 2 weeks and seems to be ignoring my requests for information on a dispute process and formal complaint process.

I really find it incredible that Booking.com seems to have no dispute resolution process. Any large company dealing with so many clients and properties must have a formalised dispute resolution process. Our booking problem must be quite common and Booking.com must face hundreds of such disputes. Look at EBay or AirBNB -- they have a clear dispute processes. But until now, friendly Booking.com customer service personnel has simply explained to me that there is nothing that they can do. I have now requested information 3 or 4 times for a formal dispute resolution process and complaint process and Booking.com has responded to neither.

Desired resolution:
I would like that all the "cancellation charges" for this booking are promptly refunded to my credit card and that I am not charged for this booking where we could not and did not stay.

Alternatively, Booking.com could provide a credit for the amount of our booking to be used at any Booking.com property, but not solely at the apt property in Stresa, Italy and not time-limited.

“scammers - book direct with hotel” - I recently booked the herods hotel on tel aviv israel through booking. com
The day after making the booking I got an email from booking. com saying that an upgrade for my room was available for approx $us260. The upgrade was for a room with a balcony and a view of the mediterranean. I took the upgrade.
On checking into the hotel I asked whether I had a room with a balcony and a sea view and was told that all rooms have a balcony and a sea view.
I complained that I had been charged extra and her answer was I should take it up with booking. com.
I've called booking. com several times in the last month and emailed several times. I got a reply from booking. com saying that indeed they agreed that the room I got was the same are similar to my original booking and they would talk to the hotel about a refund.
Tonight I got an email from booking. com saying that the herod hotel will not refund the amount as the upgrade was for an extra child. Why on earth would I pay for an extra child if I don't have one.
My advice is never ever book a hotel through this company. They are scammers!
Disgusted that they wouldn't refund me.
They offered me the upgrade they should refund me.
My booking number is [protected].

Booked apartment in Bruck am Ziller, Bruckberg 12, Zillertal, Austria. Paid in advance for 6 days 5 people. When arrived on the spot realized that access road to the apartment is extremely dangerous (last 3 km), especially in winter conditions. Info about this negative point was not given on Booking.com site. Resigned immediately after reaching the apartment (being afraid to be stuck due to road conditions and not being able to go skiing by car). Owner refuses to return our money, not even a part of it, although we didn't stay there at all. No help from Booking.com and Interholiday AG (cooperating with Booking.com). Fraud!

Booking.com, HostelWorld.com and, apparently, most of the online booking companies often send your credit card data to hotels, or hostels, you've booked. A short search on this website will tell you that this data is then commonly stored and abused by their partners, or respective employees. In addition to this, many people find that these portals often have cancellation policies and customer support which are unfair, unhelpful and not at all user-friendly. Users are generally unaware of most of the risks involved.

I love these databases for how easy they are to use. Negative experiences, while certainly a minority, are way too common and many people never found a way to claim what belongs to them. Why has this not been fixed? In simple terms - Booking companies profit from not protecting their customers. However, one thing we know is that if we stand together we can make a change.

Here is how you can help:
- Share your story - How and when were you a victim of an online booking platform?
- If you have objective proof that what happened to you was illegal or extremely unjust, share it and/or get in touch with me

Possible next steps?
1. Defining what are the largest and most common problems with online booking. Then we set up minimum standard requirements that we want for this industry.
2. Those of us who can dedicate a bit more time will use these experiences in order to push online booking platforms to improve their data protection, cancellation and customer service policies to a higher level. We will collect their answers and hold them reliable.
3. Contact hundreds of publishing companies and get as much media attention on these issues and bad experiences. I worked with media companies before and expect this to be extremely effective. Let's make it easy for them and put as many stories here. Together with couple of other huge posts, it will be an amazing database. I will gladly adjust the database of posts we share with publishers depending on their country, type and size.
4. Very last resort is a collective lawsuit, but, considering we come from all over the place, that would be messy, wouldn't it? For now, even if not as effective, I encourage you to sue them on individual basis, but don't accept being cheated.

What am I up to now?
I am collecting information about how hotels are qualified, audited, validated, kept under control, etc. How do they make sure hotels keep their quality standards and how, in theory and practice, are users protected. Input is welcome.

Let's make booking your next vacation a sweet and safe experience!

In my case, a hostel in Amsterdam, called ClinkNOORD, stole the credit card data from one booking and charged a separate booking that wasn't made from the same card. I tried 10-15 times to explain to them how illegal this is and get reimbursed. Finally, after many days, and declined Booking cancellations, I reported my case to Booking.com directly, provided payment proof and I hope that they will solve such a straight case with ease. Although not sure after everything read here. Either way, they shouldn't have allowed this to happen in the first place.

Have made a reservation through Booking.com for a "Residence Inn by Marriott Miami Avnetura Mall" -
Conformation received well ahead of time.
Upon arrival (April 30th) were told that the hotel is overbooked, and the 3 suites we have ordered (for a family of 13) - the alternative they would offer is a neighbouring Marriott (drove there in the middle of the night, only to find out that they only have 3 single rooms
Had to drive around for 3 hours to find an alternative hotel at higher price then was granted by Booking.com/Marriott
Staff at the hotel told us that this is a common phenomenon when ordering throuhg Booking.com
Reservation numbers are available for refrence and names of Marriott personal

Upon sharing my own singular experience enlisting the service of Booking.com, intended only for specific audience on Facebook, I was bombarded with similar stories. Recognizing, I am in NO WAY, a frequentor of social media, the response similar outrage was considerable even to warrant my notice.
I booked and sealed price on Booking.com site through exhaustive efforts and forms. Deal was good for normally pricey 4 star hotel in Boston area.
After utilizing site for the purpose of securing price, I was contacted twice, with varied stories claiming the need "to resubmit my price request" . The price for which I had reserved and tentatively paid somehow became "unavailable. "
The calls were of such a convoluted fishing nature, I truly felt shaken down! It seems they were trying to find my bottom line, as it were.
Exceptionally strange was the fact that when I announced I was going to simply cancel altogether, they offered up a fee somewhere in between. I declined. Received yet another call from site, who claimed to be calling from the hotel itself.! When I insisted on supervisor, sure enough, it was Booking.com at an undisclosed call center.

Me and my wife were going on a vacation so I booked a hotel for 2 people. Few days before the trip I was contacted by Booking and told that our reservation was cancelled and that they found us another place to stay. They said that it was a nice place and provided us new address. When we arrived at the hotel it looked more like a motel. The place was a mess! Our room was really dirty and small, there were no towels and no toilet paper! I contacted Booking and asked for a refund. Originally we booked a room in a 4 star hotel and this place was more like a garbage can! They apologized and soon we received our money back. Terrible experience but I'm glad that they did fix their own mistake.

Never pass your credit details to Booking.com. They just pass them onto the accommodation who then do whatever they want like the above shyster who took £287 then told us we couldn't stay there as Booking. com made a wrong booking (for one person instead of 2 adults and a child) and at £287 for 3 nights accommodation in a lodge for one! A more rip-off, condescending, parsimonious and sanctimonious individual I have yet to meet. And of course, Booking.com wriggled and squirmed but didn't have the decency to cough up the money back or de-list this obnoxious ###.

We use to make all of our Leisure bookings through Booking.com. And we always made use of Booking.com for all our business accommodation. Unfortunately we won’t use this booking agency again. And we will not recommend it to anyone.
The agents in the call centre, are incompetent, rude and not very helpful. The guarantee that the rates are the best rates that one will find is not true, and the policy that you will refund the difference if there is another agency that has better rates than Bookin.com is a hoax.

Last week we decided that we want to go to Sun City for our wedding anniversary. We had two options to book with our Holiday club credits or to book via Booking.com. We chose the latter.
I went online to search for accommodation using Booking.com. So I made the booking at the Cabanas Hotel at Sun City Resort, and paid R3956.
While searching online for activities to do in and around Sun City, I came across the website http://www.go2africa.com/ and saw they advertise accommodation as well. Fully knowing that Booking.com guaranteed that they offer the best price I ignored the advertisement and went ahead searching for activities. I then read that on a Tuesday they have a whiskey tasting evening but I have already made a booking for Wednesday April 20 – Friday April 22. I realised we are going to miss it, so I thought maybe we should book an extra night that includes Tuesday April 19. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Go2Africa are way cheaper than Booking.com. So I went ahead and typed in April 20 – April 22. And then I got a shock. R2140! I just paid R3956 at Booking.com. I immediately emailed Booking.com, telling them I found exactly the same accommodation with lower rates than that what I just paid at Bookin.com.
I emailed Booking.com on Thursday April 14, 2016.
Friday late afternoon, Booking.com has still not phoned or emailed me any reply. So I phoned the calling centre and spoke to one of the agents. He admitted to receiving my email.
Why hasn’t Booking.com followed up on my email with the other agency?
Why haven’t I received any communication from Booking.com regarding my enquire.
The gentleman that I spoke to (Zaijneb) went and check the link of the website that I have forwarded containing the evidence that the rates are a lot cheaper than Booking.com and agreed with me on the price on the website that it stated clearly R2140 for the exact same accommodation.
And then he told me that he is not sure but he thinks that they have not included taxes. And if I add the taxes of 14% and the amount of R2140 it will be much more that Booking.com. Now if you ad 14 % to R2140 you get the total amount of R2439.60. Still way cheaper than Booking.com. Anyway he told me to go and find out if the total amount includes taxes.
I then emailed the agency Go2Africa and enquired about the costs of the accommodation. The agency emailed me back, and assured me the following:

Sun City Cabanas Hotel
Dates: 20 – 22 April 2016
Room: 1 x Standard Twin Room with shower can accommodate 2 adults

Daily room rate from: R 1 070.00
Total for 2 nights: R 2 140.00

The amount below is what you will pay, it includes Tourism Levy as well.

Rates include the following: Breakfast at the Palm Terrance Restaurant, entrance to The Valley of the Waves and a complimentary shuttle service within the resort to the various hotels / activities.

I then forwarded the email to Booking.com. No one at Booking.com contacted me.
Today I made a follow up call and spoke to another (very unhelpful) agent. She opened my communication that I have send to Booking.com and went to check on the link of the accommodation that the other agency (Go2Africa) offered. She told me the price on the website has changed and it is not R2140 anymore. She then told me the policy is not valid. Because the amount displaying today on Go2Africa is much higher than the amount I paid at Booking.com.
I was very upset because :
No one from Booking.com communicated to me from Thursday April 14 either via calling or emailing up until today when I made contact again.
The agents aren’t helpful at all, they didn’t even went to check whether the other agency has a better price.
Zajneb the agent can’t do maths. And assured me that 14 % adding to R2140 equals much higher than R3956.
My first communication regarding the better offer I found was on Thursday and not today. I told Booking.com on Thursday that I found a better offer. I also told them on Friday. The agent agreed with me, but told me he THINKS (not know) it doesn’t include taxes, and that I must go and make sure, and phone back with the proof. Well I did. I went and emailed Go2Africa and I forwarded the proof to Booking.com.
The Booking.com agent I spoke to today went and check and told me the price on the website is much higher today than Friday. But the thing is I already contact Booking.com on Thursday. My first contact was on Thursday and not today. So the rates that were on the website on Thursday April 14 and Friday should be valid. Today was a follow up (because none of the agents communicated back to me) so today’s costs should not be brought into account.
The agency Go2Africa clearly states in the email (which I forwarded to Booking.com) that the amount of R2140 is still applicable and is inclusive of everything.
When I request to spoke to the supervisor the agent at Booking.com she refused. She upset me when she told me that the agent I spoke to on Friday afternoon (Zajneb) said that the amount displayed on the website of Go2Africa was more than the amount I paid at Booking.com. Indirectly I was called a liar. I was furious because he agreed with me on Friday that the amount is R2140 but he THINKS (not know) it doesn’t include taxes. I told your agent that all phone calls must be recorded, thus Booking.com should go and replay the phone conversation between me and the gentleman. She then told me it can’t be done.
Now it seems to me that Booking.com will use as many excuses as they can find to bypass the policy that they so eagerly advertised . Best price guaranteed what a misleading statement!