Booking.comReviews 4,267

I thought I found a great hotel for a summer vacation in Myrtle Beach SC... but reservations were through Booking.com. I wish I'd done my research 1st.

1) A deposit of 1 night was required.
2) Free cancellation through 1 week prior to reservation.

Ok. Sounds good. I make the reservation - 6 months out. 2 weeks later I find the location was not what I wanted and cancelled. I received confirmation of the cancellation WITHOUT penalty.

Ok. Still sounds good. I get my credit card statement and I have a $10 interest charge... but I paid the statement in full (less the 1 night deposit to booking. Com that should have been credited).

Ok. Booking. Com Customer Service is non-existent so I contacted the hotel directly. They informed me they never received a cancellation from Booking.com. I needed to cancel the same way I booked.

Ok. Time to pursue direct contact with Booking.com - not online. IMPOSSIBLE. If you can find the number you're a detective, but it won't help because the line is unanswered. I did send multiple emails requesting cancellation to the hotel - but no response.

Ok. I disputed the charge on my credit card. That should avoid future charges and allow me to eventually get reimbursed. They advised me to call the hotel and demand cancellation and reimbursement directly.

Ok. Called the hotel again and was told I must make my cancellation request to the Front Desk Manager. Took 15 minutes but I finally got a representative for the Front Desk Manager to tell me the cancellation was being processed and I should receive my refund "shortly." Please, define shortly.

Ok. Now I get to check my credit card transactions daily looking for the refund. (I know, I should have done that when I cancelled with Booking.com.)

Whew. I'm tired. Wish I had just done my research about Booking.com up front and never made the reservation. Stay tuned. I'll let you know how long before I get my refund. (Beware - I will pursue this until fully resolved... but it should never be this difficult.)

JUST SAY NO to Booking.com

I booked an apartment with booking.com in January for a few days away in May. I had until the 24th march to cancel without payment or I would have had to pay in full. Unfortunately for me they cancelled on me after this date. I've lost the money I paid for flights because I can't find a suitable alternative. After finally getting to speak to a manager at booking.com I've been told I should be thankful they never just let me go on the trip to find out there was no booking. Unbelievably terrible customer service

I booked a car through booking.com at Bergamo airport (Italy). The car provider, Locauto, was appalling. They didn't have the car I booked and they were terribly rude. We thus proceeded to rent a vehicle elsewhere. Upon my return I contacted booking.com for a full refund which I received promptly with a letter of apology for my bad experience with Locauto and a discount voucher for my next booking. I can't fault their costumer service and courtesy both on the phone and by e-mail.

I booked via a search for a twin room for the same day I made the search. I paid and headed for the hotel. On the way I checked the e-mail and found it was for the wrong day and only for one person. No way could I have made two massive errors. I use these booking apps a lot and i understand how to surf them.
Booking. Ripoff charged me the full room fee for cancelling it AND after i discovered the hotel was not contactable by phone. Nor were booking.com
Cheats. I do not recommend using them EVER

Yes. Booking.com treats their customers as garbage and defrauds them of money. I inadvertly put in a wrong email address when i booked and got no confirmation email so i booked another hotel, then when i came back from vacation i noticed they charged me the full stay and said they could not do anything. How come they didnmt advise me? They had my name, phone number etc when the emails they sent came back with undeliverable. They are a fraudulent company.

Never use them deal with the hotel directly

I booked a room with booking.com and when I arrived (from another state), the hotel in which we had a reservation was overbooked and had no record of our reservation. I tried for over a day to contact the site by phone. No response. I tried by email. No response. We were left without a hotel after 14 hours of travel and with out customer service from booking or the hotel. It is three days later and I have not heard anything from booking.

My husband used the Booking.com app. I found a cheaper rate by $11.00 on another site geared toward seniors. When I contact Booking.com, "Heidel" said that I would have had to contact them BEFORE we checked it. Their policy is that they will not provide you with any help if you call them after you check in. Most companies will give you a 24-48 hour time to contact them. Not Booking.com. When I voiced my dissatisfaction with this, and said that I would note this online on various social media sites, "Heidel" said the following, "I don't think it will make a difference. You can go online if you want and if you feel the need to express yourself, but there is nothing we can do." So I would not recommend Booking.com

I cancelled a reservation I made with them for a hotel in Iceland and somehow, it never went through their system. I didn't get a confirmation email, and in hindsight, I wish I had contacted them about it, but it didn't worry me at the time because my booking seemed to be removed from my account. (I had booked 3 other hotels with them and those are the only ones that showed up on my personal account page. If my other booking had not been cancelled, it should have showed up on that page.)

Now, I'm being charged by the hotel with a no-show fee of the entire amount it would have cost to stay there. Booking.com refuses to take any responsibility for it even though I've sent them a screen shot of my account page which clearly shows this reservation doesn't exist. The kicker is that the hotel I actually did stay at was also booked through booking.com and for the same dates! And even that doesn't prove anything to them. I had to email several times before I even got anything other than a stock answer from them about the situation. Not sure if anyone was even reading the emails.

We have not previously had problems with Booking.com but I am not sure I shall use them again after our recent experience with their new and misleading policy. Be VERY careful when booking some hotels with them. On the 23rd of March 2016 I booked a hotel in Honfleur called Les Maisons De Lea for one night in mid June 2016. The booking was made with a Free Cancellation policy. On the 24th March the hotel withdrew the cost of the stay from my bank account plus a £7 transaction charge. At no point during the booking process or in the 'Fine Print' on their site does it mention they will do this. If you hover over a small blue question mark on the cancellation policy it says money will be withdrawn 'prior to ONE DAY before your stay'. When I questioned Booking.com they said this was within the guidelines and acceptable So it's ok then for the hotel to earn interest on £500 of our money for three months prior to our stay!? This is unethical on the part of both the hotel and Booking.com. Please be VERY aware of this new scam when you book!

Worst company I have ever dealt with! I booked a room with free cancellation. When I cancelled, I was charges $211 bybthe hotel. I called the hotel and told them and they said it was free cancellation, so booking.com charged me. I have called many times, been on hold for 20+ minutes each time. I have emailed numerous people and even contacted them on Facebook. Still NOTHING! Do NOT use booking.com they are a worthless, scamming company.

I booked Allegra's House in Rome for part of a very special trip to celebrate a 25th wedding anniversary. Out of the blue, within a month of travel and long after the booking was confirmed, I received a text from Allegra's House saying they had over booked and I would have to cancel. My reservation was through booking.com. Initially they said I would be found alternative accommodation of the same level, but the only option I have been given has nowhere near the same rating on tripadvisor. Would not advice anyone to book, either at Allegra's House unless they don't mind being cancelled at short notice, or using booking.com