Branislav C.

Dear travellers, please let me my experience with booking.com and their customer service.
We have booked end-year vacation with my family (wife, 2 small kids, 2 elderly parents of my wife) in High Tatras Slovakia. As always, we booked the vacation via Booking.com as my wife is 2nd level genius and we had in our mind that is always good to book via booking.com, because if something happen, we have large and professional company behind us. We travelled via booking.com around Europe, Asia and North America and never happen anything bad, so no test for customer service of booking.com.

The first test came with this vacation in our home country - Slovakia. We booked Luxury apartment of 90m2 with 2 bed rooms, 2 bathrooms and large living room. We wanted something larger because of kids and parents, plus we expected some friend to come over for drink during End year celebration.

So it was a big surprise, when we arrived to hotel and they announced to us that they have for us ready 45m2, with 1 bedroom and 2 beds in the livingroom completely not suitable for kids and no space for parents. According the hotel rating this was around 3 level lower apartment that we ordered. The main reason accordning the hotel was that booking.com made mistake and booked wrong type of room.

It was 7PM and I decided to immediately contact Booking.com to support us. English speaking Lady from customer service was very nice and she promised to help immediately either by changing the room in hotel or moving us to different location/ hotel. She asked for 30min and than she promised to call back with resolution.

For 30 min I was very pleased that we use booking.com, because problems might appear, but I was very happy that booking.com was immediately responsive to help. I was extremely wrong. After 30 min nobody called, even after 1 hour nobody called and when I started to call back I could not reach anybody as the line was all the time busy asking me to stay on the line and after it simply threw me down. Suddenly it was becoming late night and we needed to move. It was obvious that booking.com simply left us, despite promise. We agreed with hotel to be moved to another appartment, which was far away from Luxury, which we paid for, but at least we could sleep there all.
During the same night I wrote on booking.com helpline chat that we are very disappointed with them, that they left us in very uncomfortable situation, despite knowing that we have small kids and elderly. We got response around 2AM ;) . So around 1 hour after I wrote them, that if they are really sorry and if I can explain them details ;) Of course, we were sleeping that time.

Next morning I called booking.com again and this time I reached very serious gentlemen, who promised to solve situation and he also apologized for the issue. He asked to get picture of apartment to judge if it really does not suit to order we made. In the meantime hotel confirmed us, that we really should get another apartment, but as booking.com ordered wrong one, they have no Luxury apartment free for us. Gentleman from booking.com also promised to start to communicate. We sent pictures and all information to booking.com waiting for reply and next steps. Unfortunately, nothing happen again in 2 next days. So I called again, this time time Czech gentleman, who promised again to solve this situation, but who confimed that we are right ;) He promised as ussually to call next day ;) OF COURSE NOBODY CALLED. The last day I decided to call last time. I was very angry, because Booking.com did not do anything, just promises, but the worse was that they simply ignored us, plus we paid for something that we have not ordered. The price difference between appartment we paid for and we got was around 30-40%. THe last day I reached Czech lady, I was already very expresssional and she of course promised to help. This time she really called back, but with information that on Friday (day after leave) somebody will call me with with proposal of of compensation. OF Course nobody called...

In summary I spoke and was writing with Booking.com customer department in 5 days with 5 different people. Everybody promised to help, but nobody did. 4 people even did not call back or wrote simple message, despite they promised. The first lady knew that I am in quite tough situation because of small kids and elederly parents with night coming and she let us waiting and never called us back despite promise. I never received any call after the holiday.

For us it is strong learning, we will try different platforms and again we start direct communication with hotels. Booking. Com will be for us only alternative when the price is too attractive to ignore, but knowing that this company is missing any value added in case of customer approach. I am very surprised that in 2020 can company with so low customer service orientation be so succesfull. As we called more people from them, obviously the procedures in company are designed just to protect profit but not customer.
Regarding all companies, I ever experienced, this was for me largest disappointment ever.

Best regards,
Brano