Booking.com Reviews 

Worst Experience.worst customer support and Scam.

I booked a hotel room in Iceland through Booking.com, which was Single room with Pvt Bathroom. But the hotel gave me room with shared bathroom and said that I booked it through Expedia, so sort it out with Booking.com. Guess what, Booking.com said it was associated through their 'Partners' so no resolution from them. Stood in the Customer Service phone queue for an hour, but couldnot talk to anyone. Highly dissatisfied with this service. Who would know that while booking through their website, they hand it over to someone else and then mess up the booking!

I booked an accommodation, booking.com has double booked the accommodation and we didnt get to stay in d property. It was last minute.
My money wouldn’t return for next few days.
Thy offered another accommodation but I had to pay upfront (was double amount of the value we had previously booked) thy said thy will pay the difference.thy said i just let them know once checked out thy ll revert the difference to me,once i checked out there was no option to let booki.com know we hv checked out.
Contacted customer service , then thy told i have to get a 0 balance receipt to facilitate the refund. Still no contact option to submit the receipt,
Called again customer service thy gave la email to submit the receipt, submitted through email.
Now thy added credits to my booking.com app to use for my next trip.I don’t need this I need my money which I paid upfront for their mistake.
Total rip off
Totally hate the app by now

Here is a message we have been trying to send to Booking.com but haven't managed to. We tried to phone them a couple of days ago, almost impossible to phone here from Albania. I did manage to speak to them shortly on the phone, the call fell, they sent a message back to apologize, we explained in short what is going on, they never got back to us again, but sent us two messages asking us to rate the representative. Twice we tried to flag that the service was awful, but they never got back to us and there is no other way to contact them in urgent situations! We don't know what to do.... here is the message we never managed to send to them:

"Hello,

I am writing this e-mail on behalf of myself and my husband, Colin Sharman, who is the person who made the booking (Confirmation: 6834981698). We are in an awful situation in a hotel in Albania and need help very urgently!!!!!!!

My husband booked this holiday to celebrate my 69th birthday, the first time I have celebrated my birthday abroad for decades, due to the fact that my it falls during the school holidays, and everywhere is very busy and expensive. Therefore, this was supposed to be a real treat!!!! But the situation is awful! We paid a lot of money for this hotel, but so far we have had power cuts almost every day, sometimes many times a day, my husband made a huge effort to find a hotel with a bathtub, as I don’t like taking showers, but have only been able to take one hot bath in nearly a week, because I took it when the owner told me to, or else I wouldn’t have had any hot water (even if I wanted to go to the pool, instead of taking a bath at that time). The only other bath I took was with cold water (we have a room with an amazing bathtub overlooking the beautiful view). The power cuts are restricted to this hotel only. Everywhere else around here the lights are on!

Twice now we were lucky enough to find a beach which had a shower, and I was able to at least rinse the salty water off my hair and body before coming back, as we presumed that there would be no hot water again and yes, there wasn’t. One of the days, as we arrived, there was still another power cut. Also, when we visited the Taverna up the road, from where we can see the hotel, there were a few more power cuts and we could see guests walking around with torches.

The thing seems to be that, maybe because there are actually two hotels here, the electricity can’t cope with so many guests and there is also not enough hot water for everybody (we have now learned that this is due to problems with the solar panels, and more rooms have this problems, even if the manager tried to tell us that this was a one off and only we were affected by the lack of hot water) . The manager does not seem to be bothered at all, I suppose because for him this is very normal! One of the days I had to take a cold bath and of course, my husband has showered a couple of times with cold water too, and had to cut the showers to a minimum. With all this and the shower on the beach being extremely cold, I now have a huge cold, am taking medication to try to minimize it. Today is my birthday didn’t sleep for most of the night and have been sleeping very badly anyway and we really need help to get out of here. Also, this hotel is right next to a bee farm with lots of beehives, and it is dangerous to eat breakfast here, as we could bite on a bee. We are constantly trying to wave the bees away.

The access to the hotel is extremely treacherous too. The air conditioning is on the wall pointing at the bed, therefore we can hardly have it on, as that cold air pointed at us might have even been one of the things that led to me now having this awful cold. We have tried all settings but there is little we can do but sweat all night as the temperature inside of the room, according to the air-con, is mostly 30ºC. The curtains don’t fit the width of the window, and light and wakes us up very early in the morning. They have now install an extra curtain, even if it took a few days, but it is far shorter than the other two, therefore still a lot of light comes into the room.

We really feel that we should have the right to compensation and move to another hotel, but will there be a great hotel which still has a room available in the middle of high season? Our holiday and my birthday have been wrecked. All these shortcomings should have been mentioned on the website! First time in Albania and never again!!!! We are willing to move to another region, as long as there are good beaches.

Kind regards

Francisca Rigaud"

Booking.com took the last bit of money I had and didnt give me a confirmation number because the hotel was not receiving online reservations at the time they sit there and tell me I gotta sleep in my car for 24 to 48 hours during a tropical storm because they took my money and I can’t do nothing about it. Horrible customer service skills horrible anything cause why did you let me make a reservation or try to make a reservation and they not even taking reservations. I gotta wait up to 48 hours for my refund just to get into a hotel. I’m sleeping in my car during a tropical storm.

Its absolutely joke. Talking to a computer . Customer service unable to get through when I do get through I have the phone put down . They sell this hotel and its nothing like the pictures. Scam and they wont send my money back and the owner will not update his details to them.

Booking. Com did NOTHING to help us after their supplier cancelled our booking and left us stranded in London.
They accept no responsibility for allowing scam artists and fraudsters to use their site to prey on unsuspecting clients- it is disgraceful - one relies on their integrity which seems to be sadly lacking - no effort made on their part - this after many many interactions as well as telephonic calls where we were promised certain actions with a follow through. What can one do??. The property in question which I would strongly advise other travellers NOT to book at is SG stylish Knightsbridge apartment - it is a disgrace the way we have been treated by booking. Com- it may be more prudent to book via Air BnB or stays where it seems the support level is so much better and more professional

Used to be good now its s#it.. They take your money and dont confirm flights, no emails, just pending, after speaking with costumer services they said it can take up to 72hrs to know if i have the flight or not

I chose Booking.com because I believed they would stand behind their customers when unexpected events occurred. Unfortunately, my experience proved the exact opposite.

I experienced a legitimate force majeure event that was completely outside of my control. I provided documentation, including news articles confirming the widespread travel disruption, expecting Booking.com to evaluate my case under its published force majeure policy.

Instead, Booking.com repeatedly refused to make a determination and would not explain how one is made.

Every interaction with customer service was frustrating:

Email responses were generic templates that ignored my actual questions.
Phone wait times were consistently over an hour.
Every representative gave conflicting information.

One representative told me I had to contact the hotel myself for a refund. Another said that I would only receive a refund if Booking.com declared my situation to be a force majeure event.

When I asked the obvious question—How do I request that Booking.com make that determination?—the customer service supervisor admitted she didn't know who handled those requests and then ended the call.

I called back hoping to get an answer from someone else. Instead, another representative told me that the force majeure policy only applies if the customer is dead. I was stunned by the misinformation and the complete lack of professionalism.

The biggest issue is not that my refund was denied. The biggest issue is that Booking.com appears to have no transparent process for evaluating force majeure claims, despite advertising that such a policy exists. If customers cannot find out who reviews these claims, how to submit one, or how decisions are made, then the policy is essentially impossible to use.

At no point did Booking.com attempt to work with the hotel on my behalf or advocate for its customer. I was simply passed back and forth, given contradictory information, and left to solve the problem on my own while facing a significant financial loss.

If you book through Booking.com, understand that if an unforeseen emergency or force majeure event disrupts your travel, you may be on your own. Don't assume Booking.com will stand behind its published policy or assist you in resolving the issue.

My advice: Be very cautious before booking through Booking.com. A company should be judged not by how it handles routine reservations, but by how it supports customers during unexpected emergencies. Based on my experience, Booking.com failed that test completely.

Im a Property manager in Kissimme, Florida. One of the units I look after was advertised on Booking.com by the previous property management company, who went bankrupt last year. I do not advertise on Booking.com. I have had at least 15 people turn up to the resort entrance looking to stay in the unit, having booked via the listing that the previous property manager didnt take down. Ive been in touch with Booking.com multiple times by phone and have had to explain the whole situation every time. Booking.com are aware that the company is gone as they have outstanding invoices with them but they continue to list the property. Its heartbreaking to speak to these people who have turned up for their vacation to find their unit is not available to them. From followups I have had from some of these guests, Booking.com don't make it easy for the guests to get their money back either. The listing needs to come down but I have no authority. They insist on contacting the listing creator, who of course wont pick up the phone to them!

I booked an apartment in Birmingham for 13/06/2026. From 10/06 I contacted the property repeatedly for directions as Google Maps shows no clear entrance. No response across three days. Booking.com contacted the host on my behalf twice. Still no response.

On the day I was on the phone from South East London to London Marylebone train station (1 hour) trying to resolve a situation that should never have reached that point. I was told to wait until 14:00. I was promised a replacement hotel with the cost difference covered. I called back as agreed. An agent promised to personally take ownership then told me it would take a further 45 minutes despite me having already explained everything. No call back came. I had to call again myself. Only then was I told I had to book and pay myself. Had I been told this from the start, I could have booked alternative accommodation immediately, enjoyed my evening, and dealt with the admin after. Instead I spent my evening on the phone, carrying my luggage to a social event unable to get changed, all because of a process that nobody could override despite the outcome being obvious from the start.

The outcome was obvious to anyone reviewing this situation yet no agent could override or expedite the process. I had a 16:00 commitment and was forced to attend a social event carrying my luggage unable to get changed. I was also double charged on the day due to a system error.

The price difference of £40.50 took over a month to receive and only came as wallet credit after significant chasing.

On 15/07 I called again. The agent put unnecessary work on me before eventually agreeing to help, then disconnected my call when I raised a formal complaint. I received a single-ring drop call shortly after. I have worked in a call centre. This is a deliberate tactic to falsely log a call back attempt.

Three generic responses later, none acknowledging Booking.com's own failures or compensation request.

I am a Genius Level 1 member and have never complained like this before.

This company allows and supports fraud. We booked a lodging. The owner canceled us as a noshow. Then we requested an emergency safety assist frombooking and they denied it because we were canceled, even after we notified then we were staying in the place.

Then booking contacted us to request payment for damages on behalf of the property we were canceled in.

What a joke. They serve the host but the customer is a liability. Booking will never again receive my business. Three people office was notified. We left in an emergency to an airbnb.

I wouldn’t even rate them 1 star, they are a bunch of chancers! We cancelled a booking which they approved, and lhen told us they wouldn’t charge us but then did. I will not use them again!

I booked The Beechouse Hotel in Great Yarmouth for my grandson Callum Brown Booking ref 6339494674 for 4 nights from 20/07/2026. The first night he stayed he found bugs crawling on the bed.He reported this & was told they were flying insects that had come in through the open window? They changed the linen & mattress but this morning he was covered in biters. He reported again & the staff member was unhelpful & not very polite. They didn’t offer any resolution & he felt he had no alternative but to leave & find alternate accommodation elsewhere which obviously incurred another cost. Looking forward to your reply

Family Run Hotel with Service par excellence.

Very clean comfortable rooms. Good Food both Dinner and Breakfast . Swimming Pool and Hot Tub available and with 32+ Rooms one never feels crowded in
Situated out of the bustle of Garda but a courtesy bus is a really positive feature

I have used Booking.com for years and have always trusted that, if a serious issue arose, they would stand behind their customers. Unfortunately, this experience completely changed my opinion.

I booked a property that, upon arrival, appeared to be in an area where I genuinely did not feel safe. I chose not to check in because I was uncomfortable with the condition of the surroundings and the property itself. Instead of receiving support or having my concerns taken seriously, my refund request was simply denied.

The most disappointing part of this experience was not just the hotel—it was Booking.com’s complete lack of customer support. There was no meaningful attempt to understand the situation, no reasonable compromise, and no concern for the fact that a customer was choosing not to stay because they felt unsafe. It felt as though the only thing that mattered was enforcing the reservation, regardless of the circumstances.

A booking platform should do more than process payments; it should advocate for its customers when legitimate concerns arise. In this case, Booking.com failed to do that.
After this experience, I have lost confidence in using Booking.com. If customer safety and satisfaction are important to you, be aware that if something goes wrong, you may find yourself dealing with the issue alone. I will seriously reconsider using Booking.com for future travel and will be looking at other platforms that place greater value on supporting their customers.

terrible customer service. bought a plane ticket i needed quickly, then after 24 hours there was still no confirmation so tried to cancel and get one elsewhere. but without a confirmation number i could not do anything with my booking and just had to sit hundreds of pounds down. Genuinly one of the worst experiences i have had and will never be using booking.com again,

Appalling service from booking.com. Booked a flight through them on the 12th June, only to have the flight cancelled by the airline 24 hours later. The alternative flights offered had me travelling to and from Gabon on the same day and were obviously not usable. Contacted the airline and booking.com the very next day and in spite of numerous promises to rectify with suitable flights, on the 18th June I had no alternative but to cancel the ticket via booking.com and arrange alternatives with someone else. In spite of their assurances that the refund should take 15 business days from the airline to them and six business days from then to me, no refund has been received 36 business days later . My follow up calls to them are met with the information that the airline has not yet refunded them and promises for a supervisor to call me back are not kept. Throughout the whole process booking.com has not contacted me once and keep on pointing out they are just the “middleman”. As the airline has never bothered to contact me and as I paid booking.com and not the airline it seems an easy excuse for them to hide behind . Next step is to report this to the credit card company, if you expect service, or a refund in the case of a cancellation, don’t use booking.com

Unacceptable experience with both the property in Laulasmaa (Estonia) and Booking.com customer support.
Arrived on June 15, 2026, with an outside temperature of 13°C, to find a freezing house with no working heating and no wardrobe/closet for a 2-week stay. When complained, the host's "solution" was shocking and dangerous: switch on the sauna and leave the sauna door wide open to heat the house! This is a massive fire and asphyxiation hazard, violating basic safety rules.
Forced to leave after just 2 hours and pay out of pocket for an hotel, I requested a full refund of the €1,965 paid. Booking.com refused a full refund, reimbursing only €425 and calling the dangerous sauna suggestion a "provided resolution".
Booking.com failed to protect consumer safety and health. The partial refund is kept as an advance only; formal legal claims and complaints with European Consumer Authorities (ECC-Net, AGCM, and Estonian TTJA) are underway. Avoid this property and be cautious with Booking's support.

THEY CANCELD MY BOOKING 3 TIMES AND EVERY PLACE THEYED "HELP " RELOCATE US TOO WOULD CANCEL ASWELL , WED ALSO HAVE TO PAY FOR THE RELOCATIONS UPFRONT WHICH WE ARE STILL AWAITNG REFUNDS FOR , OUT 1600$ BECAUSE OF THEIR MESS UP