To warn you about booking.com

They have a good search function “hotels only” which instantly filters out all the privately owned flats and apartments

I use booking.com all the time but only for hotels

Get the best prices and conditions there.

I’d never book a private flat / Airbnb style property through booking.com (or Airbnb for that matter) to avoid risk of a problem upon arrival that can’t be resolved.

Hotels cost the same but much more reliable and easy, with their 24/7 reception and services, and many out there offer rooms that come with basic kitchenette if needed

I agree @dottiehens , but when they are so desperate to shill they lose track of ethical considerations I figure they should be called out.

I don’t get why big companies give them legitimacy. When I see these campaigns I tend to turn away from the companies. I was a regular user of Booking.com, but stopped after seeing this idiot influencer advertise the site.

it isn’t possible to add an image. For example, the text on an insta story by pilotmadeleine promoting VisitSaudi read: “Samir talking about [how] foreigners often have a wrong perception of Saudi Arabia 🙈 For instance that all women get suppressed here etc. which definitely isn’t the case!”

heartbreaking and foul when you consider the reality of women in Saudi Arabia (I have been there and worked on various cases relating to the KSA) and the threats posed to female activists in the region.

We had an awful experience with a place that wasn’t as described - booking.com were no help and I now refuse to use them and just book everything direct.

I always use booking.com, only ever booked hotels though and one issue where the hotel cancelled the booking. Was a bit of a pain dealing with customer services and booking.com & hotel communicating with each other but I’ve had far worse CS it was just a small pain rather than big issue.

never used air b&b, I don’t like the whole sound of it, I’ve only stayed in one once when someone else booked and going to be staying in another this year, I’ve not had anything to do with the booking. I’d much prefer to pay the extra for a hotel where if there are any issues there are staff on site to sort straight away.

I did know about these issues when using a third party site. Annoying.

Have you checked - do either of you bank with Barclays? Because you know of all the issues with the banking system, should be all back up and running but there are lots of remediation actions going on in the background.

(I know you used Paypal but it's the base system that crashed).

Might be worth checking with the owner if you can.

Can you start a dispute on PayPal?

This can work out a lot cheaper and not any less secure. At the end of the day, any independent property owner letting can still let you down or turn out to be the best connection for a holiday accommodation you ever find

I use them but I've only booked hotels. No problems.
Oddly enough I have started a holiday let through Airbnb but find there's so much anti them because of add ons like cleaning fees (I don't charge an extra cleaning fee myself) that bookings are down and am thinking of using booking.com!

As with comparison websites, your rights are better served booking outside of any website acting as a platform.

I’ve used Booking.com for years and never had a problem. I’ve booked hotels and apartments (though not airbnbs).

I will never ever book through booking.com again after turning up to an apartment that had cum stains all over the sofa. I’m not even joking. It was truly the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. The beds had horrible brown stairs all over them too. Called booking.com and they could not have given less of crap. Ended up leaving and requesting a refund and again, booking.com had zero interest in assisting, said that it was down to the landlord not them and wiped their hands. I had photos and videos proving what I said was true. Currently in a long winded credit card dispute to try and get the money back. They are total scum.

Interesting, booking.com is definitely similar in operational terms to a comparisons website platform. I think they have always had independent owners on there. If you want more secure then go to a holiday cottages website, maybe.

The problem you describe is a common one via Airbnb. Although they have tightened up their processes recently.

It can definitely be cheaper to book direct but might not have the same cancellation policies.

@XWKD for the money I think it's unbeatable if you get it at a great price which is mainly in the week !! Yes it's a bit dated ( mainly the rooms) but still smart public areas and very very clean. Annoyingly the bar shuts very early like 10pm early - however we just nip to holiday inn right next door- bar open till 12 and having the parking for us is really handy as we usually stay post a trip to London for work ( which is every 3 weeks or so)

I never, ever use Booking.com for anything other than hotels. AirBnB type places are a massive risk no matter what the platform and I've had real problems with AirBnB.

They are great for hotel bookings as you can get a good price with fully refundable cancellations up to a few days before you travel. I often make a back up booking with them and cancel if I find anything better.

Well who is so dumb to listen to influencers let alone those creeps that are only up for making money and usually are super tacky anyway. I wouldn’t even bother to give them more breathing space but mentioning their existence.

I booked once through booking website - during the 6 months prior to the final payment I have my bank card reissued, so I turned out Booking could take the final payment the week before - rather than contact me they cancelled the hotel.

Obviously prices increase close to the date and Iw as out of pocket and nowhere to stay.

Never again.

This happened to me and I did a chargeback on my debit card which the bank approved and booking.com did not dispute.

I have never booked via booking.com. Or Expedia or lastminute.com etc.

I always book hotels and flights directly. I just don’t see what the advantage is of using third parties?

I've literally just now had a phone call direct from the owner saying it's available to book direct through themselves just not booking.com

Needless to say I declined!