to be intrigued (read: appalled) at Booking.com's seemingly new policy...

[Jewels234]

Regarding payment.

I have used booking.com on a very regular basis over the past few years, and have on a few occasions paid slightly more for the flexibility of the free cancelation service. These have always been booked on the basis that the full amount is payable on check out at the hotel.

Anyway, I came to book a holiday for next year (my honeymoon actually, so a pricier holiday than I would normally book). At the moment I need some flexibility about where I go, but hotels are booking up fast, so I used the 'free cancellation' option again.

However this time, turns out they charge a 50% deposit. It's a multi stay trip, so I had booked a few hotels on the same basis, and they were all a 50% deposit. Which was really not explicit in the slightest. Until I checked my bank account and a lot of money had been taken from it.

AIBU that this is a ridiculous change to make, and not to flag. And also warn you not to make the same mistake I did!

[venividiarrivederci]

Glitter, DH is researching these and had not looked at Izettle - thanks for that. He had a horrendous experience with Paypal a few years ago (fraud) so is a bit wary but this could be an option.

[BertieBotts]

Million I didn't even have to put card details in at all!

[GlitterNails]

Veni - what about the newer systems that link to your phone/computer, i.e paypal, izettle, sum up, etc. it would give you that option without huge fees, as long as you have a reliable internet connection such as wifi.

[venividiarrivederci]

Nicki, people really don't mind paying by cash/chq etc. The only time it becomes an issue is when the online agents do the booking but don't take the payment. There have been a few threads on here recently where people have been complaining about the price of hotel rooms. All these bits and pieces - £1 per room for c/card fees, £1 for compliance etc add to the cost.

We charge £55.00 an ensuite room with 2 people sharing. We provide a great breakfast, free wifi and all the bits and pieces that the big hotels don't do like giving people lifts to stations/sporting events/weddings, washing clothes, drying wet weather gear, printing off boarding passes etc etc etc with no extra charge.

We employ one lady for 4 hours a day to help with the cleaning and pay her £10.50 an hour because she's brilliant at her job. She's worried about her job when the premier Inn opens - she could probably get a job there on a minimum wage zero hours contract, but she's not looking forward to it! We have enough great feedback and repeat custom to know that we're doing a good job, but sometimes it feels like we're wading through treacle.

[fiveacres]

Right, I see - but then that does rather assume people will pay online as most people won't carry cash with them and cheques are almost obsolete!

I think it's reasonable to have a policy by which people pay in full by X date.

[venividiarrivederci]

Cash/cheques/BACS (lots of businesses like paying by BACS) and of course, if people book online they can pay with cards - we just don't have card facilities in house. We've looked at having card facilities on many occasions, but between cost and compliance (data protection, storage, PCI DSS compliance etc) it's just going to add £ to our room rates.

[NickiFury]

I can't see how you'll be able to survive in the long term Veni unless you get a bit more "with it".

[fiveacres]

I do if we know where we are going, but if it's a new place then you tend to browse a bit more.

Do you mean you just take cash then?

[venividiarrivederci]

If a booking's done online and paid for when booked, then the payment is processed by the booking engine and we get the funds (eventually), so don't need our own card facilities. Problems only occur when with companies like Booking.com and Expedia, the payment is not taken on booking.

I dunno, you wouldn't expect to book concert tickets and not pay for them when you book. I really don't think this is much different. If people pay upfront, they are also far more likely to let us know if they want to cancel their room than to just not front up.

I can see it from both sides, but we always book direct with hotel rather than go through a booking engine (you often find the price is cheaper booking direct anyway) and would expect to pay for at least the first night upfront.

[fiveacres]

Well, I feel for you vini but so much is done online that I honestly don't see how you could survive without card facilities.

Whenever I need a hotel or guest house I look straight on the Internet.

[venividiarrivederci]

Name changed but am regular. We run a small guesthouse and the big booking engines can be pains in the proverbial. The commissions they charge are huge - traditionally commissions in hospitality industry have been 10%, but Expedia, Booking.com etc charge 15-17%. If you pay upfront, we don't get the money until the end of the month after you've stayed - so if you book and pay in September for a room you stay in in January, we get paid at the end of February - the booking agent keeps the money in the meantime.

We also don't have credit card facilities, so if a customer does not pay upfront, and then doesn't show up, we don't have any way of getting the £, and we still get charged commissions. I know you'll say that we should have the facility to accept card payments, but between the admin and compliance fees, it all adds to room rates.

If a customer books then cancels at the last minute, it probably wouldn't affect big hotels very much. It does affect us. We never charge for a cancellation, and if a booking has been pre-paid we always refund in full, but it does impact our income.

Many small businesses like ours are having to close because we can't compete with the discounts/business practices of the big boys. Premier Inn are supposed to be opening a hotel in our town soon. It will kill our business because the perception is that Premier Inn is cheap. It can be, on some limited nights, but it can also be very expensive for what they offer, but, of course, perception is everything.

We are homogenising our world so much, and pushing out the small individual businesses because they 'don't quite fit' the way that huge corporates want to do business.

Apologies for rant but I do get a bit cross about this stuff

[TaliZorahVasNormandy]

Booking.com cocked up a reservation that was made in january. When we went to the hotel, they informed us that we had two rooms. We had only booked the one. Only one confirmation email received. Hotel wanted to charge us for the room, booking.com wanted to charge us £60 for cancelling it. Luckily the manager of the hotel just sold the spare room and told booking.com where to go.

[Whichwaytoturntoday]

It is there in the terms. Always check carefully. Smaller hotels can't afford to lose money by getting booked up on booking.com and then having no show guests. I work in a hotel, and even with a deposit, many guests are rude enough to leave someone waiting up to check them in, and not bother to say that they are not coming.

[WizzardHat]

I was charged the full amount the day I booked with booking.com - but it was the hotel that did it, not them. Completely agree that it should be made explicit before you book. I was nearly short for my mortgage as it was just before payday. Whether or not it's the fault of booking.com or the hotel - it should have been clearer that full payment would be taken that very day.

[LosingTheWillToSkate]

Sorry to piss on your chips OP but it is nothing at all to do with booking.com

They don't process any payment. All they do is send a fax or email to the hotel with your details including card details. It's down to each individual hotel how those are processed.

Each hotel completely maintains its own page in booking.com from information on rooms, pricing, photographs and policies. It is just a booking portal. Booking.com are just an agent. But the payment terms are there, its a mandatory field for the hotelier to complete when setting up their page.

[lagirafe]

I used to manage a hotel as we used Booking.com and policies vary between hotels so I'm afraid you've just been unlucky!
Enjoy your honeymoon!

[BlisterFace]

Varies by hotel - once I had to pay in full upfront. (Small hotel, adversely impacted by no-shows).

[fiveacres]

I looked at my bank balance and couldn't understand where £130 had gone to! Then realised!

[NickiFury]

YANBU to book as many hotels as you want even if you won't be staying in all of them. What a silly thing to say. They fully expect you to do it.

This happened to me for one particular hotel I booked but I was ok with it as its a sought after hotel and I am happy we have a definite reservation.

Thanks for posting OP as this will ensure I meticulously read all T&C in future.

[fiveacres]

This also happened to us yesterday funnily enough.

[florascotia]

I use Booking.com a lot and find them very efficient. As others have said, each hotel has different policies about deposits, no-shows etc. It also depends on which price band you choose - the very cheapest prices are often much less flexible (eg no refunds for cancellations) than the slightly higher ones. The terms and conditions for each hotel/price option are set out on the Booking.com website.

[WinterOfOurDiscountTents15]

They are very clear on deposits, costs, ts&cs. If you're booking without looking its not their fault, its yours.

[mileend2bermondsey]

YABU

Should have read the t's&c's properly. YABU to book so many hotels you dont actually think you will stay in.

[Unexpected]

What country are you planning on travelling to?

[MillionToOneChances]

And Bertie, good thing you cancelled because they usually charge your credit card for at least the first night if you don't turn up! as I learned to my cost when I changed plans and overlooked a booking