Just been completely screwed by booking.com

[BookingDotComAreTwats]

I am furious. I used the booking.com website months ago to book 2 twin rooms for 4 adults. £600 for 2 nights (it's in the centre of major European city). Got the confirmation. Just phoned the hotel to double check that the rooms are twin beds as the people concerned can't/won't share beds, but I've been told that the reservation had come through as 2 queens. Hotel won't change the rooms and will only provide put up beds for another 240 euros or I can pay 200 more to upgrade to room types with twin beds.

Booking.com have told me that a twin bed room is just a 'special' request and it's tough shit.
I have been through the booking process again on their website and next to the room type if gives you the option to choose twin beds. Nowhere does it say "ha - this is a joke - you only get twin rooms if you pay to upgrade - 200 more smackers please!"
I will never book with them again.

Sorry - fat thumbs. Here it is again in English.
The booking confirmed the double rooms - which is how they are described on the booking page - just above the 'bed option' buttons. The text at the bottom of the email said this. I took that to be confirmation of twin rooms.
I understand now that it wasn't. I just think it is really sharp practice.

Sorry OP it is not sharp practise, it is naievety regarding your booking.

I am not having a go at you, I was caught out myself once, but never again!

The requests are for things other than room alignment as I mentioned earlier.

I am sorry that you have to pay more, but lesson learned, the confirmation email is the key here. If that is not right, get on to them straightaway and it will be sorted or you can cancel.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the trip.

Go on..... tell us where you going, even the country! I am so curious. Can't help it!

Alpaca same happened to me a few years ago. Booked a room at a hotel as attending a party there only to get there and find that the hotel was full but we'd been booked at the sister hotel 15 miles away.

Hotel couldn't refund us as we hadn't paid them directly and booking.com basically said tough shit.

Never used them since and now always book direct with the hotel.

Even tho the emails not useful, I still don't think they can let you choose something, without being very clear BEFORE you confirm/book, that they're only going to suggest to the hotel that you'd like that part.
If they said your choice of dates was just a request after you booked it, that would be clearly unreasonable, I don't think this is much different...they'd need to have made it very clear on that booking page that your choice of beds had no weight whatsoever, and was not part of the contract.

Dates, location and number of beds seem like the basic things that underpin every hotel booking. As a PP said - they would not change the dates - so why do they think the rest of the booking is something they can alter without consultation?

sunglassally - Lisbon!

Yeah they can be slippery fuckers. Nothing is ever really very clear. I would be kicking up merry hell and insisting on a solution from them, that is of no cost to you.

I really think it's worth complaining that Booking makes it look like a "choice" of bed and not a "preference" on the booking page.

BTW, in Portugal we have a complaints system (which can be a waste of time, but hey) and you could complain about Booking as well as the hotel.

Sadly, the online form doesn't seem to be tourist friendly, as it's only in Portuguese.

(BTW, if you are in Portugal, you can request a complaint book in any establishment and you should call the police if it's not given to you within a reasonable timeframe)

BTW, have you rang Booking.com or emailed them?

I filed a complaint via email last year and got some compensation.

They are shit. I find booking direct with the hotel is either the same or cheaper.

@BookingDot

How lovely! It is a fabulous place. I hope you enjoy it immensely.

And you will!

Enjoy every minute. You deserve it after all this hassle!

Is everyone typing all those brand names as links, or is the site skimming again?

Booking.com were brilliant with us earlier in the summer when we turned up to our apartment and couldn't get in or contact the owner. Within an hour we were installed in two really posh apartments at no extra cost to us.

I have phoned them and then emailed a complaint.
I have also posted on their Facebook page following a suggestion upthread.

I think the site is doing the links automatically.

holiday I did have the email confirmation. But the hotel itself had no record of the booking from me via them.

I book with booking.com all the time and I've never had a problem - though someone recently told me that they take 30% of the stay as their fee so I'm reconsidering. That proportion doesn't seem fair to me, and is probably driving prices upwards.

Regarding the OP's booking. I would always read 'double room' as room with a double bed, and 'twin room' as room with two beds. From what you've posted, the request for two queen beds in each room was in the 'special requests' and booking.com is always quite clear that these can't be promised. I often get an email from the hotel directly following a special request on booking.com, confirming that they've had the request and saying that either they can't do it, will try to do it but won't know until nearer the time, or can definitely do it. I think if you didn't get an email saying your request could definitely be met, then you won't have redress.

Annoying, I know, but you have to read the small print very carefully because if they can wriggle out of anything, they will.

I needed to cancel a room booked via booking.com which was my own fault and I knew there was a risk I'd lose my money. They refused point blank saying the hotel did not provide refunds. I thought I'd try my luck as the dates were for a very popular event so I knew they'd re sell the rooms. booking.com said no they couldn't help.
I contacted the hotel directly via twitter and asked nicely if they could help. They refunded me!
Might be wOrth asking the hotel directly? You never know!

I've used Booking.com twice now and twice there has been a problem.

The first time I was attending an event and booked a hotel within walking distance of the venue, with car parking. 2 days before the date we were due to stay, the booking was cancelled by them. I had a struggle finding another hotel room at such short notice, and couldn't get one within walking distance. Booking.com did pay the difference in the price of the hotel rooms but not my taxi fares getting to the venue and back.

Second time I booked 3 rooms and turned up at the hotel to find only two had been reserved, despite me having email confirmation for 3. Luckily the hotel wasn't full so we were able to get a 3rd room. I got £15 compensation for that one.

Im not convinced I would try them for a 3rd time!

Booking. Com screwed me over royally once. Well they tried.

Long story short I booked my sister's hen do accommodation and all the girls paid me back... think it was c£1500 in all.
Another friend who hadn't originally booked asked could she tag along. I emailed booking.com and asked hem was this possible, yes no problem, additional £90 no bother..

They sent me an email a few days later saying the £90 had to be paid by X date or the booking would be cancelled. TBH I didn't pay it much heed as I was busy, she was going into a room that already had 2 occupants so I was a bit lax and thought I'll do it this weekend and if I miss it sure I can email them again. Big mistake!

The email I referred to actually meant the entire booking would be cancelled if I didn't pay the £90 by the stipulated date! I missed the date and the bastards went and cancelled the whole £1500 booking... no refund!!!

I spent hours on the phone to their call centre... it was a brick wall, terrible stress, all I could think of was all the girls who had given me the money and now I was £1500 down!!!

I contacted a local BBC consumer programme who sorted the whole thing out for me, and even got me some compensation for the stress!!! Thank fuck they did because there was no way I could have covered the cost!!!

I find the best online price and then ask the hotel to match it. I started doing that after a B&B owner told me how much booking sites take. Obviously it matters more to a B&B owner than a chain hotel, but it does help in getting requests like late checkout or a particular room.

We nearly booked using Booking.com last weekend but thought that the website wasn't being completely honest with us and we would end up with something else...so glad we booked using another route now.

Another one who won't use them again - they overbooked the hotel I was due to stay in by 8 rooms! The Landlady (was a pub in York) was amazing and we managed to get sorted thanks to her hard work.

Weekend would have been a disaster if it hadn't been for her and her kindness (The Watergate Inn if anyone's looking for a nice but cheap place to stay!)

I have used them 4 times.

I always,contact the hotel as well, via e-mail or phone, to confirm we have twin beds (my two teens don't like to share a duvet).

So far so good.

Twice I was able to book through booking.com when the hotel was "sold out" (do they sell blocks to booking.com?)

Their booking mails always state clearly if it is a TWIN or DOUBLE room

I won't be using them in future, furious for you Op. Please keep trying, maybe watchdog? Or one of thise daytime tv shows where they get people compensation?!