“1 star | Booking.com does not adequately protect its property partners
I have been a Booking.com property partner for approximately 7 years, and after my recent experience with Partner Support, I am seriously reconsidering this partnership.
The problem is not that I received a negative review. Negative feedback is part of running a hospitality business and I accept that.
The problem is what happens when a guest causes damage and the host uses Booking.com’s own procedure to request compensation. In my case, the compensation claim was reviewed and approved by Booking.com, and the guest subsequently gave my property a rating of 1.
This is now the second time I have experienced a rating of 1 following a situation involving compensation.
I asked Booking.com to investigate whether the review system had been used as retaliation. Their final answer was essentially that the guest was eligible to leave a review and that no further investigation would be conducted.
This leaves me with a very simple question:
What protection does Booking.com actually provide to the property partner?
I pay Booking.com a commission for bringing customers to my properties and for providing the booking platform and related services. Yet when one of those customers causes damage, I follow Booking.com’s procedures, and even after the claim is approved, I can still be left dealing with the financial and reputational consequences.
Am I supposed to accept damage caused by guests simply to avoid the risk of receiving a 1-star review?
After 7 years, I find myself seriously considering moving my properties to platforms where the review system is more balanced and hosts also have meaningful tools to evaluate guests.
Booking.com may consider the review system and compensation system to be independent. From the partner’s perspective, however, the consequences are very much connected.
After 7 years, I expected better protection and better support for the people who pay Booking.com to be their partners.”
“⭐ 1/5 (because zero is not possible)
Former Booking.com accommodation partner. After years of cooperation and excellent guest ratings, I permanently removed all my properties from the platform because of its one-sided, anti-partner approach.
When a dispute arose, Booking.com ignored the solution I had offered, charged me €477.20 and provided no fair or meaningful review of the case.
Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Booking.com as a reliable business partner.”
“Booked a hotel with these in Skegness and it was not even fit to give away for free, uncleanliness, broken shower unit, stench of smoke. After numerous complaints the only message I got was a continuous generic email and an insulting £27 credit.
This company falsely advertised this hotel.”
“Pratiques abusives et refus de responsabilité – À fuir !
J'ai réservé et payé en France (232 €) une voiture via Booking.com (catégorie précise : diesel, boîte automatique, coffre pour 4 valises, kilométrage illimité).
Sur place en Écosse, le loueur partenaire Avis Budget a refusé de me fournir le véhicule réservé, prétextant que les critères de Booking n'étaient "pas contractuels". J'ai été victime d'une vente forcée : soit je payais 340 € de surclassement, soit je restais sur le trottoir sans voiture.
Pire encore, Avis Budget a débité ma carte bancaire de 340 € sans mon accord (bug/double validation forcée du terminal de paiement à la même seconde que la caution).
Booking.com refuse de prendre ses responsabilités de plein droit (Article L. 211-16 du Code du tourisme) sous prétexte que je n'ai pas appelé leur service client sous le choc à l'aéroport. C'est une honte. Une procédure auprès du Médiateur du Tourisme (MTV) et un signalement SignalConso sont en cours. Passez par un autre site !”
“I had the booking from hell with these people. We paid $2,000 for 3 days in a place with no working elevator, no air conditioning, no bed sheets, and a door lock that did not close, making us feel unsafe.
After all of this, they told us they were unable to contact the property owner and are only offering to refund 20% of the stay. This is completely unacceptable. The unit was not suitable to stay in and, in my opinion, was uninhabitable.
They are a complete disaster.”
“Very disappointing experience with Booking.com support during a same-day cancellation in Greece. According to the property owner, Booking.com had been informed about the cancellation the previous day, yet the reservation remained active and we were never notified before traveling 350 km. We spent around 5 hours calling support, were repeatedly left on hold and disconnected, and received no real relocation assistance. The alternative offered after 7 hours was not suitable for our needs despite repeatedly explaining we were 5 adults traveling with 2 dogs and an elderly father with a heart condition. We had to find accommodation ourselves in another city and incurred additional costs and stress. Extremely poor handling of an urgent situation.”
“Just had one of the worst travel experiences with Booking.com and honestly I’m still shocked at how badly they handled it.
We reached our hotel at around 3 a.m. after traveling for almost 10 hours. Exhausted, carrying luggage, just wanting to sleep. The hotel front desk tells us they cannot find our reservation anywhere in their system.
Meanwhile I’m literally holding a Booking.com confirmation email with booking ID, dates, everything.
We called Booking.com support right there at the property. The customer service rep kept giving the same scripted “sorry for the inconvenience” lines over and over but wasn’t actually helping. At that point we weren’t even asking for compensation or anything dramatic. We simply asked if they could help us find another room nearby because it was already past midnight, the date had changed, and searching online ourselves was becoming difficult.
The rep then just disconnected the call.
That part honestly blew my mind more than the booking issue itself. Mistakes happen, sure. But abandoning customers stranded at 3 a.m. in a different city after THEY confirmed a reservation that apparently never properly existed? Crazy.
The hotel staff were actually calmer and more helpful than Booking.com support.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Because after tonight I genuinely do not trust Booking.com confirmations anymore.”
“I booked a flight with booking.com.
Shortly after, I received an email stating that my flight had been cancelled and that I would receive my money back within 5 working days.
Now it is well over 6 weeks later and I still haven't received my money back, and I am being given the runaround.
Never book flights with booking.com; it is a disgrace how they treat their customers.”
“I sincerely appreciate Mrs. Zamora Lisette for her dependable support. She resolved my withdrawal issue promptly and ensured the entire process was smooth and stress-free.”
“Their team demonstrated strong professionalism, reliability, and a genuine commitment to helping clients achieve the best possible outcome. They handled my situation with care and precision, making sure every step was clearly explained and properly managed. Communication was consistent, honest, and timely, which gave me confidence throughout the process. I truly appreciate their dedication and the effort they put into ensuring everything was handled smoothly. I would highly recommend their services to anyone in need of dependable support.”
“I had been dealing with a frustrating problem for days, unsure of what to do next. When I finally contacted Robinson and team, they stepped in with fast, clear, and steady support. They explained everything in a way that made I sense and never made me feel overwhelmed. Their patience and professionalism truly made a difficult process much easier.”
“Terrible service we booked through the app and it must have a glitch so our airline tickets got screwed up no contact number and the one they give is AI and useless airline can’t help beer book through the app great customer response time it’s very sad that I’ve recommended this app to people”
“One morning, I logged into my investment dashboard and noticed something wasn’t right. A potential security breach. My heart sank. Every second felt like an hour. I’d worked too hard to build this portfolio, and now everything was at risk.
That’s when URF proved why they’re the only name I trust when it comes to cybersecurity. I reached out immediately, and within minutes, I had a dedicated team assessing the situation. No scripted responses. No bouncing around from department to department. Just action.
They identified the breach fast — faster than I expected — and immediately moved to contain and resolve it. But they didn’t stop there. They walked me through every step, explained what happened in plain language, and put multiple layers of protection in place to make sure it never happens again.
Their professionalism, speed, and transparency gave me something no one else could: peace of mind.”
“For months, I was struggling to sort things out on my own, and it became incredibly overwhelming. I wasn’t sleeping well and found myself constantly stressed and anxious. When I came across Michael and drew online, I decided to reach out and see if they could help. To my surprise, they replied quickly, which already gave me a sense of relief. What stood out the most was how sincere and attentive they were. They took the time to listen, explain everything in detail, and didn’t rush me or make me feel like a burden. Their patience and support made me feel more confident about the next steps.”
“L’illusion de “réserver en confiance” avec Booking.com Cars s’est transformée en leçon de manipulation commerciale.
Le prix affiché : 220 €.
Le prix réel pour obtenir la voiture : 360 € de plus… ou 2 200 € de caution impossible à déposer avec une carte de débit, information cachée volontairement après le paiement.
Booking joue sur la confusion des cartes, le sait, l’admet… mais ne prévient personne.
Et lorsque vous êtes coincés à l’étranger, avec enfants et bagages :
✅ Aucun remboursement
✅ Aucune solution
✅ Aucune responsabilité
❌ Juste un copier-coller pour vous expliquer que c’est “dans les conditions complètes”.
Booking Cars, c’est simple : ils encaissent, vous assumez.
Une bien belle manière de traiter les clients fidèles.”
“I mistakenly booked the wrong date for a sightseeing tour of Seville on a recent trip there with my girlfriend, but cancelled it with a week to spare. It was very popular tour, so I knew it would re-sell. On the booking confirmation and the ticket there was no mention that it was non-refundable, but guess what... That's exactly what Booking.com claimed. The tickets combined cost €91 which I'm prepared to let go. What I don't like is being told something that wasn't backed up facts, then being ignored by their customer service team.
It's not the first time I've had an issue with Booking.com. On a trip to Italy last year I hired a car through them, only to find out that the hire company had no knowledge of my booking. Despite me showing confirmation to them. I paid again direct and hoped to claim back from Booking.com. Again, they were most unhelpful and I didn't get my money back.
There are other booking sites, I'd advise to use them, or book direct.”
