“Booked accommodation which didn't exist. This was in June and I have struggled to get any response at all from the extremely poorly named customer services. Only gave 1 star because I couldn't give any. I don't expect anything to happen as a result of this review, which is another indication of how poor a company Booking.com is.
Am now planning to contact the BBC regarding this. Mainly to highlight how poor they run as a company and how little they care about their customers.”
“I've basically had no problems with booking.com in the past, atm Ive booked a hotel that told me one price and when I confirmed the price changed, usually it wouldn't matter but this room has a no free cancellation, I've msgd booking.com and am waiting waiting waiting, I think I've got more chance of hearing from Elvis than booking.com, and he's been dead a very long time, shame on your customer service”
“Poor customer service. When my flight got cancelled, the staff was reluctant to rebook my flight-asking me to contact airline and rebook flight directly. After a long chat the staff confirmed my flight however there was no ticket number. When I asked them my ticket number, they told me that flight rebooking got cancelled again. When I told them to rebook it again, they mentioned they don’t have the access and it’s not within their policy.
I just waste my time asking for assistance with them. Very disappointed with the services.”
“I have booked a 3 star hotel for 3 nights. Next door guests were fighting, arguing, shouting in their room, shared bathroom and corridor. All night I couldnt sleep. Called reception, no answer. Send message to Booking.com customer service, they messaged me back that cant help me at all.
So I had to book another hotel for the rest of 2 nights. Not just lost money, but most importantly my sleep/rest.
That hotel Elstree Inn shouldnt be on booking.com website and shouldnt get any stars at all. And I am very disappointed with Booking.com service.”
“The website of Booking.com is simple to use. It’s convenient that all your booked hotels are listed together in one place, with all details easily at hand. Payments went smoothly, and check-in at the hotels was easy as well.
However, there are major downsides. Booking.com constantly puts pressure on the customer: “book quickly or someone else will take it,” or “the discount will expire soon.” This does not feel pleasant to use — you are forced into making rushed decisions.
During my trip in Germany, one hotel asked me how I wanted to pay at check-out, even though I had already paid through Booking.com. The hotel staff didn’t seem to understand how it worked with Booking.com, which was inconvenient.
Worse was the complaint process. I reported that the photos of the hotel room on Booking.com were different from the room I actually received. At first, it looks like they take your complaint seriously, but you must respond within 24 hours every time, otherwise the case expires. I really don’t understand this. Again, you are put under pressure.
Every time I asked for a status update, Booking.com requested information that was already on their platform, and again I had to provide it within 24 hours. I even received phone calls in between, but later Booking.com told me that I had to call them — because they are “not allowed” to call me as a customer. Very strange, since I am their client. After that, you simply hear nothing anymore and your complaint is left unresolved.
Once Booking.com has received their money, there is no proper aftercare. That is unacceptable.
For me this is a clear 1-star rating.”
“Booking.com promised a taxi when booking. Despite that, later they claimed there was no such promise. I sent them screenshots, was on the line with them for half an hour, they promised to resolve everything, but no one ever contacted us. I had to take a taxi at my own expense. Absolutely terrible service.”
“As a host, I am very disappointed with Booking.com. They charge high commissions, give discounts from our money without consent, and when problems occur, there is no real support. Partner support only gives standard replies, without solving anything. We, the hosts, bring them the revenue, yet we are left alone when we need help.”
“Awful customer service and customer support. Taking no accountability for a double booking, leaving us to find and expense accommodation at the last minute despite having paid in advance and in full through Booking.com. Over a week later and there is still no confirmation that I will get my money back.”
“I booked a hotel through Booking.com with clear conditions: “No prepayment – pay at the property.” My confirmation contained no mention that a 3rd party could pre-authorize or attempt charges on my card before arrival.
Yet Booking.com still allowed the hotel to attempt a pre-authorization without my permission. This is not just misleading — it’s a serious security issue. Customers should not have their financial details exposed to unauthorized charges when the booking confirmation explicitly states otherwise.
When the pre-authorization failed, my booking was cancelled. As a result, my visa was rejected, costing me time, money, and travel plans.
Booking.com must be held accountable for misleading policies and weak consumer protection. If they can’t guarantee the security of your booking and card details, they should not be trusted.”
“I changed my bank account so I went and updated my payment/ credit cared details with booking.com. The old card details were deleted. I had accommodation booked for this weekend. They tried to charge my old card and when this didn't work they cancelled my booking and I only found out on the day of my booking. So even though they had an updated payment method in their system, they chose to use the old one and I had to wear the consequences. I rang them up to complain and was told " well we sent you an email telling you it would be cancelled". That is not the point... they tried to charge the wrong credit card. It was not my fault. I had updated my details so I was not expecting to receive an email from them other than one to let me. know about my upcoming booking. They had my phone number and could have texted me to warn me seeing as it was their error, the onus should have beeen on them to do all they could to notify me. This problem caused me a massive hassle and extra cost today. The booking.com guy on the phone avoided dealing with it by saying he would ask his manager what to do and he assured me he would be back in a couple of minutes. He just left me hanging on the phone for so long that I gave up. I will never use them again. There is zero accountability”
“Booked a stay in advance with booking.com on a boat in Torquay. After a 4 hour journey our accommodation was cancelled 30 minutes before arrival and we were offered no support, we were just left completely stranded with our young daughter and nowhere to stay. Customer support hung up on us six times and offered no support whatsoever or to help find alternative accommodation, is that not their job. Utterly unreliable and shocking. Never again will I ever use booking.com nor will family and friends. PLEASE.... BE AWARE AND AVIOD THE COMPANY”
“Stay away from booking you can’t get your refund and customer service is terrible no phone support only chat I will never go back to deal with booking”
“On July 8th, 2025, I had a reservation with Booking.com for the Three Islands Boat Tour in Split, Croatia (reservation no. 320038448663438). That morning, a violent storm hit Split, making it impossible to attend. Streets were blocked, trees fell, public transport was paralyzed, and maritime activity was suspended. I even called the operator twice — both calls were cancelled with no attempt to call me back.
I provided Booking.com with detailed proof: photos, call logs, and links to official news reports. Instead of acting responsibly, their “customer service” was non-existent: they repeated irrelevant questions, ignored the evidence, and refused to issue a refund.
Booking.com has lost my trust completely. I am cancelling my account and will never use their services again. If you value reliability and consumer protection, I strongly recommend choosing a different platform.”
