Multiple travelers have contacted media outlets with complaints about their inability to recover money spent on accommodations booked through Booking.com after experiencing problems with their stays.
One user paid £570 for an apartment in Batumi, Georgia, only to be directed to a different, poorly maintained property upon arrival. After complaints, she received only £36 in credits despite requesting reimbursement for both the original booking and replacement accommodation costs. Another traveler booked accommodation in Paris for £1,700 but found the building undergoing refurbishment with safety concerns including exposed electrical wiring and non-functional fire exits. The property owner refused a refund, and Booking.com offered £417 in travel credits as compensation. A third case involved a guest charged more than the agreed price for a Mongolian hotel booking with no refund despite free cancellation terms.
Booking.com’s terms and conditions state that contracts exist between guests and individual property owners rather than between guests and the platform itself. This positioning allows the company to claim it has no liability for compensation and is merely facilitating transactions. Similar clauses appear in the terms for competing platforms Airbnb and Vrbo, which also assert they are not contractual parties to bookings.
Consumer advocates note this arrangement exists in a legal grey area. While package travel regulations protect those booking through traditional operators, direct bookings through aggregator platforms receive no such protections. When contacted, Booking.com indicated it can advocate on behalf of guests and work toward resolutions with property owners, but ultimately defers to individual accommodation providers’ refund policies. Industry observers suggest travelers book directly with properties after using comparison platforms, exercise caution with private apartments, and avoid bank transfers to mitigate risk.
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