Home / Complaints, courts, consumer rights / Services and consumer protection
Back
Published: 10/20/2018
Reading time: 5 min
0
670
Booking.com, or simply Booking, is an online platform through which owners of hotels, hostels or apartments offer temporary accommodation to travelers. Booking enters into a separate agreement with each owner of the property, and various additional nuances can be included in the standard contract. Thus, the conditions for ordering accommodation given on the website are dictated directly by the receiving party.
- What are the booking conditions Refundable booking
- Non-refundable reservation
You need to understand that by registering in the system and performing actions to order housing, the user agrees with the rules specified on the site. In accordance with the provisions of the Booking company, the user, by making a reservation, enters into a direct, legally binding contractual relationship with the service provider.
How we canceled a reservation on Booking
For the summer we had two hotels booked in Greece through Booking. We usually use non-refundable bookings with immediate payment - this often works out cheaper. But this time we decided to play it safe.
The fact is that even though we planned our trip to Athens for June, the hotels were booked much in advance, at the beginning of March. Neither Greece nor Russia had ever seen any coronavirus at that time. But he was already walking around Italy.
Related article: Interview about coronavirus with a friend who flew in from Naples
And although the situation did not yet look threatening, we decided not to tempt fate and book two hotels in Athens with free cancellation. It was like looking into the water: a month passed and everything changed. Flights were cancelled, borders were closed, and ferry service between the Greek islands was stopped.
We could cancel these reservations for free right up until mid-May, but there was no point in delaying it. Therefore, in mid-April we went to Booking and canceled both of our reservations in Athens. As for the refund, we didn’t need it, since we had to pay for the accommodation upon check-in.
By the way, we had to fly to Athens from Istanbul, where we had booked an apartment, but not on Booking, but on Airbnb. How we managed to cancel a reservation in Istanbul, read our article Airbnb cancellations and refunds due to coronavirus .
In general, everything was painless for us, because our bookings on Booking com were “refundable” and we canceled them on time. But how to cancel a booking on Booking due to coronavirus and how to get the money back if it is non-refundable, and even with prepayment? Everything is more complicated here. So let's figure it out.
How to return money to Booking com due to coronavirus? If the booking is refundable, it is easy to cancel. Screenshot of our correspondence with the hotel in Athens.
System advantages
Why today more and more people choose Booking.com instead of travel agencies?
- Canceling a reservation on this resource does not entail unpleasant consequences for the user. But more on that later.
- The database has a huge selection of hotels, hotels and boarding houses.
- “Booking” is the optimal cost. Moreover, if a better price is discovered, the resource undertakes to return the difference.
- There is no risk of throwing away extra money if the trip does not take place.
The last point requires clarification. Why then enter credit card information when reserving a room? Very simple. So as not to end up with a client who books rooms left and right just like that, just in case.
Cancellation of a non-refundable booking on Booking due to coronavirus
As you understand, I personally did not have to cancel a non-refundable reservation on Booking.com. But I studied information about this both on the Booking com website itself and on numerous forums where people share their experiences of canceling reservations and getting refunds for hotels in Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and other countries.
Therefore, the information provided here will definitely be useful to you, but I cannot guarantee a refund for your booking. Because a lot depends not on me and often not even on Booking, but on the hotel’s policy.
So, given : non-refundable reservation on Booking.com with payment in advance. How to cancel a booking on Booking due to coronavirus and get a refund? Here's what Booking itself writes in its section “Coronavirus (COVID-19): Frequently Asked Questions”:
Due to the coronavirus, cancellation of your reservation may be available to you. This depends on several factors: your travel destination, the date you made your booking, your travel start date, your entry date, your country of residence and your purpose of travel.
If the cancellation is due to one of these factors, the property must refund your payment, offer to change the dates of your stay at no extra charge, or offer the opportunity to make a future booking for that amount.
The key word here is “must”. Therefore, if you want to cancel your booking on Booking and get your money back, here's what you need to do.
1. Open the website Booking.com .
2. Log in to your personal account and see what cancellation options are offered to you. If one of the proposed cancellation options suits you, great - choose it and sleep well.
If you are not offered anything or the hotel insists on an option that does not suit you (for example, it gives you a voucher with a change in the dates of your stay), you need to write to the accommodation facility.
3. Write from your personal account on Booking to the hotel and request cancellation of the reservation and a full refund. There is a special point there - “Write to the hotel to cancel your reservation without penalty.” In your appeal, you should list valid reasons why you want to cancel your booking on Booking: border closures, flight cancellations, official quarantine in the destination country, etc. It’s good if you have supporting documents - a letter from the airline about the cancellation of the flight, a notice about the closure of the airport on its official website, etc.
Now we need to wait for the hotel's reaction. If everything is in order and the reason for cancellation is truly valid - for example, during your arrival, a quarantine was declared throughout the country - you should cancel even the most non-refundable reservation and return the money.
However, situations are different.
It seemed to me that hotels in Italy are the hardest to cancel due to coronavirus. And in France.
No penalty or reduced penalty
The next day, when I returned to Moscow, I received letters from Booking.com regarding the remaining reservations.
It is worth noting that in the hotel that agreed to reduce the fine, and not completely cancel it, I booked all available rooms so that there would be no strangers in it.
Another hotel did not respond to the booking request - I was supposed to check into it today. Most likely they are stalling for time so that later they can put a no show and write off the money for no show.
Reduced cancellation fees
The hotel is not responding
The hotel does not refund money. What to do?
It would be naive to expect that all hotels will rush headlong to return money to customers upon request. Times are tough now, so some hotels will cling to any excuse to refuse a refund or at least delay this moment.
So, in such a situation, the only thing left to do is to act through Booking. As practice shows, this often helps to cancel a non-refundable reservation and get a refund. Write to Booking support from your personal account, send letters to [email protected] , call: 8 (499) 271-87-36, 8.
And don’t delay under any circumstances! The closer your check-in date is, the less likely you are to get a refund for your booking on Booking.com.
But before you call or text, do two things.
1. Study the conditions for the application of force majeure circumstances on Booking, which require a refund due to the coronavirus. They are listed on this page of the official Booking.com website. Read not only information about the country you are going to, but also information about Russia and travelers from Russia. You might find this useful.
2. Arm yourself with official information from authorities: decrees of the mayor of your city, links to recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor, etc.
As practice shows, if the truth is on your side and restrictive measures apply during your trip, Booking helps you cope with even the most stubborn hotels.
“Self-isolation” in the Moscow region. If this continues, I will have to forget about traveling for a long time.
Replacing a seat
There are also situations that after booking a hotel, a more suitable place is found that meets the tenant’s better expectations, something that was already occupied before. In this case, you must perform the booking operation again.
The system will display a message that there is already a reservation for this date and will offer to cancel it (they will not withdraw money if you have not entered your bank card details). You will need to check the box and confirm the action, but then check that the reservation was indeed canceled without charging additional fees.
Canceling a reservation on your Booking com is a complex operation that should be done correctly, following the advice. It is advisable to look at other people's experiences and take these tips as guidance.
Loading…
Terms of use
This site supports 256-bit encryption. The confidentiality of the reported personal information is ensured by SBERBANK PJSC. The entered information will not be provided to third parties except in cases provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Payments by bank cards are carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of the MIR and Visa Int payment systems. and MasterCard Europe Sprl. To pay (enter your card details) you will be redirected to the payment gateway of SBERBANK PJSC. The connection to the payment gateway and the transfer of information is carried out in a secure mode using the SSL encryption protocol. If your bank supports Verified By Visa or MasterCard SecureCode technology for secure online payments, you may also need to enter a special password to make a payment. Room reservations are made directly upon booking.
Reservation confirmation will appear on the screen immediately after placing your order. It is recommended to print it out. In addition, confirmation of your reservation is sent by email to the address you specified when placing your order. However, for technical reasons, Hotel De La Mapa cannot verify that your reservation confirmation has been delivered to you by email.
In this case, the reservation does not lose its strength. If you have not received a booking confirmation, we recommend that you contact the reservation department by phone or email. mail Refunds are made upon a written application from the Payer indicating bank details and attaching a photocopy of the Payer’s passport. Applications are sent by email, and the originals are sent to the address: 353440, Anapa, st.
Protapova, 102. After receiving the original application, the Hotel will refund the funds within five banking days. Refund to card when canceling a reservation
Those who travel quite often can tell you...
... that most hotels provide additional bonuses for their clients when contacting them directly, which aggregators cannot provide. This is especially true for small hotels and inns located on the coast. There are many bonus options - additional discounts, in some cases can reach up to 25% of the cost, free parking or transfer, the ability to choose certain rooms, and so on. This happens because hotels save on commissions for the aggregator site.
Let's return to Booking. What can go wrong and what problems can you encounter if you book a hotel room through this site.
Booking is one of the world's most popular aggregator sites for booking hotels, hotels, apartments or hostels. Quite often you can find good deals here, book a room without paying a fee, in addition, there is a loyalty system for the service itself, which makes it possible to save additional money. But all this also has a downside, which often forces travelers to abandon Booking’s services.
