Booked a Paris hotel through Booking that mentioned a 50% prepayment. Put my card in, reservation went through, but nothing was charged.
A few hours later the hotel messaged me on WhatsApp asking for my email so they could send a “secure payment link” for the 50%. That immediately raised red flags, so I told them to contact me through Booking instead.
They then replied via Booking saying they don’t take payments through Booking at all and that I need to pay 50% on their own website, with the rest due at check-in. Sent me a payment link.
I’m a student and $500 is a lot of money to gamble, so I paused and contacted Booking support. Spoke to a real rep, not just the bot. They actually called the hotel, confirmed the policy, and only after that did I go ahead and pay.
Still didn’t love the process, but wanted to share in case anyone else runs into this. Hotel is 4 star with a 9.0 rating, so not some random place.
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