Had an absolute nightmare with Booking.com and figured I’d share so others don’t learn this the expensive way.
I booked a place (non-refundable, yes, my mistake) thinking Booking.com would offer at least some protection if things went sideways. Wrong. Very wrong.
After check-in, the room was disgusting. Hallway smelled like urine, hair in the bed and shower, sticky floors, stains on the toilet and walls, missing outlet cover. We asked the host to clean it. She said she’d send someone the next morning. We said that wasn’t acceptable.
She eventually sent someone that same day, but the cleaner showed up with fresh sheets only. No cleaning supplies. No attempt to clean the room. Just stared at us. We took the sheets and left because at that point it was the final straw after a lot of unprofessional behavior.
The host then claimed the room was clean. When I said I had photos, she changed the story and said we refused to let the cleaner in, which is flat out false.
Throughout all of this I was messaging Booking.com asking for help. I even said I’d pay the price difference for another place. Their response over and over was “it’s up to the host to refund you since payment was processed through them.” Which begs the question… what exactly is Booking.com there for?
They said they understood my frustration and promised compensation. Wouldn’t say how much. Turns out it was $17.10 on a $684 booking.
The host eventually agreed to refund within 5–7 business days. That window passed. No refund. Now I’m stuck doing a credit card dispute.
Lesson learned. Booking.com offers basically zero protection when things go wrong. I’ll be sticking to actual hotels from now on.
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