Absolutely Unacceptable Experience – Booking.com Refuses Responsibility

We booked a guesthouse a month in advance through Booking.com and paid immediately. On 1 June 2025, we received full confirmation of payment, along with a reminder that our check-in was on the 19th. Everything appeared in order — or so we thought.

Thankfully, our booking was reflected in the guesthouse’s system and we were given a room. But the next morning, I was abruptly woken up at 7 AM and accused of not paying and of cancelling the booking after check-in to avoid payment. This was not only humiliating, but completely false — I had proof of payment on the Booking.com app, website, and via email.

When I contacted Booking.com, I was told this was not their problem — apparently, without my knowledge or consent, they had routed my booking through a third party. They took zero accountability and told me to resolve it with the guesthouse directly. The guesthouse then referred me to Agoda, who also couldn’t assist because the booking originated from Booking.com.

So where exactly am I supposed to get a refund? Nobody is taking responsibility, and I’m left chasing a payment for a service I already paid for.

To make matters worse, several other guests also arrived at the guesthouse with confirmed bookings — only to find that Booking.com had overbooked the venue. This is clearly a pattern and not a one-off issue.

Booking.com overbooks, passes bookings to third parties without disclosure, and then washes their hands of any accountability. I want my refund immediately. I will not be using this platform again and strongly urge others to be cautious when booking through them.