Unresponsive Host, No refund, No Stay.

I booked and paid for accommodation near a wedding after the host confirmed availability. Despite repeated attempts to communicate, the host was unresponsive until the day of the wedding, when he finally admitted he had assumed we weren’t coming and gave the room to someone else — even though I had already paid. We were relying on this place to stay, but instead had to drive home in the early morning hours as we couldn’t secure alternative accommodation. I couldn’t cancel the booking at the time, and the host has ignored all further messages. Booking.com customer service sent a cancellation request, but the host has not responded, leaving me without a refund. This is an unacceptable experience, and I am requesting Booking.com to urgently process a full refund as the host clearly will not respond. To this day, his calls go straight to voicemail. A host who cannot communicate with guests does not belong on this platform.