I booked a flat in Sheffield for myself and my two elderly grandmothers as we were attending a family event. We paid £160. When we arrived, on a cold snowy night, the heating was not working. The extreme cold was a risk to my grandmothers, and I tried, in vain, to remedy the situation with the host and Booking.com. It was too late to find suitable alternative accommodation, so we used the oven for heat, and the three of us camped in the open-plan living area. Since then, I have been offered a measly 15% off our next stay with the host, and £31.87 compensation from Booking.com.
ASS, London
“In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, we are here for you,” boasts the Booking.com website, and it counsels guests to stay put until any problems are sorted.
In fact, the company appears to rely on hosts agreeing a remedy, or refund, when things go wrong, which suggests unscrupulous owners can get away with providing substandard accommodation, and guests take the hit.
I put this to Booking.com and asked what its policy was if a guest reported a safety risk. I also asked what was supposed to happen if a host refused compensation for a ruined stay, and how its own paltry offer was calculated.
Booking.com ignored all the questions and said only: “We’re sorry to hear about the experience of the customer you brought to our attention. We have reached out directly to apologise and will be offering a full refund as a gesture of goodwill.” The implication is that the payment is a kindness, rather than due under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Holding Booking.com to account is tricky. Its HQ is in Amsterdam and it says that its terms and conditions are governed by Dutch law, which complicates any legal proceedings. Moreover, your contract is with the accommodation provider.
Ordinarily, customers who paid by card can claim their money back from their credit or debit card issuer if a trader is in breach of contract. But this right does not extend to purchases made via a third-party agent such as Booking.com.
When all else fails, it can help to contact a company’s chief executive directly and to kick up a (polite) public stink on Twitter, or X, as it is now known.
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