Hotel cancellation from Booking.com

[davet]

Hello,

I booked a hotel in Phuket through booking.com in March, they have just contacted me to say that they cannot honour the booking and I must cancel.

After a discussion they did offer me alternative options but one had none of the same facilities and was up a huge cliff (I am with a 20 month old baby) and the other was 40km away.

I can book myself in a holidayinn that is 10 minutes away but gets terrible reviews, anything comparable and nearby is over double the price as we travel in 6 days most things are already booked up

any thoughts on what my best next steps are?

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Speak to your travel insurance provider for guidance considering the tight timeframe

[NorthernLass]

Does booking.com have any responsibility in this kind of scenario? I would have thought that they are the ones who have sold you the hotel room, which now isn’t going to be provided.

[davet]

There doesnt appear to be a system I can request an alternate booking with booking.com, infact it appears they have just processed it as a cancellation and refunded me, with a currency arbitrage 88% of the original payment

[davet]

Travel insurance have confirmed no cover offered as I have not departed

[NorthernLass]

Which hotel is it? With the bigger chains you can sometimes kick up a fuss via their customer services and get a satisfactory alternative.

[JDB]

davet wrote:

Travel insurance have confirmed no cover offered as I have not departed

You need to call Booking.com and keep escalating. They will definitely resolve it, but like BA they will keep batting you away until they realise you mean business.

[meta]

Yes, call them and insist to be put into comparable property. First though do your own research and narrow down 2-3 properties that you would be fine with. Then press to be rebooked at no extra cost to you. Also make sure to clearly articulate why those 2-3 properties, not just they are comparable, like location, certain facilities that you need, etc.

[nike85]

Have booking.com been in contact or only the hotel? If booking.com are aware that the hotel are refusing to accommodate you they will absolutely reaccommodate you at no additional charge to yourself, and will charge the original hotel any difference in cost as part of their agreement.

[davet]

MY original booking was around £550, booking.com have sent me some options up to £750 but they are not beach front, no swim up pool, no baby facilities. 2 of the 4 options excepted me to split us up into two rooms so I said no and sent them the only two options I could find, but neither were available on booking.com it was other providers and they were both around £2000

Problem is all the comparable properties have gone, i dont need a fancy 5* but for the short time I am there I wanted beach front, easy access to a pool when the baby is sleeping and baby facilities and they are all fully booked.

Booking.com have said no and stopped replying, I gave them 24 hours to come up with a reasonable solution otherwise I’d just put the 2k option and let Section 75 deal with it.

Not sure if its an empty threat though, a lot of money if I dont win

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Be careful invoking s75.

Whilst it’s an important consumer protection it isn’t the solution to every ill.

@JDB may be able to advise more on the implications or using (or not using) it.

[JDB]

@davet – it’s up to Booking.com to pay the difference although they will obviously only refund that to you after the stay on production of the receipt.

If you have reached the end of the road on the telephone, email the CEO’s office:

glen dot fogel at bookingholdings dot com

with your booking reference number and explain concisely what’s happened and the key features you chose / relied upon when booking with them. They have failed in their contractual duties and failed to support you, a private individual, when only they have the corporate clout to resolve the issue.

s75 isn’t quite as simple as some like to make out and because the credit card company really doesn’t want to be shelling out cash for the contractual breaches of others if they can possibly avoid it, they may cite the agency vs supplier issue.

I think they will sort this out and someone senior/with the power to deal with it will contact you. All you need at this point is a written confirmation that they will pay an agreed sum (the difference between the original booking and a new one acceptable to you) once you send the invoice. They will honour that.

Before making any s75 claim (if all the above fails) I would write a Letter before Claim to Booking.com’s registered office setting out the issue clearly and concisely the issue and the cost of fixing the problem. To anticipate them spouting nonsense about their terms saying they have no liability, can only sue in in New York or whatever stuff they say (check what it does say) say that this was a contract struck in England and that unless they agree to pay you the sum of x within 14 days, you will issue a claim in the County Court for this sum, plus interest and court fees.

[davet]

I have just decided to play it safe, booked something 10km away that isn’t as nice and was only a fraction more so it will be easy to claim back, I’d rather accept the first few days wont be as nice as we wanted than have to deal with all the agro claiming back after the holiday

Thanks for the advice!

[JaneDoe]

I have had the same issue with Hotels.com, for a hotel in Siem Reap that i had booked in August. So now everything else similar is twice the price. The hotel contacted me saying they are closed for refurbishment and when I raised the issue with Hotels.com on chat and email they were very unhelpful and even when i asked that they book me somewhere else at a similar level at no extra cost they refused.
I book over 100 nights a year wiht Hotels.com, for the month of January this year i booked 40 nights – not impressed! i searched online but i cannot find an email address of anyone senior to contact.

[JDB]

@JaneDoe – Hotels.com is an Expedia company, so write to fijarrold at expediagroup dot com. She is the Director responsible for dealing with these issues. I don’t know about Hotels.com, but Expedia is very efficient and generous in resolving these issues.

[meta]

JaneDoe wrote:

I have had the same issue with Hotels.com, for a hotel in Siem Reap that i had booked in August. So now everything else similar is twice the price. The hotel contacted me saying they are closed for refurbishment and when I raised the issue with Hotels.com on chat and email they were very unhelpful and even when i asked that they book me somewhere else at a similar level at no extra cost they refused.
I book over 100 nights a year wiht Hotels.com, for the month of January this year i booked 40 nights – not impressed! i searched online but i cannot find an email address of anyone senior to contact.

I had a very good experience with Hotels.com for a closed hotel last year in Atacama desert in Chile. They rebooked me into the only comparable hotel at no extra charge (covering 3x more than the original price). You need to call rather than email or go via chat.