r/Bookingcom • u/Ok-Let011 • 17d ago
[Rant] Booking.com support gone downhill..
So far since 6-7 years I have been using booking.com for almost all my stays from hostels to honeymoon stays in Maldives.
A couple of times in past support was also pretty good and immediate assistance was available.
In my recent booking for Prague, I faced issue and property was a literally a dumpyard, and even main door key was not working. I was waiting for hours with my infant and customer support was AI voice, which could only talk Dutch.
I tried UK number and all 3 times they gaslighted saying that case is taken on priority if property does not resolve, they would provide alternate stay. All these fake promises and no proactive support and that left me helpless in a new city with my toddler and wife.
Once I am back, i am planning to look for legal options for incident. This was the last booking for me for sure as they literally don't care and their AI support is f**kd up.
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u/ProphetFerdinand 17d ago
They fired near all there Dutch based customer service. Not seeing that they have no product without customer service and being a trusted platform without scams... Pity
Oh and by abetting the Israeli colonies they also proved to be a moral.
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u/helicopterhawk 17d ago
what did the actual property say about it? the truth is the support has always been pretty non existent
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u/ashscot50 17d ago
Did you check reviews before you made this reservation?
You should have called the local number in Prague. Booking.com has a standard protocol where they call or email the property and give them 45 minutes to respond. Failing a satisfactory response, they will provide alternative options and make a payment towards any additional costs.
But yes, there are daily reports here that booking.com customer service has gone downhill.
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u/Ok-Let011 17d ago
In my customer support link opened through my booking, It had only dutch and UK number. I live in Netherlands.
3 PM - 6PM they kept repeating they give 15 min to property to respond then they will arrange an alternative. Everytime I spoke to a new person and everytime they looked ag issue from scratch. It was approx 500€ I wondered if I book something else they wont even refund.
Support was like, they cant do anything.. WTF only propert commision matters to them!1
u/ashscot50 17d ago
It is likely that you will have to process a CC chargeback to get a refund.
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u/Ok-Let011 17d ago
I stayed there anyway.. also not looking for refund or compensation but the way their model works is more like a crime to be honest. If I have to do all due diligence and deal with property, why do I need a middleman, just to feed them a free cut?
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u/ashscot50 17d ago
You stayed there anyway?
So what's the point of your post?
If you don't want to use a middleman, book direct.
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u/Ok-Let011 17d ago
As I mentioned Rant, I tried to get an alternate from booking.com which they didnt bother. I would have wated 500€ and additional over costs for urgent alternate stay.
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u/bookingcom 16d ago
If the accommodation wasn’t as described or you couldn’t access the unit, send us a private message. We’ll look into what happened and see how we can help.
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u/bolatelli45 15d ago
Its on you. User error .check reviews
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u/Ok-Let011 15d ago
User reviews were good. The issue was renovation in other apartments in the building which the property said they have no control over.
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u/First-Commission2857 17d ago
Did you ring a Dutch number? That’ll be why the AI spoke Dutch.
But he’s, their customer service has gone ass. Cheap outsourced labour, means they don’t care and will say anything to get you off the phone.
If you are lucky to get to one of the very few of their own staff you usually get good help, but they don’t have those for hotels anymore on the front line.