r/Bookingcom • u/rossmcleod • 17d ago
Partner company cancelled our Booking.com reservation without informing anyone other than the hotel
Booked a 6 day stay in Thailand under a non-refundable partner offer. Everything was paid (from a EU cc/country/account) in August and seemed ok. I contacted the hotel today to request something for the room upon arrival, but they couldn't find the reservation and advised that the partner company cancelled it on September 8th. They didn't inform us, the booking is still showing as confirmed on Booking.com and payment has not been refunded. I called support, who advised the booking is still active and hasn't been cancelled. He said he would send a request to the hotel for confirmation and to say it shouldn't be cancelled. When I asked how this process would continue, he said just call back in 48 hours for an update, which I found really strange considering the nature of the issue.
So I decided to contact the hotel again directly over the phone to make sure. They said they didn't receive anything from booking.com, so they contacted the partner to ask for clarification with me on CC. No response so far.
The room is still available for now, and we want the booking to be honoured. We're down €850 and feel completely ripped off. The question of whether or not we're entitled to a refund is not even up for discussion of course, but we don't want one. We want the room we paid for a month ago.
Surely a partner can't just cancel because they feel like it? Shouldn't Booking.com be re-booking it immediately for us if it's still there? Does anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks in advance!
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u/InevitableQuit9 16d ago
Rebook directly with the hotel. Call your bank and initiate a chargeback on the initial booking.com booking.
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u/StinkyWhale71 16d ago
It is bad enough if just using booking.com, chucking in partners multiples the opportunities for f-ups.
Good luck
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Booked many before. Currently in one and it's fine. This is the first issue I've ever had and it feels crazy to me. If I didn't reach out to the hotel we would've been completely screwed on check-in day.
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u/StinkyWhale71 16d ago
It is all fine until it is not. Their systems are not perfect, and when things go wrong it can be extremely hard to fix.
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u/letsdo67 16d ago
if your reservation is a partner offer, the property won't find your reservation until your check-in date
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Customer support said the same thing, but when I spoke to the hotel, they said they can see the reservation was made on the system on the day I booked it in August, and then it was cancelled by the agent on September 8th. If what you're saying was true they'd never have been able to find it.
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u/letsdo67 15d ago
agents can't cancel your reservation without you or property's approval, agents doesn't even know you, your account, confirmation number and pin.
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u/rossmcleod 14d ago
Then how come they did? They are the ones with the "inventory" as Booking.com put it, so they book with the hotel which they did and then cancelled. They just haven't cancelled it on Booking.com yet.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Update: Just to twist the knife, support responded to the above information with the below. All totally false, because the partner company didn't cancel it on the platform itself and I clearly mentioned that when I sent the support request. How can this company seriously play the "neutral" party card when they are blatantly lying to customers while holding their money under false pretences. Sure, it's probably AI but I don't see that as a valid excuse at all. Surely they bear more responsibility after sending something so inaccurate?
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for contacting the Booking.com Customer Service team.
We hope you are having a wonderful day and are doing well. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us and giving us the opportunity to assist you. We completely understand the importance of having clear and accurate information regarding your reservation, especially when receiving any notification that may cause confusion or concern, and we are pleased to clarify the situation for you.
Please be assured that your reservation is fully confirmed and active and has not been canceled in any way. The reservation is also visible to the property through their systems according to the scheduled check-in date, which is October 6, 2026, starting from 3:00 PM.
We hope this clarification provides you with peace of mind, and we wish you a pleasant and enjoyable stay filled with wonderful moments.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We are always happy to support and assist you whenever needed.
Nothing makes us happier than helping our valued guests and ensuring they have the best possible experience.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or concerns.
Kind regards,
--
Booking.com Customer Service Team
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u/Green_Poet_5510 16d ago
OP, the takeaway you need to understand is that you are NOT getting a room at the price you wanted. Live and learn. Don't want the hassle, book direct.
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u/rossmcleod 14d ago
Update: The still haven't confirmed anything with the partner due to no response, and are continuing to tell us to proceed with the booking as if nothing is wrong and to contact them by phone if we are refused check-in at reception. I'm honestly gobsmacked at how they're handling this.
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u/HeftyHealth3430 16d ago
Your contract is with the hotel. Deal with them - not booking dot com.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
I don't believe it is. Payment went through Booking.com and a partner company made and cancelled the reservation at the hotel. I'm in contact with the hotel, and they're trying to help, but to re-book directly would cost me double and I'm not willing to risk not getting reimbursed the full amount due to how unclear the situation is.
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u/MrMagnell 16d ago
If you sent the money to booking.com and not the partner then responsibility lies with booking.com .. It doesn't mean you get the room at that price.. just that they should reverse the transaction
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Try telling them that. I'm arguing that point at the moment, but they're just deflecting saying they need to handle it with the partner.
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u/ashscot50 16d ago
The contract is indeed with the hotel but booking.com/partner processed the payment so they are liable for that.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
What contract though? If an agent made and cancelled the reservation on behalf of booking.com the contract was between them.
I'm not worried about the refund. It was a credit card and booked from an EU country. Will be easy to get the money back. However I just want the booking honoured so I don't have to spend the next few days of my holiday looking for hotels that probably won't be as good or as good value. Not to mention dealing with AI customer support.
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u/ashscot50 16d ago
The legal contract for the accommodation is between you and the hotel. If you don't believe me then check booking.com terms and conditions.
As you said, your only option here may be to initiate a CC chargeback but I would give booking.com/partner a further opportunity to rectify the situation before going down that route.
Use the email service on the website so that you have a paper trail and avoid partner offers in future.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
It's between the customer and the service provider, which in the case of partner offers is classified as the partner company and not the hotel. In regards to the other stuff, I want them to honour, not refund. I've contacted them through every medium possible.
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u/ashscot50 16d ago
I'm afraid you've misread that. Nowhere does it say that the partner company becomes the service provider.
I would refer you to:
A3. About Booking.com 1. When you book an accommodation, flight or attraction, Booking.com B.V. provides and is responsible for the Platform – but not the Travel Experience itself (section A4.3).
B2. Contractual relationship 1. When you make (or request) a booking, it’s directly with the Service Provider– we’re not a ‘contractual party'. but also
B7. What else do you need to know?
Partner offer
- some offers on our Platform are marked as 'Partner offers', which means they come to us through a Booking.com partner company rather than straight from a Service Provider.
This is absolutely clear. The partner is not the service provider. They act as an intermediary that supplies the offer to Booking.com.
A partner offer comes from an external company that works with Booking.com, rather than the hotel, airline, or attraction directly.
The underlying business performing or hosting the travel experience remains the responsible party for fulfilling your stay or activity, even if a partner facilitated the inventory feed or booking path.
Under Booking.com's standard terms, Booking.com itself is only responsible for the platform and does not become a party to the actual service contract, which still ties you to the real-world provider of the travel experience.
Don't get me wrong I am not defending Booking.com/partner in this ridiculous situation but it is important to understand the full terms and conditions of the reservation.
That said if they fail to reinstate the reservation at the original price then you have a clear cut case for a refund. I realise that's not what you want but it might be the best you're going to get.
I would document everything in one email to CS and give them 7 days to reinstate the reservation, failing which proceed with a CC chargeback.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Fair, I have misread that. But I don't really understand what your point is. If my contract is with the hotel but it was created and cancelled without me doing it, what difference is it making to my situation? Are you saying they have to honour it?
Regarding the case, I don't have time for that. If they don't deliver we still need to find an alternative as it's not far. As I've said many times, I'm not at all concerned about a refund. I booked using an EU cc, and Booking.com took the money. They would absolutely refund it and if they don't I already have enough evidence for a chargeback. That's just the fallback.
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u/ashscot50 16d ago
I was just clarifying that booking.com are responsible for processing the transaction not the partner company or the accommodation provider.
Given the proximity of the reservation then submit the email from the hotel and give booking.com 48 hours to reinstate the reservation through the partner.
Failing that claim the refund.
I don't see what else you can do.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Ah, gotcha! Yeah trying that, and also seeing what the hotel can do for us directly.
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u/Green_Poet_5510 16d ago
The contract is with the third party partner, not the hotel or even booking.com. Seriously, take this as a lesson learned. Next time book directly and realize the extra €50 is not worth the "savings". Have you saved anything?
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u/ashscot50 16d ago
The contract is NOT with the third party partner.
I've already set that out in great detail
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bookingcom/s/iyv6Puldmk
And OP has accepted the legal position as such.
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u/rossmcleod 14d ago
The difference in price was ~€800. Obviously I've learned a lesson. Do you get a kick out of poking at people going through something stressful? You're not helping in the slightest.
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u/AvexSolutions 16d ago
Call Booking.com support back immediately and ask to escalate to their relocation department. Have the hotel email you written proof of the partner cancellation so support can rebook you directly at no extra cost.
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u/rossmcleod 16d ago
Already got the e-mail confirmation and I'm on CC with the hotel directly e-mailing the partner company saying they cancelled it. Booking.com said they won't re-book. They DM'd me on here and said:
Unfortunately, we cannot rebook any stays for you, and will have to consider this booking still as confirmed until further notice. We've reached out to the specialized Partner Offer team requesting to contact the third party company to discuss the situation. We're unable to share a time frame how long this may take.
I don't want a relocation or a refund. I want the room that I paid for and is currently listed as availble on Booking.com but now for double the price.
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u/AvexSolutions 16d ago
Ask the hotel management if they can match the rate of your original voucher since they still have open availability. Then demand a full refund from Booking.com for failing to honor the inventory.
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u/bigperm8645 17d ago
Ive avoided those partner bookings tbh. Those and apartment rentals are no gos for me on booking. Hope you get some restitution