Hotels can prevent poor reviews on Booking,com

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“Hotels can prevent poor reviews on Booking,com”

Written on: 06/08/2012

Hotels can prevent dissatisfied customers from giving poor reviews on booking.com. The hotel reports you as a 'no show' (whether you stayed, paid whatever), and then Booking.com do not send you a feedback form, and if you ask for one, Booking.com will not send you one, unless you kept your receipt. On a recent tour of Sri Lanka, this happened to me twice - the only two disappointing hotels on the whole 10-day trip.

Hotel ratings on booking.com are probably inflated, particularly for hotels wise enough to know how to play the game.

Also, most hotels charge your credit card in advance of your visit, so if you arrive but do not like what you find, you are very likely to be charged the full rate anyway. It is more of a purchase.com than a "Booking".

I preferred the hotels I found through Agoda this trip.

Booking.comteam's Comment

Written on: 09/08/2012

Hi,

We're really sorry to hear of this, thanks for letting us know.

We do not allow hotels to operate like this and take measures to prevent it. Can you reply with your booking number so we can pass this on to our specialized team.

Many thanks!

Your Booking.com Team.

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Cycling_Tourist's Comment

Written on: 12/08/2012

but YOU DO . . and I am not happy with the BEHAVIOUR OF BOOKING.COM!! don't try to make out it's the hotels' I am complaining about here.

I quote from my last e-mail to your complaints desk

Aug 6 " I made considerable effort to arrive at the arranged time at this hotel, and was so disappointed with what I found that I chose to find somewhere else. The hotel charged me anyway, even called me a 'no show', and you will not let me pass on my valid experience and information to other travellers."

The final word from your complaints desk (in full)
"Thank you for choosing Booking.com.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. Unfortunately as you did not stay at the hotel we are not able to send you a review link.

Again I apologize for any inconvenience.

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions.

Thank you again for choosing Booking.com. We hope to be your choice for future online reservations."

You can't call that a 'help desk'. And a phone call confirmed your position - because I did not spend the night, the complaints desk "do not have the ability to send me a review form", so I cannot pass on my valid, direct experience of the hotel (the empty receptionist, the lack of English, tattier than the photos when up close). I arrived, and did not like. I cannot rate the hotel, so the hotel reviews on your site are probably inflated. And the hotel can take my money anyway, because they can, and I have no voice.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE REVIEW OF BOOKING.COM ON CIAO, and you will see that 42/66 (as of Aug8th 2012) awarded booking.com 1/5 stars (yes, 2/3rds DOT RECOMMEND YOU), in general, because travellers believed they had just made a 'booking', but when they were unhappy, the hotel took the full-fee anyway, because the traveller has no leverage - in part because of Booking.com.

If travellers know they are paying up front, they can be a bit more cautious about where they throw their money. Either stop misleading us, or give us some leverage over the hotel when things go wrong.

Would you like to reply to that? ref 298046635

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Booking.comteam's Comment

Written on: 13/08/2012

Hi,

Thank you for your reply, on of our specialised team members will be in contact with you after reviewing your case.

Thank you.

Your Booking.com Team

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