Booking will not support you if it goes wrong...

Booking.com - www.booking.com
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findtom's review of Booking.com - www.booking.com

“Booking will not support you if it goes wrong...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by findtom on 04/11/2014

I booked a Hotel in Ypres Gasthof 't Zweerd though Booking in Oct 14. When I arrived at the Hotel I was greeted with bedlam. The Manager was hard to find and the hallway was littered with rubbish and disassembled beds!

When we eventually reached our room it was dirty, smelly and damp. Not a place you would want to take you family. Obviously we didn't stay and booked into the Novotel just down the road. However Booking.com have been less than supportive with the situation.

Their initial emails just said tough luck and even even after I attracted their attention via Twitter, ultimately I had to use my bank to reclaim my money.

They make money from the customers they pass to hoteliers but are unwilling to intervene if it turns out the hotel is not up to scratch. Best avoid Booking if you can.

Booking.comteam's Response to findtom's Review

Written on: 05/11/2014

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear of any disappoint with using Booking.com. I have looked over your reservation and have found that we had requested photos from you showing the quality of the room because the hotel's owner had stated there was nothing wrong with the room you were given. The owner had also explained that they were disposing of old beds and that they had been doing this before their standard check-in time so as not to inconvenience guests, however, you had arrived early. If you require further assistance please do not hesitate to contact Booking.com.

Regards, Brian
Booking.com Customer Service Team

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Findtom's Response to findtom's Review

Written on: 06/11/2014

Hi, thank you for taking the time to search out my complaint and write a reply. It is a pity you didn't expend the same amount of energy to help my family.

While it is true I am unable to produce photos of the dirty, smelly and damp room it is not hard to find reviews (via your site) that support my experience. Sadly, your site hides this information unless you drill into the scores. For example, the score of 7 is an aggregate of the smaller scores. Because the Hotel Gasthof 't Zweerd is ideally located on the square it has been getting a score of 9 for location. However, the other scores have been much lower and in particular the score for cleanliness is very low with several other users, (via your own site) commenting on the smell and dirty rooms. So even without the photos it is easy to establish that there was something wrong with the hotel. However, there is also that fact that you know I was indeed there, and that I was forced to use another hotel around the corner. How bad would a hotel have to be for a customer to turn up and then not want to use it? Why would I move hotels, other than because the one I booked (via you) wasn’t very good?

Additionally, you inaccurately portrayed that the old beds littered around reception where only there a short time. While it is true we did arrive early (because the square was being blocked off for the centenary commemoration), we returned at 1500 to find that the beds/mess/rubbish were STILL in reception.

So, if you are happy that Booking.com will show you this degree of contempt if a booking goes wrong go ahead and use them. However, I know the next time I look for a hotel it won't be via Booking.com......

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