‘We didn’t feel safe’: Booking.com users face battle to get money back
Booking.com users have told the Guardian they struggled to obtain refunds after accommodation problems, including being moved to unsafe or poor-quality alternatives and being charged more than agreed. The cases highlight a legal grey area: platforms say the booking contract is with the host, leaving travellers with limited practical recourse when a host refuses to compensate them.
One family in Batumi, Georgia, paid £570 for an apartment rated “exceptional” but were redirected late at night to a shabby property, then spent a further £334 on alternative accommodation; they were offered only £36 in credits. Another traveller was charged £1,177 for a Mongolian hotel, £120 above the agreed price, and says he received no refund after cancelling despite free cancellation being advertised. Package holidays are protected by 2018 regulations, but Booking.com, Airbnb and Vrbo state they are not contractual parties, an approach consumer campaigner Martyn James says courts may view unfavourably.
- Booking-platform users report difficulty securing refunds when stays go wrong.
- Hosts, not platforms, are usually deemed contractually responsible.
- Travellers can face substantial losses outside package-holiday protections.
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Booking.com is an online platform that lets travellers reserve hotels, apartments and other places to stay from hosts around the world. Although people may pay through the website or app, the company says the accommodation contract is normally made directly between the guest and the host.
This can make disputes difficult when a property is not as described, a booking is changed or the final charge differs from the advertised price. Travellers may need to pursue the host, sometimes in another country, while the platform may offer customer support or credits without accepting responsibility for a full refund.
UK package holidays have specific legal protection when flights, accommodation or other services are sold together as a package. Bookings made separately through accommodation platforms may not have the same protection, leaving questions about who should compensate a customer when something goes wrong.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Booking.com should take clearer responsibility for resolving serious failures arranged through its platform, particularly where travellers arrive abroad late at night and face unsafe, misleading or more expensive accommodation. Consumers reasonably rely on the platform’s listings, ratings, payment systems and cancellation promises, rather than on an often inaccessible individual host. Stronger refund duties and practical emergency support would reflect that reliance and reduce the risk that customers bear losses caused by inaccurate listings or uncooperative suppliers.
The case against
Booking.com can reasonably argue that it operates as an intermediary marketplace rather than the accommodation provider, and that hosts should remain legally responsible for the properties, prices and service they offer. Making platforms automatically liable for every host dispute could raise costs, reduce the number of available listings and blur responsibility where facts are contested. A proportionate approach may preserve the host contract while requiring transparent terms, effective dispute processes and action against hosts that repeatedly breach standards.