Booking.com HORRIBLE
Has anyone else experienced a “ghost host” scam on Booking.com?
This is the second time I’ve been scammed through Booking.com. I made a reservation, arrived at the location in the evening with my daughter after taking an Uber, and discovered there was no property, no street number, and no way to check in. We stood in the rain for over an hour trying to find the address while repeatedly calling and texting the host. There was absolutely no response.
Out of curiosity, I texted the host from a different phone number, and they immediately replied, asking, “Who is this?” But when I contacted them from my own phone number, they already knew my name and reservation details. That convinced me this was a deliberate scam.
I had no choice but to book another accommodation through Airbnb at the last minute, which ruined the start of our vacation and cost me even more money.
What has been even more frustrating is Booking.com’s response. Customer service keeps saying they have to contact the property and wait several days for a response before they can do anything. If the property is clearly fraudulent, why is Booking.com still waiting for the scammer to respond? This happened to me before, and I never received a refund from Booking.com. The first time, I only got my money back because my credit card company successfully processed a chargeback.
Now I’m going through the same process again.
Has anyone else experienced this? Were you able to get a refund? Is there a way to escalate a complaint beyond the regular customer service line or reach someone who can actually resolve these cases?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want anyone else to go through what my daughter and I experienced