DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently booked a room at a resort in Kauai through Booking.com. The online agency worked with a third party that handled the reservation, but it didn’t come through. As a result, I didn’t have a place to stay.
Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter
A person at the resort said that the organization had done the same thing to another family just days before.
I’ve sent multiple messages to Booking.com, but it hasn’t responded. I tried to resolve this by filing a credit card dispute, and my bank has refunded me temporarily. Still, I ended up incurring an additional $1,955 in hotel expenses. I would like help with holding Booking.com accountable.
— Dale Cerney, Seattle
ANSWER: I’m sorry that your Booking.com reservation was a dud. I know what it’s like to show up at a hotel without a reservation, and it’s one of the worst feelings. You start to imagine yourself sleeping on a park bench. I’m glad you found a place to stay.
Booking.com says that the property, the Hanalei Bay Resort, was “unable to honor your reservation,” but it doesn’t say why. It looks like you did everything you could to make sure that you had a legitimate reservation. You used a reputable online agent, Booking.com. You even contacted your online agency before your arrival to verify the reservation, and it was confirmed. Bottom line: This shouldn’t have happened.
Booking.com didn’t initially respond to your request for help, according to the correspondence that you sent me. When it finally did, it claimed that this was the first time it had heard from you.
“We hope you’ve found an alternative accommodation without too much trouble,” a representative told you in an email. “We have been in touch with your original accommodation, and if you’ve had any extra costs, please send us the invoice of your new accommodation after your stay, and we’ll do our best to assist you.”
You should get a full refund for the first hotel once your credit card dispute finalizes. But when you presented Booking.com with a bill for the price differential between the original reservation and the new one, it didn’t immediately respond. And that’s when you asked me to help you get your $1,955 back.
You might have avoided a problem like this by booking directly with the resort. Although direct reservations can get lost, too, it’s far less likely to happen than when you book through a third-party agency.
Beyond that, you can call to confirm your reservation directly with the hotel before you arrive. Unfortunately, everything seemed fine until you arrived, which is highly unusual. I publish a few helpful strategies for resolving your consumer dispute on my advocacy website, Elliott.org. You could have also appealed your case to one of the Booking.com managers. I list their names, numbers and email addresses on my consumer advocacy site.
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You reached out to me for help, and I contacted Booking.com on your behalf. The company reviewed your case. “Booking.com customer service has been in touch with Dale, who will be receiving a refund for the extra costs incurred,” a representative told me.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.
(c) 2023 Christopher Elliott
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
