<some refuse to understand just where Booking's responsibility lies and where the hotel 's and, even the person booking a room responsibilities lies.>

Exactly.

Actually, I love booking.com. I don't think I've ever written a bad review on their site because I read the reviews carefully before selecting and everyone who posts has stayed.

I've also tried new owners through booking and had some of my favorite stays.

I've used Booking.com multiple times and not had problems. As has been pointed out different hotels have different policies regarding when they take payment and how close to check in you can cancel. The Genius scheme is very good - not only do you get discounts on certain hotels but there are other perks like early check in etc. I suppose that with any site on this scale i.e. Global there must be occasional problems. The rare problems I've heard about wouldn't stop me using the site though.

>>I think most of the ranting is due to the lack of understanding as to Booking's role.<<
I am not "ranting," and your post is offensive. I fully understand the role of a "middleman," and I'll pass.

>> Some will not read the information throughly and just make assumptions.<<
Not me. I read every word and hated the process. Booking's webpages are an assault on the eyes. Information is hidden and difficult to find. Every other listing is a "deal of the day," "booked 5 times in the last hour," "9 people are looking right now," "Another room just booked," and the WORST offender, "You missed it! We reserved our last available room at this property." If a room isn't available for the dates I submitted, why is a hotel with no rooms coming up on the search list? That's just a time-wasting punishment for the customer.

It doesn't surprise me that people love a cheaper hotel price. I believe that's why Booking is so popular.

I actually like to see all the hotels - even those with no current availability, because I may like them enough to shift my dates slightly, or they may be worth bookmarking for later availability ie in the event of a cancellation.

I can't speak for other people but I like the convenience of having so many hotels in one place, and the option to hold rooms without having to pay up front. I might cross check a hotel I really like with other sites or its own Web page but I don't want you have to look at dozens or possibly even hundreds of different sites to get a decent selection.

>>I actually like to see all the hotels<<
That's easy enough to do. Don't put in any dates. But, if your dates are strict, who needs that extra clutter when you submit strict criteria? Hate it.

I certainly didn't mean to be offensive and in this case the use of term "ranting" was more a generalization for those who frequently use this forum to simply put...rant. I didn't view your complaint as a rant.

BTW, I don't use booking.com just to get a cheaper price. I use it for rhe convenience, valid reviews in making choices, free cancellation and basically ease of use. It is IMO an easier website to navigate than many of the hotels own websites.

Thank you, moderators.

My God. The first time I have ever been zapped. I joined the club.

I am so happy. lol

But take notice, that on another tread where I was called 'lame, that was OK.

Moderators, a little Integrity needed. lol

<<About the Iceland currency conversion issue: whenever I get a confirmed rate at Booking.com in dollars, but will be charged in local currency, it is always specified in the details from my Booking confirmation: 1) that I will pay in local currency; and, 2) what the amount in local currency I will pay is. That amount in local currency is precisely what I've then paid.>>

This was not the case with any of my Iceland bookings. I still have the original print outs for each one and nowhere on any confirmation does is state the amount in local currency. If it had, all of this could have been prevented.

If I thought they gave a crap I'd suggest it to them.

Only booked hotels with Booking.com but never had any problems.

Wesley, are you there to continue this interesting thread??

With many thousands of bookings, some problems arise.

Wouldn't you agree??

@ Melnq8: Thanks for the details. I agree that the failure to respond to your concerns is seriously troubling. Do let us know if you ever get any kind of response.

I have used booking.com probably a hundred times and never had a problem.

They have a new program where they are offering you $25 for a detailed review. I just got an email from them after I stayed at a hotel saying that if my review was more than a certain length, had a photo and was not anonymous I would qualify as a 'scout' (I think that was the word) and get $25 off my next booking. Since I am currently on a trip I won't be booking anything else for months so not sure how that will work but didn't cost me anything to do it. I always write a review anyway. I've had 'genius' status for quite a while.

You specify on their site what currency you want to book in.

When you get to the hotel they charge you in local currency unless they are trying to use DCC - in which case you specify what you want (local is always better). I'm in Spain right now and every hotel has asked me which currency I want to be charge in. But this has nothing to do with booking.com

Often you can get a better price if you pay the non-refundable price in advance, but this is very clearly listed on the booking.com site. If they don't offer a non-refundable price it's because the hotel doesn't offer it.

The only time I have had a problem doing anything on their site it was when I wanted to cancel just part of a booking and keep the rest. In those cases I had to call but then was able to do it. (The other option would be to cancel the whole booking and re-book the nights I wanted to keep, but sometimes the price has changed by the time I wanted to do that).

The reviews are posted only by people who actually stayed at the property. Booking.com emails you three days after you stay and asks for the review. Very easy. So easier and more reliable than trip advisor.

I recently had a problem with booking.com, so I have not used them on planning my upcoming trip to France.

I booked a hotel well in advance of my recent trip to Ireland. As I waited to board the plane, I got a text saying there was a problem with my credit card...which seemed strange, since IMHO, they should have vetted it when I booked.

I was unable to ccommunicate with them after I reached Ireland...placed on extended hold while using my foreign SIM, so I gave up. BTW, my credit card worked perfectly everywhere in Ireland.

I contacted the hotel, which assured me that they would hold the room -- twice on separate calls. When we got there, they apologized and said booking.com booked the room and they had no control over that (which made sense to me, but perhaps they should have contacted booking.com when I called them.

It worked out well, because they found me place in a better location for less money...but, as I said, I have avoided booking.com ever since.

ssander

Dear Wesley, did you ever find a hotel that you actually booked for your upcoming business meeting. I have this image of you dumping bags of diamonds on the bedside table to sell to your clients in secret. Very cloak and daggerish. Is that even a word?

Have used Booking.com many time. It is trustworthy place. Though they should have verified. But it could be a problem with Pick a Flat.

In case anybody cares, if you go to booking.com and look up the TWO apartments listed under "Pick A Flat - Residence Maillot-toile apartment", there are TWO apartments for rent.

Wesleymarsh is, to say the least, confused about how booking.com works. He put in specific dates, and booking.com showed him the only apartment that was available for his dates. That is the link he provided. But if you do a general search without dates, you will see the option to book two different apartments.

No one will ever know what transpired during and after the conversation Wesleymarsh had with PickAFlat years ago.

>>Wesleymarsh is, to say the least, confused<<
I am not confused, and I demand an apology. Please stop these RUDE mischaracterizations of fellow posters you do not know.

Yes, if you do a search using "Pick A Flat - Residence Maillot-toile apartment," without putting in any dates, you will, in fact, see the old listing for the 1-bedroom apartment I rented. Why that listing is still there after the apartment got sold is a good question.

However, if you select any dates to get a price and try to get that apartment to come up, you will only get the other 2-bedroom apartment. No matter what dates you punch in, the 1-bedroom apartment will not appear on the Availability page.

If you look at the corporate website for Pick A Flat, the 1 bedroom apartment that I rented is gone from their listings. They clearly deleted it from their own site, but it hasn't been deleted from Booking. My understanding of the research is, this 1-bedroom was very popular. Not only did it come with a very nice terrace, it had air conditioning. I suspect they are using the ad as a bait. They're getting people to book without realizing it no longer exists, even though Booking is fully aware the apartment got sold 2 months ago.

I suppose it's possible the sale of the 1-bedroom apartment fell through weeks after we secured our refund. They are free to put the place back on the rental market after our fiasco. But I don't believe that is what's going on here, because there is no evidence to suggest that you can actually rent the 1-bedroom apartment that you see in the photos.

Furthermore, my rental transaction took place months ago, not years ago. Looks like someone else might be confused.

It sounds like they show the listing for the one-bed but that it isn't bookable - i.e. when you enter dates to get a price it does not show up. So while the listing is there you wouldn't be able to book it, is that correct? If so it seems like they are not taking fraudulent bookings, they just haven't fully removed the listing.

Many of the companies that have more than one apartment show pics of more than one apartment and offer them as available options, even if the listing itself is for a specific apartment.