wesley, I commented on a misrepresentation by another poster that made its way into this thread totally unrelated to the many misrepresentations you want to pour into this forum. No one believes what you are saying about Booking.com, so I felt no need to comment further on it, and still don't, but other misrepresentations in this thread, including the one you just posted about me -- of course I will.

Oh wait -- I take that back. No doubt there is someone on Fodor's who believes what you post, especially if you post lies about people they don't like. They'll reassure you they value your contributions highly. Post away!y

I've realized something from exposure to wm's posts, the relationship between 2 expressions, blowhard & hot air.

"But honestly, the question to ask is who in his right mind would expect great service when you used a 3rd party site to secure the cheapest deal?"

As an FYI, In 2016, we booked the Grand Hotel Malher in Paris through booking.com. We stayed four nights, and the staff at this hotel could not have been friendlier or more helpful during our stay. I don't think they really care what you pay for your room. Although I try and book smaller b&bs directly with the owner, if I can get a good deal on a hotel booking.com, I do, and we have never had any disappointments.

As a matter of fact, we booked The Bailey's Hotel in London a couple of months ago. The price on booking.com was about £40 cheaper per night. Our service at that hotel was impeccable. I would never hesitate to use booking.com

I think we should just let Wesley and Massimop/zeppole/sandralist duke it out and the rest of us just step away . . .

With your "expert research skill set", you have already answered all your own questions - about Paris accommodations, places to eat, and transportation options.

If you truly have a beef with who owns what in global corporate America - it's simple - don't insist on using the company.
Quit whining or sue the company.

If you had paid attention to all of that, your trip wouldn't have been such a bust.

>>No one believes what you are saying about Booking.com<<

I do not take lightly someone calling me a liar, especially by some internet troll. To prove my integrity, I was prepared to upload documentation to support every word written by me on this thread. I have an abundance of emails and several recorded conversations. I picked the 5 most important documents to share with readers here.

Booking.com Confirmation: https://flic.kr/p/WbLMVv

PrePayment Confirmation: https://flic.kr/p/W9kXsQ

Replace Apt Offer: https://flic.kr/p/W9mib7

Cancel/Refund Request: https://flic.kr/p/Xd95mD

Refund Posted: https://flic.kr/p/XqdHit

I suggest that @massimop should change his/her username. You have proven to readers that you have zero credibility. Nothing you offer can be trusted.

IMO, whenever someone on the internet speaks in absolutes to make a point, such as, "No one believes what you are saying about Booking.com," a red flag should go up. Travel boards are full of travel industry shills who like to speak as though they are God. They know how to play the internet forum game, and they work fairly hard to avoid getting caught. There are millions of people who work in the travel industry. Readers can be sure plenty of them are on these boards protecting their interests. Some of us can smell them a mile away.

Tons of people use booking.com in Europe. What I've found is that even though the site may state that a certain hotel may have no rooms available, it's worth checking the hotel directly as they often do still have vacancy.

>>Massimop/zeppole/sandralist<<

I certainly hope it isn't true. I thanked Sandralist in an old thread for introducing me to Pitigliano. I've been there twice and I thought she deserved credit.

Travel boards are full of usernames. So many come and go. Industry shills know how to survive. They're among the first to develop thicker skins. I would be very disappointed to learn that massimop is indeed someone I formerly appreciated. It's difficult to believe that one name can be helpful while the other name can be a blatant fool.

Better watch your step, wesleymarch - you're about one centimetre from being reported to the moderators for being openly hostile to people who tried to help you.

Some people are beyond rescue or help.
And they bite.

I heard about booking.com through this site, I saw it recommended many times by many people. The first time I used it was for travel in the US and it was a disaster. When I arrived at the hotel they had no record of any reservation for me. I contacted booking.com and while very sympathetic they were unable to help me at the time as I was attending High Point Market and everything was booked solid. I finally found a fleabag motel on my own and went there. I was with my boss too so this whole mess up was extra bad.

For some reason I tried booking.com again (probably a great rate which I'm a sucker for), also for travel in the US. That time my friend ahd I decided we were in the wrong town for us and wanted to get out of our full stay, I called booking.com and explained this and told them here was a chance to make up the horrendous experience I had with them the first time and boy were they happy to. They got us off the hook for our remaining stay and booked us at the place we picked to go to instead, I was very pleased with this. I've since used booking.com many times in several countries.

I do find it useful to search using other resources as well as booking.com but I make the final reservation through booking.com if not the venue directly.

My apologies. The Refund Posted link for the Cap 1 statement page has a new link:

https://flic.kr/p/XmD4pY

I have not found Booking.com to give a better price than a hotel's website. As a matter of fact I have recently noticed that hotels often give a 5% discount for booking directly through them. Better for them if you don't book through a middleman.

I have gotten better prices through a middleman twice for two different hotels at different times. But they were through Amoma.

I just booked a night in a hotel in the UK through booking.com for the last night of our holiday; we decided that we wanted to spend the Saturday night after we return in a comfy hotel rather than slog through the holiday traffic back to Cornwall.

The hotel price was exactly the same but the ease of cancellation through booking.com was the clincher for me. I know that I can do it very easily if I need to, and there will be no problems.

We got totally caught by the 'bait and switch' in Rome with Booking.com. We booked a three bedroom accommodation at Booking.com in Rome and got the confirmation for the Old Garibaldi Soap Factory - very nice place and great ratings. When we get to Rome we have been 'switched' to La Scala which is a tiny studio with a loft bed (reached with a ladder!) and two sofas. Owner says we booked La Scala but we have the booking confirmation for the Old Garibaldi Soap Factory. There are 5 of us and we end up finding an AirBnB and cancelling the La Scala the next day. Too bad - so sad - no refund of $1000 Euros!!! Booking.com's response is "La Scala was only 750 metres away. We'll give you the tourist tax and 10% back". Seriously. We had a contract with Booking.com for the Old Garibaldi Soap Factory and were switched without our knowledge or consent and they think that's OK. BEWARE Booking.com - they are a scam!

I've used them for 144 hotels/apartments/B&Bs in the past 3 years without any hitch whatsoever. Seriously.

Never had a problem either. I think it’s perhaps confusing when a place with several apartments has one page and you need to be sure which apartment of theirs you are booking. Sometimes all the pics show up but you need to look at the details of the particular place you are booking to see which one it is.

Welcome to Fodors valorie. Sorry but your complaint is NOT with Booking.com. Booking simply hooked you up with the accommodations and handled the booking for both of you. Your issue is with the OWNER of the apartment. S/he is the one who switched you.

Booking doesn't own/manage the accommodation any more than airbnb does . . .

Sorry do not believe this. If you had stayed at the accommodation you would have been able to leave a review. A bad review would have been better written on Booking then joining this forum to complain. I have not read any review which gives details of the situation you found yourself in. There is no photo or description about that loft bed either.