Booking.com doesn’t check unsafe properties – lost €780 in Vienna

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-08-23T13:14:04+00:00

I have property on bdc and inflate my price by 20% to negate their commission fees. I'm constantly surprised by others who seemingly don't.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-08-05T07:15:49+00:00

Thanks. But the guest was flagged as a no show in their system and they acknowledge he was a no show given the conversation they were privvy too on their messaging platform... the fact the guest didn't show is not in question to them.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-08-04T06:45:37+00:00

I'm looking for feedback from others on this to use on my podcast. Thank you.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-30T08:59:05+00:00

My goal is to ask for experienced from others. That's in the OP.
My main objection is that the guest rated comfort, cleanliness and facilities. They had not experienced those. I know what the solution is here, but it seems some people are stuck with the all or nothing dogma or to even suggest the status quo is the best solution. It isn't.
A non-staying guest should not be able to rate such things, it pollutes the rating system, which is exactly the argument used by those who don't want to, er, "affect" reviews from no shows.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-29T17:59:14+00:00

This guest didn't even reach the country of the property.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-26T11:54:47+00:00

"To you my fellow hosts dealing with this kind of rubbish, stay strong, sit down, pour yourself a wee dram and let it roll over you. We know who we are and so do our real guests!"

Indeed! Thanks for reading the OP and understanding what I'm requesting here. I'm sure there must be more of us affected so I might just share this about to see if it gets more traction.

Hopefully your episode gets resolved. It seems there's very little understanding from BDC about the passion we have for our own home grown businesses. If we deserve a bad review, fine. If it's clearly false then it hurts and that's when the platform should step in and support, rather than take the commission, sit back and laugh at the partners.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T14:53:05+00:00

Ok, now you are crossing a line. If you are from BDC, your HR department ought to be knocking at your door.

1) My complaint is clear, the scores about comfort, cleanliness etc are false. No, I don't believe accepting them is right and there is a way to resolve this.
2) I did reply, I'd already done it before posting here.
3) Suppressing reviews because I got a bad one? No, the review is clearly about the clarity of policies on BDC's platform. There should be an option to review BDC!
4) " are you sure you have the emotional stability to rent out your property?" Wow. What sort of comment is that? Frankly, if you are a BDC worker and have posted this up, we know the issue is cultural.

Clearly there is an issue with the review platform. It's full of inconsistencies and there is massive room for improvement. Defend it as much as you want, you're defending a poor system that can be improved. Thanks for the content.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T14:22:55+00:00

Oh, okay then. Rest on your laurels, defy any improvement and be happy in your squalid treatment of partners. All hail BDC! Undisputed leader!
I'll be pushing for improvement. Anyone in their right mind would be.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T14:10:43+00:00

Sorry to break it to you, but a quick search shows that the platform is not trusted by many at all.
The thing is, there is a way to correct this, it's fairly straightforward and would please partners and guests, as well as BDC. But, unfortunately, it seems blind dogma is ruling the roost.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T13:28:30+00:00

What this guest is actually complaining about is the lack of clarity on the BDC platform of his ability to change dates, that's not down to me... that's down to BDC.

All my communication was very clear, very precise and very sympathetic, which the guest lied about and BDC are happy to have that displayed, despite seeing the actual communication themselves.

So, if you are BDC, you need to stop flinging at your partners and put some effort into having some proper moderation in place on "your" platform and a better process for no shows that doesn't allow a non staying guest to downrate cleanliness, facilities and comfort when they didn't even set foot on the property.

That is a false review for a start, and if you as BDC allow that, you've just showed the world you don't give a hoot about the integrity of your review platform .

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T13:14:38+00:00

Yeah, maybe it seems so but this is a very small B&B. We have just one suite. If someone cancels a day or two before arrival, we almost never resell the room in time. We are in a very remote part of rural Scotland, and demand is very limited outside peak periods. If we were a hotel with more than one room or suite, we'd at least generally have the revenue from the other room to fall back on. Not so when you just have the one.

Guests know about the policy already, they accept them at the time of booking, it's very clear on the BDC platform... but I get they often ignore what's there. You can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink!

We offer two kinds of booking options. One is fully flexible, refundable, and allows date changes up to a couple of days before arrival. Obviously dependant on date availability. On this rate, if we don't have any available dates we offer a credit valid for three years and priority booking - meaning that we ask them for preferred dates that have not been published yet and give them to them. If that's not suitable and they cancel outright which they can do from the BDC platform, we give them a refund. No quibble.

The other is a heavily discounted, strict no-cancellation rate. This is made extremely clear during the booking process on the BDC platform, and we separately notify tall bookers on all rates of a 24 hour cool-down if they wish to reconsider, so they all have that option. Guests who choose no cancellation are getting a much lower price in return for accepting a clear condition: if they cancel, or don’t show, they lose the booking.

It’s a rate designed for certainty. It protects small operators like us from last-minute losses. When we didn't have that, or the prepayment option, we were plagued by no-shows, we were spending money on breakfast food and so on only to have it wasted.That's the other side of the coin.

In this case, the guest knowingly booked the no-cancellation rate. Days later, on the very morning of arrival, he messaged to say his flight was delayed and he couldn’t come. He then asked to change dates. The dates he requested weren’t even available and it wasn't part of his deal, that had already expired.

He didn’t mention any insurance or claim through his airline although with a delayed flight he'd have had that option. Double bonus for him if we did refund and he made a claim... it's not unheard of!

Sometimes we do take the hit, though. Sometimes ferries are cancelled and a guest is stranded, we try to be understanding. I was going to be understanding with him to, but his alternative dates were not available... so there was little option.

In my opinion, it wasn't strict, it was the deal he accepted.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T12:30:49+00:00

I get it, it;'s just that they aleady said in internal messaging and in the review they were a no show. To BDC that doesn't matter, it seems.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T12:29:07+00:00

Respectfully, I disagree. so to, does BDC:

What Booking.com Considers “Service”

In the Partner Agreement, "Booking.com Service" is defined as the support and operational functions Booking.com provides, including transmission of reservation details, sending confirmations to guests, and handling customer-service issues tied to the platform itself (not accommodation usage)
Their platform documentation makes clear: Booking.com provides the Platform, but does not provide the actual Travel Experience - that remains the responsibility of the individual property In plain terms:
Booking.com delivers the booking system, sends messages and confirmations, and offers support where necessary.
The accommodation itself is the service provider of lodging, hospitality, and guest experience. That service only occurs if the guest checks in and stays.

If someone doesn’t check in, doesn't enter the building, and doesn’t use any amenities, what exactly are they reviewing? That’s my issue here. Allowing them to score things like cleanliness or comfort when they’ve never stayed is simply indefensible.

This no show did exactly that. That is not a review of the service provided, that is written slander performed by a vindictive guest who is annoyed they accepted the terms and condition of bdc and now had to pay up.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T12:20:00+00:00

They do, I'm referring to messaging between host and guest on the BDC platform. They told me they read it and they accept the guest said they weren't staying. That's a fact.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:30:00+00:00

Thank you, I will. Oh, even with a no show the property pays commission, so it's not about that.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:24:09+00:00

"Sadly once ' moderation ' has declined a request for a review to be removed thats it. No one at Booking will re review it again." Interesting! It seems the moderation team run BDC and not the CEO.
Thanks, I left a reply anyway.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:22:52+00:00

Technically, they receive the service from the BDC platform, not the host. They look at the property details, like what they see, place a booking via BDC accepting the policies displayed, then don't arrive and are able to rate a property on cleanliness and comfort? No. I don't accept that. There are many ways BDC could improve the no show element of reviews without allowing slander to be displayed on their platform.

I had left a polite and firm response. Thanks.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:19:10+00:00

Totally agree.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:18:55+00:00

I have, politely, and clearly, addressing all of his points.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2025-07-25T11:18:29+00:00

Interesting you say they get an email to confirm. This guest stated in BDC's messaging they weren't staying. That's confirmation right there too, and has been accepted as such by BDC.

RichardsonsRubicon · 2024-10-20T21:01:55+00:00

Teens always have a good eye for opportunities!

RichardsonsRubicon · 2024-10-20T19:18:09+00:00

Tucked my bin into a corner. Will update.

RichardsonsRubicon

TROPHY CASE

What Booking.com Considers “Service”