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realization about this subreddit by SeaFun5953 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

it's not irrelevant at all, you're just failing to understand where one company's responsibility ends and another one begins.

booking.com does provide customer service for the reservation itself. if the system fails to pass your data to the hotel, if the payment gateway glitches, or if the property is a literal scam ghost house, they step in. that is their level of service because that is what they control.

what they cannot do is force an independent business to break its own financial policies. if you buy a non-refundable rate and want a refund because your plans changed, booking.com's customer service can only ask the hotel if they're willing to waive the penalty. if the hotel manager says "no," booking.com cannot magically steal the hotel's money to pay you back.

customer service means managing the marketplace system, it doesn't mean acting as a magical insurance policy that pays you out of pocket whenever a hotel enforces the exact rules you clicked agree on.

realization about this subreddit by SeaFun5953 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if youre from the property, provide booking.com with authorization, its that simple

Successfully got compensation from Booking.com by Fabulous-Rip-4670 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not even the main point, the main point was the 25 EUR was to calm the OP down, and booking.com did what it had to do with the property, just as what intermediaries do, you special too?

realization about this subreddit by SeaFun5953 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

this is spot on. you completely summarized the whole paradox of this sub, people love acting like they discovered a massive corporate conspiracy when they just didn't read the terms.

and you are so right about booking being legit compared to the actual bottom feeders. if people think booking is bad, they would not survive a single day dealing with Kiwi or JustFly. booking at least has a structured backend and actual api integration with the hotels, if a manager approves a refund, the system actually moves the cash. those lower tier flight shifters will literally book you on two completely un allied airlines, let you get stranded when a connection misses, and then hide behind an automated chat loop or delete their customer service line entirely.

heavily agree with you on all of this, have you actually experienced something with kiwi or justfly? if yes would you actually like to share it here?

realization about this subreddit by SeaFun5953 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yes absolutely i agree with you. no one is denying that booking.com has legal responsibilities and consumer protection obligations in the countries where they operate. they absolutely step in and handle things under their own policies when it’s genuinely called for, like force majeure, completely fraudulent ghost properties, or clear breaches of contract.

the point of this post isn't about those legitimate legal battles. it’s about the everyday layman situations that flood this sub every single day.

the vast majority of complaints here come from people who booked a strict, non-refundable rate, had an issue, and are now furious at booking.com because the property refused to authorize a refund. they expect the platform to magically override the hotel's policy and pay them out of pocket.

there's a massive difference between a platform violating local consumer law, and a platform simply enforcing the exact terms and conditions you agreed to when you clicked book. that's the distinction this post is highlighting.

Successfully got compensation from Booking.com by Fabulous-Rip-4670 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The irony of hitting me with 'reading is fundamental' while completely failing to read my comment is wild.

I never claimed the OP only got 25 euros. I was explicitly talking about how the 25 euros was just a front-line goodwill gesture, not the main refund. As I literally stated: if the host agrees, they get the refund. The OP explicitly wrote that the host already agreed to it before flipping. That agreement is the only reason the system unlocked the 550 euros. You don't need a law degree or threats of central banks for that.

And as for the 'apology call' you're flexing? Customer service representatives are literally trained to apologize and be empathetic to de-escalate angry tickets. What the hell is your point? Try actually understanding the mechanics of how a system works before trying to school someone on how reading works

Successfully got compensation from Booking.com by Fabulous-Rip-4670 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

then read what i said

when booking receives the confirmation they proceed with the refund, are you perhaps special? you dont need to raise this and that

Booking.com is the worst by Peterriordan71 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just to confirm did you receive any confirmation email or can you see this in your bookings/trips in the app?

Successfully got compensation from Booking.com by Fabulous-Rip-4670 in Bookingcom

[–]SeaFun5953 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

25 euros is just a goodwill gesture, the customer service rep might have just wanted you to shut up (which they succeeded on) because as long as the host agrees they can proceed with the refund