How Booking.com Fails Tourists Right Now

Suspected Accommodation Scam During the Karlovy Vary Film Festival

Janek Rubeš and Honza Mikulka describe a suspected accommodation scam during the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, when demand for rooms was high. They booked a reasonably priced Booking.com listing with strong ratings. But when they arrived, they found a confusing note saying the property could not host them. Nobody answered their calls or let them in. The presenters say reports indicated that roughly 200 guests had been affected.

They criticize the host for allegedly asking guests to cancel their own reservations, which could have left them without a refund. Their main advice is not to cancel the reservation yourself if the accommodation is unavailable. Instead, contact Booking.com and report the problem.

Booking.com’s Response

Booking.com support initially said it would try to reach the host, cancel the reservation if there was no response within 45 minutes, refund the payment, and look for alternative accommodation. The presenters say the promised update and alternative accommodation did not arrive that night.

They were eventually refunded €115 of the €120 they had paid; the €5 insurance fee was not returned. In a later call, a Booking.com representative was more helpful and offered to cover the cost of alternative accommodation if they submitted the bill.

Concerns About the Listing

The presenters argue that Booking.com should have acted sooner. They say the listing reportedly remained available despite earlier complaints and numerous negative reviews. They also note that a surge of negative Google reviews appeared to have been filtered out, making the property’s history harder to see.

Czech media had also reported that the apartment might not have been legally permitted to operate as tourist accommodation.