booking .com sucks at a god mode level, why?

From our experience, Booking.com actually has two levels of support.

The first one is the standard customer service, which most hosts interact with. They usually follow scripts and often cannot make real decisions.

The second level is a partner support / escalation team (N2), but it is very difficult to reach. In most cases you need to push escalation strongly or go through Booking.com’s mediation service. The mediation process is paid, but the fee is reimbursed if the case is resolved in your favor. For disputes above roughly $1,000, it can definitely be worth using.

Operationally, Booking.com works better if you manage your properties in a more “hotel-style” way:

• set up security deposits (either through Booking.com or via a system like Hospitable)

• use connected locks to control access

• have cameras in common areas / exterior when legally allowed

• keep strong house rules clearly stated in Booking.com.

Technically, it is possible to cancel a reservation, but Booking usually requires very solid proof (messages, photos, reports, etc.).

In practice, when I notice problematic behavior, I usually inform Booking.com in advance through the messaging system so there is a written record. Then I ask the guest to leave.

If the guest asks for a cancellation, I handle it case by case. If they simply leave because they refuse to follow the rules, I often let the reservation continue, since it is their choice to leave and not respect the house rules (which must be clearly written in the listing).

That said, Booking.com is clearly not a very protective platform for hosts, and you have to build your own operational safeguards.

One useful recent improvement is the Verified ID program. Also, if you use the Extranet (not Pulse) you can now see part of the guest history, including cases where a traveler was previously reported for bad behavior.

Overall, Booking.com can work, but it requires much more operational control and documentation from the host side than other platforms.

What I also noticed with booking.com is that they might not be proactive towards the host, but they are towards the guest, usually giving you very unfair windows to reply or they refund the guest. 

Yes, unfortunately. That’s why it’s important not to hesitate to use the tools Booking provides, especially reporting problematic guests and using security deposits, and to push back with support when necessary.

Hopefully things will improve one day, although I don’t have much hope.

yes my hope is 0, other wise the platform wouldnt be so bad. 

Jeze I was just starting to warm up to Booking.com but might yank it after reading many of these comments. sheesh. 

​@Daniel at Mountain Haus I wouldn’t be that quick to drop Booking.com 🙂

It’s not the same type of channel as Airbnb or VRBO — it behaves quite differently and requires a bit more setup and precautions to work well.

That said, it can be very interesting, especially:

• in Europe

• and for apartments in urban areas

Also, keep in mind that we often talk about edge cases in forums — in reality, things generally run smoothly once everything is properly configured.

Booking is also slowly improving:

• they’ve introduced identity verification

• and they’re clearly investing more in the short-term rental market

It’s not perfect and not as fast as we’d like, but it’s moving in the right direction.

So depending on your setup — especially if you’re in a city — it can definitely make sense to keep it in your distribution mix.

I agree with ​@arnaud; it's a pain, but don't dismiss it. Nothing worse than being dependent on only 1 platform. 

I’m already on VRBO, Airbnb, Google and Direct, so I don’t have overhead for a provider that doesn’t take the time to better support hosts. Airbnb can be difficult enough but it sounds like they are miles ahead of Booking.com. Just not worth the head ache for me when I’m already booking near 100% during peak season. and 80% during other times when I’m already focused on ramping up direct bookings. 

I have had exactly the same experience with booking.com guests. It's like the guests that can't book on other platforms anymore all go to booking.com. The worst part is that booking charges over 30% for host commission, so it's the worst platform in most ways.

I’ll say it one more time just in case: BOOKING.COM is the worst and its sus that Hospitable even supports the platform. 

Yep Booking.com is the by far the worst for the host, they have by far the worst US based customers, the guest that come in from Europe have all been great for us. I have our rates increased by 40% for Booking.com at least that helps ease my mind to almost being worth it for those crappy US guest.

My biggest issue is when they send guest from their other sites (Priceline, Kayak, and a bunch of other sites they own) they do not forward your messages to the guest through Booking.com to them, so when the guest shows up they are already mad at the host because they haven’t received any information (parking, door code, rules, etc..)

It would be nice if whoever at Hospitable that handles the Booking.com relationship could take all of our concerns to them to address them.

rom our experience, Booking.com’s main value is in Europe, especially for properties that attract business travelers.

That’s really what I meant in my earlier comment about urban apartments. For that type of property and guest, it can be a useful channel.

For properties that don’t attract business travelers, I personally see very little value in it. The additional bookings don’t necessarily justify the extra work and the frustration with support.

So I understand why some hosts here don’t find it worth keeping. It depends on your market and your guest profile — being on every platform only makes sense if each one brings something worthwhile.

SO my units are all rural, but I do find that it's useful having them to fill in when I have slow season, between end of ski season and start of it. During summer I have people in the area for work normally. So the filling in of gaps is nice. However, the fees and hassle and terrible guests really do make me just want to drop the platform quite often.

Yes, that’s actually what I meant: the guest profile matters more than whether the property is urban or rural. Your summer bookings from people working in the area are a good example of where Booking.com can be useful.

In my experience, business travelers coming through Booking.com are generally good guests. The problems tend to come with other bookings. During the leisure season, I’ve repeatedly had properties used for prostitution, so that concern comes from actual experience.

That’s why I have mixed feelings too: it can bring useful business bookings and fill gaps, but the extra work and problematic stays can make you question whether it’s worth keeping.

Exactly what I have found. The damage is also much worse with the non worker segment on booking than with any of the other booking platforms.

That is also something I noticed with booking guests; they tend to be overall better than on Airbnb, and I think it has to do with the security deposit