Can a Booking.com host cancel my booking and then relist it?
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Anwen Jones, from North Wales, booked an apartment in Cardiff via Booking.com for a trip in August this year.
She paid in full and thought the booking was confirmed, only for the host to then cancel her stay without giving a reason.
Anwen contacted Booking.com, which confirmed the host had overbooked and could no longer accommodate her. It offered her two alternative accommodation options, but neither was suitable.
‘One was in Newport and the other only had one bed,’ Anwen explained. ‘I was really not impressed – what’s the point in booking a property, and paying upfront, if the booking can be cancelled out of the blue?’
Relisted at a higher price
Anwen was even more infuriated when she noticed, shortly after the cancellation, that the host had relisted the same accommodation for the same dates but at a higher rate.
‘We’d booked the apartment for two nights for £584, but it was relisted at an advertised “reduced” rate of £678,’ Anwen said.
She contacted the host directly and was told that this type of practice is ‘normal’ in the accommodation industry.
A breach of terms
Which? contacted Booking.com, who reached out to Anwen, apologising for her experience and offering her £25 for the inconvenience.
It confirmed the property had breached its terms and conditions, and that it had removed the listing.
Despite these reassurances, Which? found the property had reappeared on its website a week later.
We alerted Booking.com, which told us this was a duplicate listing for the property. It removed it from the website.
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Accommodation horror stories
Concerningly, Anwen’s experience isn’t unique and is more common when big sports or entertainment events in the local area drive up demand.
Some Eurovision fans complained last year when their bookings in Liverpool were randomly cancelled, only to be re-advertised at far higher prices.
A Which? Travel reader also recalled his experience when private accommodation he booked for the Rugby World Cup in Marseille via Booking.com was cancelled and relisted for £4,056 – rather than the original £428 he’d paid.
Booking.com has since removed this host’s property listings from its site.
Know your rights
When major global events are taking place, there's always a chance that property companies might look to take advantage of the increased demand for accommodation.
If your booking is cancelled without good reason, you should contact the booking platform you’ve used.
Booking.com said its customer service team investigate properties in question and try to find a suitable alternative at no additional cost. It also reiterated that it would remove properties from its website where its T&Cs have been breached.
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