Have you ever had a booking experience so bad, it left you feeling like you were stuck in a bad sitcom? That’s what happened to me recently when I tried to book a room through Booking.com.
I thought I was getting a great deal – a room for £35, plus an additional charge that I thought was for breakfast. I had used the Booking.com app to search for a hotel room, and I had applied the breakfast-included filter which added a £4 fee. However, when I arrived at the hotel, I was informed that breakfast wasn’t included and that there was an additional charge for breakfast on top of the one I had already paid. After checking my booking details, I realised that Booking.com had charged me an additional fee, despite not actually providing breakfast. This was highly disappointing and infuriating as I had specifically selected the breakfast-included filter and been charged an extra fee.
I was expecting the £4 fee to cover breakfast, so I was surprised to find out that this was not the case. I thought that the filter I had applied had been clearly understood by Booking.com, but it became evident that this was not the case. I have since offered to provide evidence of the issue, but Booking.com has not agreed to accept it, even when I offered evidence of another day that had the same issue and included the same charge.
It is clear that Booking.com need to fix the bug in their app with the filters and be more transparent about their pricing, as it was not clear what the additional £4 fee was for. In addition to fixing their app, they also need to remove the ‘breakfast included’ label on the screen when using the filter and make it clearer that there is an additional charge.
Unable to believe what had happened, I contacted customer service for help. But instead of getting the resolution I was hoping for, I was met with a series of requests for evidence and vague answers. After multiple attempts to explain the issue, I still haven’t been able to get a satisfactory response from Booking.com.
It’s a shame that such a seemingly simple booking experience can end up leaving us feeling so helpless and frustrated. I am sure many of us can relate to this feeling – we’ve all had those moments where our expectations weren’t met and we ended up having to jump through hoops in order to get the outcome we desired.
So when booking a room through a third-party platform, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re agreeing to and double-check all details before making a payment. It is also important to be aware of your rights as a customer and to seek assistance if things don’t go as planned. In this case, it is important to pay attention to the filters on the Booking.com app and to verify that the fee you are being charged is for the services you are expecting. Additionally, it is important to make sure that the customer service team is willing to accept and review any evidence you have to offer.
Let’s hope that my experience is resolved soon and that Booking.com takes the necessary steps to rectify the issue. In the meantime, we can only hope that my next booking experience goes a bit smoother – because if it doesn’t, I might just end up in a real-life sitcom!
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