Booking failed to settle reservations at a guesthouse in Mauguio: the owner fights to get her refund

Casa Calina in Mauguio. DR – Lara Collier

It is a sum of around 3,000 euros that Booking did not pay to the owner of a guest house, following two stays in August and September. The booking platform paid her 1,918 euros while demanding 800 euros. A beautiful imbroglio…

Owner of the guesthouse “Casa Calina” in Mauguio, Lara Collier had never had a booking problem with Booking.com. Usually, the customer pays the entire stay to the platform, which then pays nearly 80% to the owner of the accommodation.

But in August and September, two stays with her were not paid for by the booking platform, one of the largest in the world in terms of travel.

“In August 2024, customers who had booked through Booking stayed with us, says Lara. Everything went very well, as evidenced by their positive review left on the internet platform. But a few days after their departure, I received a message from Booking indicating that the reservation had been cancelled! And the payment for the stay was also cancelled.”

L’Héraultaise made dozens of calls and sent numerous emails to Booking without receiving a satisfactory response. “Despite the assurances of two agents acknowledging an error on their part and promising payment, I received nothing. Each call ends with transfers from department to department, before it hangs up.”

A Carcassonnais had experienced the same mishap

Three years ago, Denis, owner of five guest rooms in Carcassonne, had encountered the same problem as Lara. Booking had not paid him all bookings for the month of August 2021, or €9,370!

“To justify themselves, they told me that they had changed their management software in July, which had disrupted their payments, informs the Carcassonnais. I had been very surprised that they made such a change in the middle of summer. I had to wait until the article about my case appeared in the press for me to be fully reimbursed.”

A case that is far from isolated, as Denis confides.“Owners who rent out their accommodation call me from time to time because they encounter the same problem that I had with Booking. They find the article and my contact details on the internet. I advise them not to hesitate to communicate about their problem…"

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“Usually, everything happens automatically”

Lara had no idea that a month later, another holiday stay at her guesthouse would end the same way. “It took place normally, from September 23 to 27, but I have not received payment for this service.” Over the two cumulative stays, she deplores “a loss of around €3,000”.

On November 1st, she discovered that a payment of €1,918 had been made by Booking to a “partner account” that she never uses. “This is the first time I've been paid money this way. Usually, Booking takes a little over 20% of the booking fees and everything happens automatically and without a hitch.”

The Hérault native was in for some surprises. “I also found that Booking was listing a “payment due” of €817, but I don't know what that amount is.”

Booking's response

“With the millions of bookings we facilitate each week, sometimes a hosting partner will identify a situation that they consider irregular, communicates Booking. In these rare cases, we invite them to quickly contact Booking.com via the Partner Hub."

"We are sorry to hear that this partner had problems with these two reservations. In this specific case, the sum of 1918.79 euros corresponds to compensation paid to the establishment to cover the loss of earnings related to cancellation of the reservation, added to the cancellation fees already paid.”

“This amount was paid directly into the bank account linked to the IBAN registered on the partner's extranet, in accordance with the procedures for compensation for loss of revenue. It is (therefore) not visible on the usual Booking.com account.”

“The first reservation was fully refunded, and the Booking.com teams are actively working to refund the second reservation."

“I have to repay a credit”

She estimates that “more than a week” the time spent on the various steps to obtain information and recover her funds. “I informed the platform of my intention to enforce my rights through legal means, with the support of my lawyer.”

Lara is all the more desperate because she only rents a home, and “a significant portion of my income is devoted to repaying a loan.”

And to conclude: “I have reservations for the end-of-year holidays but I am very worried.”

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