I booked rooms in a hotel in Antalya, Turkey through Booking.com and confirmed that a 2am check-in would not be a problem.
When I arrived with my elderly father and two young daughters the hotel was overbooked. The receptionist refused to find alternative accommodation and would not even allow us to stay in the lobby.
We spent the next three hours dragging our luggage through the streets. With no internet data, we had to knock on hotel doors in the hope of finding one with a room. We ended up paying £47 for one room with three beds.
Booking.com has fobbed me off as I failed to obtain a receipt. All I am asking for is an apology and to ensure I am not left out of pocket.
RM, Bradford
Booking.com’s response is depressing and, given the paltry £47 you are claiming, a public relations disaster. It has offered you £20 towards your expenses, but not a penny more.
“Should a rare, unexpected situation – such as overbooking – occur, as soon as we are made aware we always arrange for customers to be relocated as quickly as possible to a similar accommodation,” it says.
“In this case, as the property did not inform us of the overbooking, and we weren’t asked to assist with the relocation, we have provided a partial refund as a gesture of goodwill.”
It is unmoved by the fact that you say there was no contact number on the booking confirmation and, even if there had been, mobile phone calls from Turkey could have cost almost as much as the room. Moreover, it was 2am. But there’s been no further response.
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