New wrinkle on Booking.com -- any cause for concern?

I do this all of the time. No issues. It usually gives you the option to pay immediately with some additional savings, or to pay them automatically a few days before or arrival, or it occasionally has you just pay at the hotel on arrival.

”The price with "genius discount" was cheaper on Booking.com than directly through the hotel and the free cancellation window was better on Booking.com.”

I made a few reservations today, and both had the same price as Booking, but the hotel sites had worse cancellation windows.

One comment- I usually pay when I book a room on Booking. The benefit besides knowing exactly how much I’m paying (today’s exchange rate) is on the rare occasion I receive a scam email or WhatsApp supposedly from the hotel asking for payment, I know it’s not real.

Thanks Jean. Your comments are helpful and reassuring.

This is not a new wrinkle. I do it all the time. And like Jean said, sometimes you get a bigger discount if you pay immediately when you book. If you make numerous hotel reservations for a trip, those discounts add up quickly. I have been using Booking.com for many years and never have had a problem with paying in advance. In fact, I prefer to pay now so I don’t come home to a big credit card bill.

I too have used this feature with no issues.
Sometimes I pay in advance depending on the deal. I only book reservations that I can cancel.

I always check the hotel website and compare prices and cancelation policies. I usually reserve for the best pricing but if there is not much difference I prefer to book direct even though I have never had a problem with any reservations I have made with Booking and I have made a lot over the years.

I’ve used booking 95% of the time since we retired 8 years ago. We are on our 8th stay on current trip, 3 stays to go. Always do refundable based noting cancellation date. Some properties collect upon arrival, others automatically charge credit card a day or two before cancellation date. Never had a problem with booking reservations.

I create a spreadsheet with lodging name, city, amenities (breakfast, elevator, washing machine, ac) total in local currency and estimated USD, cancellation date, and payment date. Early on in planning I might double book until we have our itinerary more finalized. So spreadsheet is handy to make sure I cancel unneeded reservations.

I did this just yesterday. I had not noticed it before, but maybe I missed it on other bookings, who knows. The booking I did for yesterday was very last minute, I mean within hours of checking in, and everything went just fine.

The part that seemed new and a little concerning for me was that the confirmation email I received from the hotel showed a higher price than the confirmation from Booking.com, although, as I previously noted, the email from Booking said this might happen.