NYT Article about Booking.com and Contactless Check-in Gone Wrong

I use booking.com to look for hotels but always book directly thru the hotel while in Europe and use my Chase card.

There was really nothing booking.com could have done in the moment and booking directly with the hotel would not have cured the problem that night. But what booking directly would have helped with is getting the refund. Having a third party between the customer and the refund is not great. The customer ends up with the hotel and the agent blaming each other while one of them has the customer ‘s money.

I've used booking.com successfully for some years now, both in and outside of the US, but have not booked a hotel requiring self check-in. Nor would I, especially not if traveling abroad. The older the DH and I get, the more important it has become to me to have a 24/7 desk in case of an emergency. That said, I have booked apartments in the US but only at places which have local emergency contacts on call 24/7. I've had to use those contacts in 2 cases where entry codes didn't work, and the response time was pretty much immediate.

What a huge pain the rear end. I would be furious.

Kathy, I'm with you. As an older, solo woman traveler I feel more comfortable with a live person on the front desk 24/7 when I travel internationally.

Estimated Prophet, thanks for the link and the gifting of the article. It was interesting and not something I'd have thought of since I would hopefully avoid that kind of check in situation. However, now I'll also know to look for that!

This reinforces my own person rule to make sure I check-in anywhere during normal business hours. I've done contactless check-in a few times without issue. In Reykjavík the place I stayed emailed the code for the front door lockbox at the check-in time and I could go in and get my room assignment and key on the bulletin board. The proprietor called me to make sure I had no issues entering. Another, in the UK was entry by keypad with a code that was good from the standard check-in time to 11am check-out day. The code for the front door and my room door was the last four digits of my phone number.

So, while I would be extremely unhappy and want a refund in this instance, I am seeing more smaller places moving to contactless check in. A desk may be open till a certain hour but then the family goes home. And maybe I can’t get there by 5:00. Definitely apartments are moving to keypads, lockboxes, and contactless. I think they found during Covid that almost all the time it works. Just this year, I have stayed in some really fantastic places where I needed to use a code to enter.

Codes and boxes made me very nervous when I first started using them, but it’s not hard. I definitely agree that having a contact number AND the ability to use it if necessary (meaning data or phone capability) is essential for me. And I dislike arriving after dark - mainly because it makes it harder for me to see where things are and where I am headed.

I appreciate that some people feel better with a 24/7 manned hotel desk also. But I think the smaller, family-run places are moving either solely to code and lockbox or a hybrid in some countries. Can it go wrong? Certainly. Has anyone ever had a hotel stay go wrong? Someone somewhere certainly. I would just rather the rare occurrence either way doesn’t happen to me.

We booked a Rick Steves hotel in Cologne that informed us after we had booked that they were contactless. Whaaat! That hotel became a family joke. One night we were the only people in the hotel, very creepy. After that experience ten years ago, we make sure hotels have front desks before we book.
All those excuses about lowering the price for customers is a fairy tale.

I appreciate that some people feel better with a 24/7 manned hotel
desk also. But I think the smaller, family-run places are moving
either solely to code and lockbox or a hybrid in some countries. Can
it go wrong? Certainly. Has anyone ever had a hotel stay go wrong?
Someone somewhere certainly. I would just rather the rare occurrence
either way doesn’t happen to me.

With the short term rentals the lock boxes are an eyesore on the street. I wish my city would ban them. Maybe some sort of pruposely designed lock box mounted neatly on the wall, but not the garbage that looks like a giant padlock on a gate post.

Then for me traveling is a much about the people i come in contact with and meet. Contactless checkin smells a lot like the same mindset that make the internet so attractive to many. You never have to face a real person. TTM, you really woudnt miss some guy named Andry or Bob or ..... greeting you when you arrive at your flat in Bucharest? This way, day one, from the start you begin meeting people. If they dont care enough to meet you in person, how is the rest of the stay going to go?

Contactless is a catch phrase to try and legitmize less service. Sort of like Sustainable is used so as to not change the towells.

Mr. É, you know I enjoy meeting Andy or Bob - or in Bellagio, it was David. But if I arrive and Jan had to run babysit her grandchild last minute and I need to use a lockbox (placed out of sight) to get in, or if Srian had to go walk the dog or Maggie goes home at 6:00 to her family, I am ok with letting myself in. I make sure I have a telephone number to use if I have a problem - and the ability to make a call. (All of these real from this year - and all booked direct.) I also had a host meet me, give me the 5 minute shpiel quickly, and rush off, not to be seen again.

I totally agree that often “contactless” means someone doesn’t have to take the time to come wait for me. And just because I am ok with it doesn’t mean it’s my preference. But I do think it’s happening more, regardless. I am saying I won’t write off a place I want to stay solely because it’s contactless entry - I have lots of additional criteria.

TTM that's fair. But if I were in the hotel business, there was no way I would do it. The personal touch is too important.

Then for me traveling is a much about the people i come in contact with and meet. Contactless checkin smells a lot like the same mindset that make the internet so attractive to many...Contactless is a catch phrase to try and legitmize less service.

Alright, I get that you like to meet folks. I don't use booking.com or AirBnB but my experience with contactless or self check-in, & etc., has usually been when I am staying at accommodations that are a secondary concern to the primary business or mission of the provider. Whether these have been guest houses, University/student housing, churches or a pub with a couple rooms, and so on. I've used church operated accommodations where the the staff were church volunteers and part-time staff working multiple tasks. Self check-in made too much sense. I've stayed in student housing, where the accommodations staff were also the regular housing staff doing two jobs at once. Check-in at the kiosk and get my building and room code.

I hardly view it as some sneaky method to provide less service, but a way to experience some unique accommodations.

VAP, i just described myself. It wasnt intended to judge anyone else. From the customer point of view you cant be wrong in what you are satisfied or happy with. Makes the customer no more or less a smart traveler.

Sneaky way to cut services? No, a very direct way to cut overhead, especially in a short-term rentals. Often the owner lives half way across town and if you have three renters a week, thats a bunch of time. Time is money. But it does help keep the rent down so thats a plus.

The only real issue I have is seeing the lock boxes handing on the fronts of buildings all over town,. Not pretty and the short term rentals are often in regular residential neighborhoods (Like the one I live in). The short term rental business gets a lot of bad PR already, this is just one more thing that can be trown at them. But none of this is costing me any sleep. Just throwning out my thoughts.