booking.com cancelled our hotel and leaving in 3 weeks.

Try airbnb.com and see if they have anything suitable for you.

Most of the Airbnb left have either no reviews (which i'm sure is fine but this is our big trip and I don't want to risk it) or not in that area. We will find something just so frustrating....

I can tell this has been really distressing to you. 3 weeks is so much better than arriving and finding out you don't have a room. You have clearly put a great deal of thought and planning into this, so I bet you will find a new place. Don't let this trouble take away from your enjoyment.

jenn,

Sorry to hear about the problems you're experiencing. This is one reason I always prefer to deal directly with places that have a website.

Given the short time frame, I'd suggest checking the guidebook to find accommodations which are close to the area you want to stay and in the price range. At this late date, I suspect you'll have to take what you can find which will probably involve higher cost and/or less convenient location. Usually only larger hotels accept American Express so if you have another card it will probably give you a wider range of choices.

Good luck!

This is why we always book direct with the exception of www.homeaway.com You could look for an apartment there. We have used them worldwide for years. They always have something available. Booking.com gets a lot of complaints and it seems this sort of thing is common.
Here are the Rome apartments available for your dates at Homeaway. www.homeaway.com/search/keywords:Rome/arrival:2015-07-03/departure:2015-07-09/minSleeps/2 You can see others there if you need space for more than 2. Homeaway also has travel protection for you so you get your money back if something goes wrong. They have been a great company to use for us. Hope this helps! They have something for almost any budget.

Hi Jenn, I sent you a PM on the TA site.

Donna

Jenn, so sorry to hear about your last-minute complication! I'm a little confused about your situation as the only cards shown as accepted for payment of this property are Visa, Mastercard, JCB and ATMs. Did that change since you made your reservation? And is it possible that the cancellation notice was sent to your booking.com mailbox versus your computer's mailbox?

Whatever the case, I do hope you're all sorted shortly!

To add to Ken's comment, we've found that American Express is not accepted at the majority of restaurants, shops and hotels in the locations we've been to (so far) in Europe. This hasn't been a problem for us but may be a consideration for you if you don't have an alternate?

At the bottom of the booking.com reservation page for the property, there is a section that says "cards accepted at this property". American Express is not one of them. I'm not sure why booking.com accepted your payment but you need to abide by the rules of the owner which are clearly specified on the reservation page. He/she probably limits the number of cards accepted because Amex probably extorts a higher cut from him than the others. It's well known that Amex is rarely accepted in Europe so that's a red flag right there.

I've used booking.com more times than I can remember, and this does not appear to be a fair slam against them (we don't know how they tried to contact you about the payment and why it wasn't resolved earlier and more successfully). I'm not sure where other comments are coming from such as booking.com having many problems and this issue being "common" - booking.com is quite transparent in its transactions. Folks who complain don't even use it but give it a bad rap anyway.

You're conflating your issues with the B & B owner and booking.com to the point that it's hard to tell who you're mad at. The owner is already paying booking.com so they'd rather have them do the heavy lifting; that's probably why owner didn't deal with you directly.

Best of luck in your search and always read the fine print....if booking.com made a good faith effort to contact you and it went in your spam folder or whatever, I would give them some slack. Things happen - especially communication problems where middlemen are involved. It's not the end of the world.

We stayed at Hotel Navona a month ago, and it was in a great location, about two blocks from Plaza Navona. I checked and they have a few rooms av available for your dates, with rates ranging from 122 -185 Euro per nite, if that fits your price range. Www.Hotelnavona.com, and in the left corner chick English. The front desk is staffed 24 hrs with English speaking people who were very helpful.

I have also used www.venere.com. I just checked and they had plenty of places available.

Jenn, I 'm sorry this happened to you and I understand your frustration. Luckily you do still have some time to work with and will find something suitable I'm sure.

I agree with the other poster that booking.com does get a bad rap and many times from those who have never used it but heard someone else's complaints and jumped on the band wagon. I've used booking.com probably 50 times in US and Europe and never had a single issue. I always urge people to read the fine print and follow all the rules, don't expect an exception to be made in your case as it probably won't happen. Also, if concerned about using a 'middle man', then contact the hotel (or b&b, etc) directly. If they don't have any way to contact them directly, I'd try someplace else. I get a little peeved when someone has something go wrong and then says "I'll never use them again" or "DON"T USE SO AND SO" because of one issue. Almost every complaint about booking.com that has shown up on this forum has turned out to be because the person complaining didn't read all the relevant information carefully or wanted a refund when cancelling a non-refundable reservation, etc. I'm sure there are legitimate complaints against them and I think this may be one - if they truly didn't send an email and it just didn't get deleted by mistake or without reading it, maybe it ended up in Spam as the other poster suggested.

I'm glad you posted as it will help others understand their responsibilities when using a booking website to reserve accommodations. Always read the fine print and confirm reservation directly with the hotel if possible.

I use booking.com frequently, it works like this: you can give an Amex card number to hold the reservation ((booking.com is fine with this). On the payment preference list, it asks what card you plan to pay with. If the place doesn't take Amex, choose a different card for payment which will be taken when you arrive; booking.com will not ask for the second card number. If the hotel doesn't want to accept your reservation with the Amex card, they will let booking.com know and you will receive an email to this effect, with 24 hours to submit a different card. Check your spam/junk mail.

Twice in a hundred reservations, I've been asked to reserve with a card other than Amex.

Perhaps you missed the email or didn't check a different card for payment during your stay?

How frustrating for you. I'm guessing the email ended up in your spam folder. Others might want to avoid using Amex in transactions related to Italy for just this reason. I was also going to suggest venere.com.

Good luck, and I hope you're able to get this resolved so you can enjoy your vacation.

I sent you a private message on a VRBO Apartment that we booked for our October stay. Their calendar shows open for your dates.

Since many jump on the bandwagon to slam booking.com I have to agree with those who use it frequently.... I have been very happy with them on a number of reservations, with no problems, as well as a very easy way to compare rates and keep everything in one place. I had a problem one time when I booked two rooms at the same time and cancelled my reservation for one of them, and forgot to do the other. Did not realize it till after the fact. Booking.com tried to work with this NYC hotel to get them to give me a refund, to no avail, but this was due to my lack of paying close attention to the details.
I like how the site works and have always had a responsive person when I have called for anything.

So sorry to hear what has happened. I personally have not had problems yet with Bookings.com, that said I have not done the prepay. But put your patience hat one because we just returned from Italy two weeks ago and this was my fourth time to Italy and it seemed pretty chaotic to me. Every time something went wrong all they could say is "what do you expect, it is Italy". So be prepared for for problems along the way. They are having lots of strikes now and trains that just don't run and no one knows why. You may have to be prepared to spend a little more money to cover mess ups like this one. These are the stories you use to hear about Italy.

Thank you for all the replies and for the suggestions on places to stay. I'm sure we will find something. I've learned a lot and after speaking to booking.com, this situation appears to happen a lot so much so that they "just can't make that many phone calls." I feel that is just a shame as they can't produce any proof that they emailed us and I have no record of it, anywhere. I check my email daily and my spam box probably twice a week. But even if it was sent to my spam box and checking it two, even three times a week, I would have missed the 24 hour deadline. that is just crazy! I could understand a certified letter or something that they could prove they made an effort to inform you. I feel kinda beat up but yes, I should have paid more attention to payment. But not doing a lot of international traveling, it was a rookie mistake especially since booking.com took our amex and gave us a confirmation number. It is very scary that is how they do business, they make no real attempt to contact the customer a month or so after the confirmation number was given. We booked non refundable, no cancellation room so we wouldn't worry about it any more(oh the irony). I'm just so lucky that I caught it before we left and now we will hopefully find a place we like as much if not better. What I learned:

1. book directly with the hotel. I'm not trying to bash booking.com, i'm just pointing out a serious flaw that they have. We were lucky but reading some things on the internet about people having the exact same experience only getting to Rome before they find out at the front desk. nightmare. Vacations are a big deal, this company is in the business of selling vacation places, they should hold themselves to a higher standard of customer service.
   
2. make sure that you check the payment accepted
3. make sure their is contact info for managers/owners and if they don't contact you back, go elsewhere. Before our reservation was cancelled I had tried to get ahold of the manager.
   
4. People are awesome and amazing and totally make up for the people who aren't. Those of you that took time to PM me and send me links to hotels or suggest places to stay, wow. Feeling the love <3 thank you

thanks again

Hope you find something soon, Jenn! Hang in there!

Just a little note in booking.coms defense (I use them often)?

make sure their is contact info for managers/owners and if they don't contact you back, go elsewhere. Before our reservation was cancelled I had tried to get ahold of the manager.

We had this very situation with the owners of our accommodations in Bruges. After concern about lack of response from them, I contacted booking.com with the problem and they jumped all over it - including a follow-up note.

It is very scary that is how they do business, they make no real attempt to contact the customer a month or so after the confirmation number was given.

Booking directly with a hotel is not 100% assurance that there won't be an issue. There are any number of travelers out there who have arrived to find that their reservations weren't on record or that the specific room they reserved isn't available. It's usually advised that a traveler make a follow-up call or contact them by email (email is better because you'll have a written record should a dispute arise) before the trip to ensure all is as it should be. I'll admit to not always doing this but I probably should.

I would have missed the 24 hour deadline. that is just crazy!

I feel for you, but I hope you understand that booking.com can't (contractually) hold a room for days or a week or whatever. They are obligated to serve the owner who's paying them to list it. If they have a 24 hour deadline, it should be stated somewhere. That is 24 hours that the room is being on hold and can't be rented to someone else - i.e. opportunity cost. They were giving you some leeway there to change your info but their business (with the owner) is such that they can't "wait" for a longer time period.

I assume your credit card was not charged..or the prepaid amount was debited back, correct? Also a good tip is to watch charges on credit card for pre-paid rooms.

Sorry that this happened, but better luck next time. I always confirm a booking.com booking with the hotel as well, just in case.

No idea what your budget is, but here is a place you should check out. We have stayed at Hotel Fontanella Borghese many times and have always been pleased. While it is not "luxury", it is very nice and the location is great. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can walk to Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Nuvona, even Vatican city. Ask for a room overlooking the courtyard as rooms overlooking the side street can get noisy. They also have a sister hotel closer to the Pantheon called Hotel Due Torri. We always send an email directly with our request for a booking and we get an answer back in 24 hours or less. The web site is www.fontanellaborghese.com. Check it out, see what you think. Remember, the past is past, but the future will be better. Stay calm, and carry on.

I have booked at least 30 properties with booking.com and have never had a problem. Mind you I take care to read the conditions properly, just as I do when booking directly with a hotel!

It's very easy to make the "rookie mistake". I'm sure most of us have made our share of them (pointing finger at self).
But It's really good to share those as that's how we learn: by taking notes from people humble enough to admit that they probably made an "Oops!"?

Hi Jenn,

I sympathize and appreciate you telling your story. There is so much to pay attention to when you are planning international trips, especially your first few, that it is easy to understand how something like this can slip through the cracks. I, too, spend a lot of time comparing and selecting lodging for our trips as it is important to me to find the right place in the right location for the right price (hard to do!) so I would feel the exact same way. I'm glad to see you have gotten great advice and hope your new lodging will work well for you. Thank you for sharing your story because it is good to learn from other's hard lessons so we can avoid the same mistake.

Cheers,

Julie

Like others said, Lousy for you -- sorry --- but 3 weeks is not the worse scenario. I'd chalk it up to experience and book something else. I have shown up to hotels and been told "Sorry, we can't honor your reservation because we're oversold". Doesn't happen much these days, but it's much worse!

As a reminder for anyone using booking.com, when selecting a hotel, it is important to look at the tab labeled "The Fine Print." There you find all kinds of details about the property that can prevent surprise like this one. Booking.com should have a way to block deposits with a credit card that is not taken by the property being reserved, but apparently it does not, which is a shame.

I used booking.com recently for our hotel in Venice. They confirmed our reservation for a canal view room but just to be sure, I emailed the hotel directly to make sure they had our reservation, which they did. I hope you find somewhere else soon and enjoy your trip to Rome! (We used airbnb in Rome and found a great apartment to rent on Via Merulana near the Colosseum. We loved it.)

JHK, many properties will hold a reservation with a credit card that they will not accept as payment, no reason to block cards. Reservations are held with credit cards even if hen the guest pays in cash.

OP, booking.com's main business is not finding people a place to stay (that would be a travel agency), but in making it easier for people to find/compare places to stay, and to intervene if something goes awry that is not the guest's oversight. They have done a great job for me in the past five years.

I used to think that booking dot com was whiter than white and was very reliant on the reviews which I thought were only by people who had actually stayed at the place and therefore more reliable than TripAdvisor which has been blighted by some fake reviews mixed in with the real ones.

Well, no more. I still use booking dot com to help me find places but I also do research after I have found them with google and TA.

I stayed last year at a small place near Lille, France for 4 or 5 nights. One of the main reasons I picked the place was many reviews, the vast majority being between 9.5 and 10, average 9.7.

While we were there there were a few incidents such as her serving frozen bread rather than fresh bread for breakfast, making me move my car "so that a French person could have a better parking space", putting a sign in our room of a cheaper rate than she was getting with booking dot com, and a few other little things. When we left at the end of our stay, she said that unless I gave her a score of at least 9.6 she didn't want me to leave a review at all. It is the first time that I have ever had a host ask me not to leave a review.

I'd never said explicitly that we were unhappy, but after that I did write a review, including her asking me not write other than a perfect or nearly perfect review, a pretty good one which probably would have been about an 8.0.

Guess what? It was accepted by booking dot com but never appeared on the website. I contacted booking dot com and they said that she had not approved the posting of the review and challenged my facts. WHA????

Well, my word against hers and all that writing never appeared.

So now I know how she got such great reviews - intimidation and denial.

So I have very little faith in very high reviews of booking dot com, and no longer believe that all reviews are published by them.

At least TA prints almost all reviews barring profanity, etc., and prints what the owner says right below the review.

Apparently booking dot com decide which ones to put in.

That was the only really bad experience I have had with booking dot com, but one bitten, twice shy....

This is why I use www.hrs.com. In all of my years using Trip Advisor, no one has every complained about them. I find their cancellation policy generous and they do publish bad reviews for places. Often their rates are cheaper than what the hotel itself is offering.

Any hotel or in fact any business that insists you write a good review is suspect. Doing this with reviews on Trip Advisor is enough to get a business banned from the site.

Good luck to you jenncaroline and hope you find something soon. Go for a hotel with AC, you will be glad you did.

sent you a pm

Nigel, a couple of years ago I wrote a great review for a hotel in Rieti for booking.com. The following year, staff had changed and the experience (and my review) was negative. Booking.com kept the older, good review in place and posted the recent, negative one further down. I had thought they posted chronologically. Apparently as a response to my request, or other poor reviews coming in, the recent review appeared in chronological order a few weeks later.

Another time, I received an email from a hotel manager asking me to write a positive review, at least a 9 to pull up their score. I did not write one at all.

This was two incidents (the latter not booking.com's fault) in over a hundred reservations.

On the other hand, I have found their phone customer service extremely helpful.

Nigel, that is a very interesting interaction with that hotel owner. I hope you left a review on TA too.

Sorry for the bad intro to Rome. We are in Italy at the moment and started in Rome 3 weeks ago. I have made all 16 bookings through booking.com. I have made plenty of rookie mistakes. Including sitting at a restaurant in Florence a couple of days ago and watching a man rudely push past another customers chair and just commented to my family "gee he is in hurry" then as a waiter lunged for him realised he was a thief who was stealing a ladies bag. The thief dropped the handbag (which was hidden under his backpack) and ran. The waiter gave chase and came back 2-3 min later with the thiefs other bag. Everyone in the restaurant gave the waiter a clap (except ironically the victim who checked their handbag and returned to their table without a word of thanks to the waiter). After a bit of time of travelling in South America and Africa I thought I would be a little more aware than that but oh well, the rookie mistakes continue. I'm sure you will end up with a great place. If you aren't completely turned off booking.com, keep an eye on the site as a lot of people book several refundable rooms and decide last minute, so some decent rooms turn up back on the site last minute.