Is there a regulation for booking.com canceling bookings?

”Last week-end I got a hotel message via booking.com that the CC data were not accepted and I had to give another CC within 24 hours, otherwise the booking would be cancelled..”

I had an email supposedly from Booking a year ago that they needed my credit card number. Since I had supplied it with the reservation, I was suspicious and didn’t respond. Later on, Booking said that wasn’t a legit message; it didn’t originate with them. I am wondering if something similar happened to you. Keep an eye on the credit card, if you did send your credit card to this message.

Unlike airlines, hotels are not regulated. They can cancel a reservation at any time. They can even turn you away when you arrive if they are oversold or there is an issue with your assigned room--mechanical problems, health issues from previous guests, etc (Usually, if oversold, most hotels will find you another room at another hotel and pay for it.) Of course, if they can't provide you with a room, they have to refund any money you have paid.

In your situation there is little you can do except take your business elsewhere.

This will depend on consumer protection legislation where you live. Booking.com are operating within the jurisdiction of your home country when selling services. For example, under UK law it’s permissible to cancel the sale of items or services if the price was displayed wrongly, as happened to you here.

1. Obvious errors and misprints are not binding. For example, if you book a premium car or a night in a luxury suite that was mistakenly offered for $1, we may simply cancel that Booking and refund anything you’ve paid. https://www.booking.com/content/terms.html?aid=397656&label=duc511jc-1DCAEoggI46AdIM1gDaLQCiAEBmAExuAEHyAEP2AED6AEB-AECiAIBqAIDuAKy9L69BsACAdICJDcxMGZjZTE3LTZiMDEtNGQ2NS05MzM4LTc1NjZhM2VjZDRkYtgCBOACAQ&sid=4a9a618acec448bf58e8d73057b36856#terms_accommodations_price_subheading

I'm pretty sure that cancellations of hotel rooms booked through booking.com are not abrogations of a contract. Booking.com is just the platform through which you make a "contract" with the hotel.

I use Booking.com a lot and mostly I'm very happy with it. But I have had some questionable things happen, which I'll share in case it's helpful to others.

I have had hotels ask me to click on a link to re-enter credit card info or use a different card because of an issue. Both of these instances turned out to be scams. The hotels confirmed that the messages did not come from them and my reservations were fine. Booking.com's own messaging area advises customers not to click on any links!

More recently I've booked a few apartments in England. One unceremoniously cancelled my booking with no explanation, and another asked ME to cancel, explaining that they wanted to sell the property. (I didn't cancel so they did, a few days later.) Not long afterwards, the apartments turned up on Airbnb for much higher prices. I often travel to see a specific event, so I'm pretty sure the property managers/owners noticed that demand was high (because of the event) and that they could book their apartments for a much higher price. This has also happened to friends who are travelling to the same event.

I've complained to Booking.com and they offered me £25 toward my new accommodations if the new accommodations were more expensive. My friends were given the same offer so evidently it happens often enough that Booking.com has a procedure for it.

Finally, I've had hotel prices change when I change the booking. For example, I booked a hotel for seven nights (again, for a specific event). I later modified the booking to remove one night. Instead of just removing a night, the hotel rebooked the entire stay at a much higher rate. And Booking.com could do nothing.

I have had two "events". The first was a very nice hotel in Kyiv about a year ago. A month prior I got notice they were over booked and tossed me. I sort of suspect some big wig came along and rented the entire place, because right now its generally not full for obvious reasons. Is okay, there other hotels in the world and I am happy they were able to be profitable for a few days. I lived.

The other was in Germany. I booked arriving Christmas Eve last year, departing two days later. Non-refundable. I got the Booking.com and the Hotel confirmations (computer generated apparently). Then the next day I got a phone call from the hotel. Ahhhhhh, we cant accommodate you. See, the hotel will be open, but no one will be working as its Christmas eve so we cant check you in. Apparently the hotel had to jump through some hoops to provide the refund on a non-refundable room, but in time I got it. The hotel I eventually ended up at turned out to be pretty sweet, so no complaints again. Stuff happens.

Back in the summer of 2017 I was doing my usual bit of traveling without a pre-planned itinerary and making hotel reservations just a few days before arrival. I had trouble finding an affordable place to stay in Arles (Provence) but eventually booked a hotel room the night before I was due to arrive. I received the standard confirmation through booking.com then a few hours later there arrived a follow-up message: No room available. Booking.com apologized and blamed the hotel for not updating its availability (and I believe that's what happened); it offered to cover my extra costs as a result of the snafu; it was going to charge the hotel. I decided not to follow up on that offer because it was clear I was trying to get a very late booking in a town with something special going on (which I hadn't known about ahead of time), and I had booked late at night. My solution: pay somewhat more and stay in Avignon. Sometimes it's not worth it (to me) to jump through hoops to try to get compensation in a case like that.

Honest mistakes can be made. I've made three incorrect hotel reservations myself and have been lucky enough to come out financially whole. In two of those cases I had some freely-offered assistance from the hotelier.

I'd have a totally different attitude if someone canceled my advance booking for a long-planned stay at a time when rates had really escalated. I hear that's already happening in Milan for Airbnb bookings during the Olympic period next year.