Booking.com Denies Refund After Host Disappears: What You Need to Know!

A colleague and I made a payment through Booking.com for an apartment in Paris. Shortly after, we were notified by email that our “request” had not been confirmed and were instructed to get in touch with the property owner.

Our numerous efforts to reach the owner were unsuccessful, as were Booking.com’s attempts. A call center manager then advised us to proceed to Paris, attempt to visit the property in person, and call Booking.com if we found no one there. Failing this, we were told, would mean losing any chance of a refund for our booking.

Further investigation revealed multiple reviews on Booking.com from users who had faced similar issues with accessing the apartment. Being 83 years old, I was not prepared to take the risk of being stranded without accommodation, prompting me to cancel the reservation and thus losing the €701 (£609) I had paid.

MK, Swansea

The email about the unconfirmed request is a peculiar aspect of Booking.com that likely unsettles many users. The booking form prompts you to specify an estimated time of arrival, which is what the “request” refers to, not the booking itself, yet this is not clearly articulated in the communication.

Booking.com casually mentioned that hosts often do not confirm check-in times beforehand due to “finalizing availability”.

What they neglected to clarify is why the host failed to confirm any details whatsoever. Nor did they address why a positive review from 2024 was featured above entirely negative feedback from 2025. Despite overlooking these issues, they did consent to issue a refund as a “goodwill gesture”.

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