Is Booking.com Legit? Check Out What We Found!

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With headquarters in Amsterdam, Booking.com is one of the world's leading digital travel companies with millions of customers and thousands of employees worldwide! They want everyone to experience what it means "to live life fully."

Booking.com has been at the forefront in changing the way we travel. They make it seamless, simple, and cost-effective to find the perfect getaway without any of those pesky hassles like browsing through hundreds (or worse yet thousands) websites just looking at maps and trying to figure out a place to stay!

With their innovative technology that connects millions every year, they give you access to homes and hotels, so there's no need for extra bookings when planning out an adventure abroad or staying put in one place long term.

With over 28 million total reported accommodation listings, including 6.2 million home and apartment options to choose from on their website alone, no matter where you want to go or what your next adventure may be - they can help! In addition, 24/7 customer support means that there will always be someone available for whatever question arises during the booking process.

Booking.com is the go-to platform for travelers who want to be in charge of their own travel logistics--especially when it comes down to deciding where they're staying!

We've found that this website offers accurate and easy tools that can help you plan long multi-week independent custom trips both overseas (especially Europe and Japan, Australia, New Zealand) and USA & Canada.

So, is Booking.com legit?

We understand that trusting your accommodations online takes a bit of faith, especially when you're trying to prepare for a long-awaited vacation with your family or significant other. Let's get into the basics to help you make an informed decision:

The first thing to note is that Booking.com does NOT own these properties. Instead, they act as a third-party customer service liaison connecting travelers with property owners.

As Booking.com partners with millions of properties worldwide, the odds are in your favor that you will find a fantastic home or apartment to stay within your price range near all of the major tourist attractions you want to visit!

Beyond the customer ratings and reviews on their website, they also have their own award-winning customer support team that can help you 24/7 with any needs or questions that may arise!

Their website is an innovative way of taking the hassle out of traditional means by allowing you to book directly from their site. However, with great features comes some liability. Customer reviews for this company have been mixed. Some people have had great experiences booking with them and others claim to have been scammed! We have personally found Booking.com to be legit, so we caution you about taking these negative reviews too seriously. Booking.com is a massive public company, after all.

To get a more quantitative measure of whether or not you should use them, we researched them so that you don't have to!

Misleading their customers

We see this with some travel businesses that use deceptive communication to ensure that customers make and pay for the booking. For example, some customers claim to have been scammed because booking.com failed to communicate the exact price of the booking properly. This is contrary to our own experience with them. Still, perhaps in different parts around the globe and during times throughout the company's history, things may not have been adequately communicated. They even received a legal warning from the UK Consumer Group about its selling process, citing that "the practice is misleading, confusing and against the law."

Poor Customer Service

Don't get us wrong, their customer service team is helpful and friendly, but only if you can get an answer. They get a lot of complaints from customers who have been unable to contact Booking.com for assistance after making a booking. According to reviews on Trustpilot, people report that it's almost impossible to get in touch with a real person and that they will often promise you a callback or email response, but that never happens.

For such a large company with such a long history, it's common for some customers to have issues getting the service they need so this is just one thing to consider when booking with online travel sites in general versus booking with your local travel agent.

Are Booking.com reviews genuine?

There have been many claims that the reviews written about this website are fake and manipulated by the owners of Booking.com to make their website look better than it is. This sort of review manipulation makes a big difference when you're trying to decide which company to go with because these reviews can be critical in terms of your decision-making process & it's essential to make sure they're real!

Hidden Charges

Customers have criticized Booking.com for their excessive "service fees." This is the fee they charge you on top of your booking price. For those of us who are budget-conscious, then these extra charges can definitely be a deal-breaker. In addition, Spain's hotel industry had also filed a complaint against Booking.com. They claimed that Booking.com charges 30-40% commission charges for its bookings. Booking.com has also been accused of not being transparent with this fee either, as sometimes it just appears on your booking page, and other times they hide the fact that there is a service charge.

Conclusion about Booking.com

Overall, it seems like Booking.com is a legit booking company and has a well-known brand. However, their communication and customer service may need some improvement, and their business practices have been called into question on more than one occasion. That being said, they're still a very popular choice for booking travel arrangements, and they do have their fair share of happy customers, including us.

So, if you're willing to try online booking out, go ahead and see how they can serve you. Also, keep in mind that the negative reviews and bad press might scare people away, but in general, this feedback can often be a positive catalyst for a better business in the future! However, if you are uncomfortable booking with them, there are competitive alternatives such as Expedia and Trip.com.

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