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Tom Mason gets locked out of his vacation rental in Italy. Why is Booking.com ignoring his requests for help?

Q: I recently used Booking.com to reserve an apartment in Menaggio, Italy, for two nights. I decided to use Booking.com because of its reputation and the property's positive reviews. Before I left, I noticed the ratings for this place had tanked, so I nervously reached out to Booking.com, letting them know my concern to make sure that they would stand behind the booking. They said that they would.

My concern was that many people were arriving and weren't able to get into the place, which forced them to book elsewhere -- basically, a fraud. A Booking.com representative assured me that they had been in contact with the host, and everything would be fine.

As expected, I arrived and could not get access to the place, although I tried for a number of hours by using all the phone numbers given to me. I immediately contacted Booking.com but did not receive a response until days later.

I had to find another place in the middle of peak season, which was no easy feat. But the listing stayed online, even as the negative reviews piled up. Booking.com ultimately responded that if I had contacted them during the stay, they would have been able to help me. But I was proactive and reached out before my stay and at the beginning of my stay, so I was met with silence.

I want all of my money back, and I want Booking.com to cover my extra costs. Can you help? -- Tom Mason, Long Grove, Illinois

A: Booking.com should have found you a new apartment while it investigated the property. Instead, it appears a representative gave you assurances that you would be able to access the rental, despite strong evidence to the contrary.

Your question exposes a practice that I've long suspected but have never been able to prove: Call center representatives rarely read their own website. (If they had, they would have at least looked into your concerns.)

You had a pretty good sense that you were getting blown off from Booking.com. I looked at your chat thread and noticed that you were getting canned responses from the "Booking Assistant," which was most likely either AI or an AI-assisted representative.

You might have escalated your concern to a higher level. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Booking.com customer service managers on my consumer advocacy website, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have fixed this.

Unfortunately, my advocacy team and I have been seeing too many of these kinds of cases recently. It feels like online agencies are no longer staffed by humans but by AIs that can't understand even the most basic customer service problem. (I hope I'm wrong about this.)

I contacted the company on your behalf. A Booking.com representative apologized for your experience and said it usually investigates any potentially suspicious listings "swiftly."

"In this instance, we recognize that we did not support as quickly as we normally would and have been in touch to apologize to the customer directly," the representative added. "We can confirm the property has been suspended from our platform while a proper investigation is carried out."

In addition to refunding the total amount of the original booking, Booking.com also covered the difference in cost for the alternate accommodation.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2025 Christopher Elliott

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.