Falling victim to a holiday booking mishap could leave you out of pocket or scrambling for somewhere else to sleep at the last minute.
That’s why we’ve shared the five biggest accommodation rip-offs – from fake listings to double bookings.
Some are scams, others are booking errors – but all of them have the potential to ruin a much-anticipated trip away.
Imagine turning up at what you thought was your holiday rental, only to find that it doesn’t exist. Hundreds of Booking.com customers have reported this happening to them. Not only were many left with nowhere to stay, but some then struggled to get a refund – despite the listing being a fake.
You’d think that booking through a household name would protect you, but sadly, scam listings are still slipping through the net.
Before you book, make sure to filter reviews by ‘most recent’ to see the most up-to-date feedback. That way you’ll be more likely to spot if other guests have been caught out.
You can also do a reverse image search on any photos included in the listing. Right-click on the property picture and choose ‘search image with Google Lens’. If you find the same picture being used for several listings, it’s probably a scam.
Other travellers have turned up at their room or apartment to find another couple already in situ. Not only is it awkward, but again it can lead to a last-minute scramble to find alternative accommodation.
Double bookings happen when multiple reservations are made for one room or unit on the same night: a risk when the same listing appears on multiple platforms.
According to Booking.com, it happens when hosts do not set up or sync their booking calendars correctly.
For peace of mind, it’s worth dropping your host an email directly before your stay to confirm the booking. Also consider paying with a credit card so that you can claim the money back under Section 75 if anything goes wrong.
If you booked via a third-party site, such as Airbnb or Vrbo, this is a massive red flag. Payments are always handled on the platform to prevent criminals from running off with your cash.
But one of the most convincing scams has seen fraudsters hijack Booking.com’s own system. Once armed with guests' contact and booking details, they can send fake texts, emails and messages via the platform – making them very difficult to spot.
Typically, messages claim there’s a problem with your payment, before asking you to ‘verify’ or ‘update’ your card details.
If there’s even a shred of doubt, pick up the phone or email the hotel or host directly to check if the request is genuine.
Travel expert Jo Rhodes says: After I booked a stay in Lyon, I received multiple messages by text, email and on the Booking.com app claiming to be from the hotel. They said I needed to confirm my payment details or they would cancel my booking. I was suspicious: I’d already supplied my credit card number on the platform when I booked.
Sure enough, when I reported the incident to Booking.com, it confirmed it was a phishing attempt. It told me: ‘Booking.com will never ask for your credit card details or personal information by phone or email.
'We collect and store all information on our secure online system.’ Still, the whole thing was scarily convincing and I could easily have been caught out.
You’ve organised your accommodation well ahead of time, and then the booking is cancelled. It’s galling enough to be left hunting for a replacement at short notice, but what if you see the same room re-advertised at a much higher price?
Travellers have complained of this happening to them when big sports or entertainment events in the area have driven up demand. For example, one Which? Travel reader booked an apartment for the Rugby World Cup in Marseille via Booking.com only to have it cancelled and relisted for £4,056 – vs the £428 he’d originally paid.
Booking.com said its customer service team investigates properties that cancel with no good reason and try to find customers a suitable alternative at no additional cost. It also said that it would remove properties from its website where its T&Cs have been breached.
Imagine, you return home to find angry messages from the rental host asking you to pay for a hot tub or a carpet that was already damaged when you arrived. Two Which? Travel readers told us they were left fighting to prove their innocence when these scenarios happened to them.
Sites such as Airbnb and Sykes Cottages have clauses in their T&Cs that mean they can take around £500 off the card you used to secure your booking to pay for damages.
To protect yourself from false claims, report any breakages as soon as you spot them and take photos or videos (preferably timestamped) to prove the damage was already done when you arrived.
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