I recently booked a hotel in Italy through Booking.com with advance payment and no cancellation option. Upon checking in today, the concierge mentioned that I could have received a discount if I had booked directly through the hotel’s website. He offered to “change” my booking, which means he would cancel my Booking.com reservation and I would then pay a discounted rate in cash. When I asked about the money I already paid, he said I’d get a refund from Booking.com. This felt suspicious, so I asked for time to think it over. He gave me until tomorrow, his shift’s end, and requested that I keep this arrangement confidential (which feels like a red flag).
Could this be a scam? Has anyone experienced something like this before? The hotel has excellent reviews across various platforms, and I haven’t seen anything like this mentioned.
That makes sense. It’s possible the hotel was trying to bypass booking sites to save on commission fees. Sometimes, hotels offer special deals or make unconventional changes to encourage direct bookings
Booking.com has already received their commission and paid the hotel. I’m not sure how or why Booking.com would reimburse you.
If you paid through booking.com and have already checked in, it might be challenging to get a full reimbursement from booking.com for any changes or refunds. This is because booking.com typically handles payments to hotels and may not cover additional costs or modifications after check-in.
I wouldn’t go through with it either. If it feels like a scam, it’s best to avoid it.
Definitely avoid proceeding with this offer. The cash-only deal, secrecy, and tight deadline raise red flags. Plus, there’s no certainty that booking.com would refund a non-refundable booking, especially if you’re trying to cancel after check-in. It’s better to stick with the original booking and deal with the hotel through official channels.