Booking.com Charged €285 Cancellation Fee After Wrongfully Canceling My Hotel Reservation
Between August 13–19, 2025, we booked a stay at Hotel Vicky II on Lesbos, Greece through Booking.com (confirmation number: 6129.510.931). The total cost of the reservation was €600. As required, we paid the first half (€300) upfront with a virtual card, and the second half was scheduled to be charged on August 11, 2025.
Unfortunately, on August 11, there was a technical issue with our virtual card, and the balance limit was not sufficient. This was an oversight, but it was clear we were acting in good faith—we had already paid €300, showing our full commitment to keeping the booking. At that point, Booking.com could have given us even a single day to resolve the payment issue. Instead, Booking.com not only took the initial €300 but also canceled our reservation and re-sold the room to someone else.
On the morning of August 12, we noticed our reservation had been canceled. We immediately contacted the hotel and explained we were ready to pay the remaining balance, but they told us the room had already been rebooked. Despite never requesting cancellation, Booking.com charged us a €285 cancellation fee and informed us that only €15 would be refunded. Checking the hotel’s availability on Booking.com for the same dates confirmed that no rooms were left, proving our room was resold.
To make matters worse, Booking.com only sent notifications to our Gmail address. Our primary communication channel is the Booking.com messaging platform, where we check regularly. If we had been notified properly, we could have avoided this entire problem. Since it was a holiday on Lesbos (August 15), we couldn’t find another hotel, and our vacation plans were ruined.
We have all the supporting evidence, including emails, messages, and receipts. It is completely unacceptable for Booking.com to cancel our booking without our request, charge €285 in cancellation fees for a service never received, and re-sell our room.
I demand a full refund of the €285 unfairly charged and expect Booking.com to address this issue immediately. Customers should not be punished for minor payment delays when they have already paid half of the reservation upfront.
