Booking.com Left Me Stranded at a Hostel With My Family at Night
On March 26, 2025, after a 15-hour drive from Istanbul, we made a last-minute hostel reservation as a family in Zagreb to spend the night, with reservation number 4584119932. We knowingly chose the non-refundable option via booking.com. However, when we arrived at the property, we couldn’t retrieve our key from the lockbox despite following all the instructions. Around 10:00 PM local time, we were left stranded in an unfamiliar neighborhood with my wife and 12-year-old son, completely exhausted. We tried calling the property’s staff multiple times, but no one answered. I even sent an email, which also went unanswered. We waited helplessly at the building entrance for at least 30 minutes. Eventually, we had no choice but to book another hotel, which cost us around €130. Despite all these valid reasons, Flok Tkalciceva unfairly refused to refund the amount. Unfortunately, booking.com was also unable to provide any help. Their lack of care for customer rights does not align with the image of a reputable company like booking.com. If this is how they intend to protect their users, then something is clearly wrong. Their response in the face of a complaint was extremely passive, and this approach is far from satisfactory. I will share visual evidence of the email and call records below.
