Booking.com Lost My Paid Hotel Reservation and Still Hasn’t Refunded Me

While traveling to Istanbul from abroad for a short visit with my spouse, I booked and prepaid a room at Pera Marmara Hotel via Booking.com. However, when we arrived at the hotel to check in, we were told that they had no record of our reservation and that there was nothing they could do to help us.

This happened on a Friday night in Istanbul, and we were left standing outside the hotel with our luggage and no place to stay. I immediately called Booking.com customer service and spent nearly an hour on the phone across 3–4 calls. Eventually, they emailed me a supposed alternative hotel, so we had to change our entire evening plan and head from Taksim to Kadıköy just to secure shelter.

But when we arrived, the alternative hotel said they had never received any reservation from Booking.com. I called the support team again, and all they said was that the original booking would be refunded, and I was basically left on my own. No follow-through, no confirmed reservation, and no real solution.

I had no choice but to pay out-of-pocket for a different hotel, one I hadn’t chosen, just to avoid being stranded. It has now been more than a month, and I still haven’t received my refund. Worse, my complaints have gone unanswered.