I stayed at Hotel Artist Tirana in Albania from March 12-14, 2025. When I made the reservation through Booking.com, only the accommodation fee was charged, and there was no mention of a €200 deposit. However, this amount was deducted from my card without my knowledge. When I inquired with the hotel about this, they told me it was a damage deposit and that it would be refunded within 14 days after checkout. I did not accept this and asked them to cancel the charge. I also reported the situation to Booking.com, but nothing was done. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to stay at this hotel. During check-in, they also charged us a city tax of €4 per person for the two-night stay, claiming it was mandatory at all hotels. However, when I made the reservation, all taxes had already been paid. They even offered to refund half of this city tax if we left a positive review. It has now been a total of 26 business days since our checkout, and my refund has still not been processed. I sent them numerous messages, but they have not responded. Moreover, they even video-called me twice via WhatsApp, yet never replied to any of my messages. I believe this behavior is a deliberate attempt to avoid leaving any evidence. Perhaps their goal was to intimidate me by threatening me. Additionally, I found many other complaints online about this hotel. There are other victims, like me, whose money was taken under the guise of a deposit and never refunded. This hotel is clearly engaging in fraud. I have also reported my issue to Booking.com and expect them to take action. I trusted Booking.com when making my reservation, but this experience has been a huge disappointment. It is hard to believe that Booking.com still hosts a property that openly defrauds people. I have contacted others who have also been affected. It seems that people from many different countries have been victimized in the same way. By hosting this hotel and failing to support its customers, Booking.com has become complicit in this situation. Booking must take immediate action against this property, remove it from the platform, and ensure that all deposit refunds are issued to affected customers.
I stayed at Hotel Artist Tirana in Albania from March 12 to March 14, 2025, with a reservation made through Booking.com. While only the room fee was shown at the time of booking, a €200 deposit was later withdrawn from my card without any prior notice or authorization. When I contacted the hotel, t...
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