What happened when we paid for a Booking.com property that didn’t exist

We found hundreds of reviewers complaining of being scammed in summer 2024, more in autumn 2024 and, now, again in April 2025, we still found dozens of complaints.

For one property in Shrewsbury a reviewer said: ‘The property doesn't exist. Booking.com are aware of this and are still advertising it and are still taking peoples money!!!!!’ while another said, ‘Unbelievable Booking.com – you’ve had this reported so many times and haven’t removed it.’

This is unsurprising. When we investigated earlier this year we found that it can take less than 15 minutes to set up a listing on Booking.com. We also found people who’d booked accommodation that turned out not to exist and some who’d been scammed through Booking.com’s own messaging systems.

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Booking.com’s response in the past has always been that, in most cases, the non-existent listings aren’t really scams, just instances where property owners have failed to keep their calendar up to date, or remove the listing when it’s no longer available.

This time, to try and find out what’s really happening, we booked and paid for a Booking.com listing with numerous reviews saying that it was a scam. Here is what happened  when we tried to check-in and contact its owners.

Fighting for a refund from Booking.com

One issue reported by many reviewers is the struggle to get a refund. When guests report that they have not been able to stay in a Booking.com property it does not automatically refund them. Instead, in many cases, it says the onus is on the owner to provide the refund.

We heard from the support team of an athlete competing in next week’s (17 May) half-triathlon in Pamplona, Spain. In January they booked and paid €977 for a holiday let the weekend of the race but were alarmed when it stopped responding to messages and disappeared from the site.

Fearing that they’d have nowhere to stay, they were forced to book a new apartment at short notice – at €600 more expensive than their original booking. Over the following months they have had numerous phone calls and email exchanges with Booking.com. Only after we got involved did they get a refund.

‘I have spent hours on the telephone to Booking.com customer services and I'm shocked by the poor service I have received,’ support team member Lynn told us.

Reviews hide the truth

One issue with using Booking.com is that the first page users see when they click on a listing’s reviews will not necessarily show complaints that a listing is a scam.

This is because Booking.com shows what it calls the ‘most relevant’ reviews first.

For one listing we looked at in April 2025 the first review that Booking.com shows says ‘hosts were absolutely fantastic’, the second says ‘Nice apartment’ and the third says ‘lovely apartment’.

Only users who are savvy enough to change the setting to show ‘newest reviews’ first would see that the past 10 reviewers all gave it 1/10, with some saying it was a scam. Of the 17 reviews, 12 gave it 1/10  but the three reviews Booking.com chose to show most prominently all gave it 10/10. 

Which? has repeatedly asked Booking.com to change this system to show most recent reviews first by default. See its response below.

Should you book with Booking.com?

Booking.com is the highest-rated accommodation provider in our annual booking sites survey. Users find it quick, simple and convenient to use.

However, we have received numerous complaints of people being scammed through the site – some receive messages through Booking.com’s own messaging system, which makes the scams especially hard to spot

When making a booking on the site, always change the setting to show ‘newest reviews first’ – so you can see what other reviewers have experienced recently and this should highlight most scam listings. 

Never click on any link you’re sent through Booking.com’s messaging system, or via an email claiming to come from Booking.com. Be extremely suspicious of any claim that your payment hasn’t gone through or that you need to provide any additional payment.

Booking.com’s response

Booking.com told us that: 'If a customer experiences any issues at check-in, our customer service team is available to support in the moment, which may include assistance with relocation or arranging a refund where necessary.'

It also said: ‘Our platform features over 339 million verified reviews to help travellers choose accommodation that meets their needs. Customers can quickly filter reviews by the most recent to see up-to-date feedback from other guests. Through our use of machine learning and AI, we are continually developing how we best surface the most relevant information to help customers when booking.’

It said it was looking into Lynn’s issue (above), but would need more time to give us a response. Lynn told us that, since we contacted Booking.com about her case, she has at last received a refund. She is the seventh person this year to get a refund from Booking.com after Which? Intervened on their behalf.

This investigation was first published in Which? Travel

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