Is Booking.com a Scam?

Our verdict

Booking.com is not a scam. It is one of the world's largest online travel agencies, owned by Booking Holdings — a $130 billion S&P 500 company — and it successfully arranges hundreds of millions of legitimate hotel stays every year. But in late 2023, a coordinated attack compromised thousands of hotel partner accounts, sending fraudulent payment requests that appeared inside the official Booking.com platform to roughly 1 in 7 users. The attacker infrastructure looked exactly like Booking.com — because it was delivered through Booking.com's own messaging system.

The attack worked because Booking.com sends guests messages directly from hotels through its platform. Compromised hotel accounts sent messages asking guests to 're-verify' their payment to avoid cancellation. The links led to fake payment pages designed to steal card details. Victims who responded lost an average of $1,800 — the cost of a prepaid hotel booking they would never receive. Booking.com has since introduced additional authentication requirements for properties, but the phishing campaign exposed a structural weakness: if the platform's internal message channel is compromised, there is no way for an ordinary user to distinguish a real message from a fraudulent one.

Fake listings are the other major fraud vector. Scammers create property listings on Booking.com with stolen photos and fabricated reviews, often for short-term rentals in popular destinations. Guests arrive to find the property does not exist, is occupied by different tenants, or looks nothing like the photos. Booking.com's guarantee covers most of these cases — the company offers to find and pay for equivalent accommodations when a property is 'not as described' — but getting reimbursed requires documentation and can take days.

Booking.com's customer service has been widely criticized. The BBB shows over 1,200 complaints filed against Booking.com in 2024 in North America alone, with the most common themes being refund disputes, inability to reach support during travel emergencies, and difficulty resolving cases where properties don't match listings. The platform mediates disputes between guests and properties, but does not always resolve them in the guest's favour. Their 24-hour customer service line exists but wait times during peak travel seasons are long.

For Canadian travellers: Booking.com is subject to PIPEDA for Canadian users and processes payments under Canadian consumer protection laws. Credit card chargebacks are available through your bank if Booking.com does not resolve a dispute. The CAFC has documented travel fraud originating from third-party lookalike sites that impersonate Booking.com — always access the platform directly at booking.com and never via links in unsolicited emails.

Safe practices: book directly at booking.com, not through aggregator links. Use a credit card — not a debit card — for all travel bookings. Screenshot your booking confirmation and all platform messages. If a property messages you outside of Booking.com asking for a wire transfer or e-Transfer for 'balance payment,' that is fraud. Report it immediately to Booking.com and do not send money. Check that your property has reviews from verified guests before booking — not just star ratings.

Editorial note: This article reflects the state of publicly available information at the time of writing. Business practices, ownership, and safety records change over time. TrustChekr is not affiliated with any company reviewed here and does not receive payment for editorial coverage. Verdicts are based on documented evidence and are subject to revision.