Has anyone left a negative review on Booking.com and had a problem?

[honeybee13]

Booking.com are asking me to review some accommodation we rented recently and weren't completely happy with. Apparently the owners don't yet have enough reviews to have a rating.

 

I won't be saying anything that isn't true but the owners may not like what I'm going to say. Is this likely to cause me problems using Booking.com in future?

 

Thank you for any comments.

 

HB

[Homer67]

Are the issues really worthy of negative feedback on Booking.com?

 

If it's a new business a bad review at this stage could really affect them, did you try and resolve the issues with the business while you were there?

 

I know it's disappointing when you aren't happy with the service received but sometimes taking time out and thinking about how bad it was really puts it in perspective.

 

I'm sure you have thought about it but just thought I'd mention that.

[FTMDave]

I'm a regular user of Booking.com and always leave a review.  That said, I'm not much help as I've only ever written positive reviews as I've always had good experiences!

 

I doubt very much you would have any problems in future if you left a negative review, you're perfectly entitled to state your opinion.

 

In fact how Booking.com structure the reviews is that the review is divided into two paragraphs, the positive and the negative.  So there is every opportunity to strike a balance.

[theberengersniper]

I wonder if it might be possible to attempt communication with the owners before you leave your review.

 

If they were mature enough about things, you might be able to discuss your concerns between the two of you, come to an agreement over what they're going to do about it, and the rough content of your review. That way your review isn't a total surprise to them, you can include in your review what their pledge has been to resolve the issues, and still state what problems you had.

 

Of course that relies on them being on board with the idea, but I'd like to think if I was a business owner, I'd prefer to know about things and address them. After all, my perspective is not the one that matters ultimately.

[honeybee13]

Thank you both.

 

Berenger. I think it was on Booking.com that it's good to speak to the owners and you're right. Unfortunately the problem is something they can't change.

 

I'm sorry for doing Secret Squirrel but I don't want to put too much detail on this thread because they will know who left the review AIUI and I don't want to be linked to this site.

 

HB

[FTMDave]

Thinking about it, I did once leave a sort-of bad review.

 

One summer I toured the Southern Balkans with my son (13 at the time) by public transport.  This included two nights in Ulcinj (Montenegro) in a self-catering  flat rented out by a local family.  I remember writing that the facilities were as good as if not better than described and great value.

 

However, they were dreadful at replying to communications before arrival.  Then none of them could speak any foreign language apart from the father who could speak Italian - as I can.  When he eventually rolled up I asked him to book a taxi for the morning we left.  The beach part of Ulcinj is three quarters of an hour's walk from the bus station along a dangerous road, with no public transport, and we had an early bus to continue to Tirana, to where there are only a couple of buses a day ...

 

... and of course he forgot.  We were left standing outside with no taxi.  So I moaned about this in the negative part.  There was no problem from Booking.com.  They encourage both positive and negative comments about accommodation in the same review.

 

Anyway to finish the story, an elderly gentleman driving past saw us looking lost and offered us a lift.  So we made it for our bus to Tirana instead of having to wait eight hours or whatever for the next one.  I insisted on giving him the €5 towards petrol that the taxi would have cost.  He refused twice but gave in the third time!  The joys of travelling which we can now do again ...

[honeybee13]

That's interesting Dave, thank you. Was there any comeback from the owners? Maybe not if they don't speak English.

 

HB

[mantis shrimp]

I have left a rating for this topic. Will there be any comeback?

Edited May 31, 2022 by mantis shrimp
spelling

[Kyosanto]

You need not fear leaving honest bad reviews.

 

Otherwise how will you warn potential other travellers into running in the same issues you did? How will you ever motivate the owners to change for the better?

 

Booking.com won't hate you for it. Quite the contrary, they WANT their users to write feedback. It's in their own interest. They'll make their money of out some other accommodation instead.

 

I try and review all the hotels I stay in and maybe 10% of my reviews are negative. Some of them will just be poorly run, dirty, or have misleading descriptions. That's life, but best let the world know. Never had a problem with it. Sometimes the hotels respond to your review, usually a blanket apology telling you to give them another chance yadda yadda. You will never be threatened. If you did you can rest assured Booking.com will go out of business. It's in also in their interest to protect you.

Personal properties may be more delicate to review than hotels, but in that case think about staying in hotels instead. "AirBnB's" can be shady and also ethically questionable as they drive up the price of rent for locals.