Nikolai
Rusia · Juli 2024
“The host demands providing debit card information in the 3rd party app service.”
The room itself was okay. Can't say about cons too much. But, after a hot shower, the heat device started to make strange noises in the middle of the night. I fixed it by switching the water valve to a cold one.
I consider the host's policy on check-in as a fraud. When I booked on the website, I had no information about some "Travelio" system I never heard of before. Before 2-3 hours of check-in, when I was on my way on the plane, the host contacted me about the check-in policy. They required me to register in their system, upload my documents, and pay a deposit there. The host provided suspicious links. I did not sign these kinds of policies, because I would never provide my debit card details on the 3rd party app service outside of booking.com. I came by the address, exhausted by the long way, and the "room boy" (as the host called him) met me. I tried to pay the deposit by cash, but the "room boy" and the host refused, they insisted on registering in their service and provide my debit card details. I refused. I started receiving many calls and messages from unknown numbers. I tried to contact Booking support via chats - but no response, via hotline calls - the hotline wasn't working. At that moment, I felt unsafe and asked if I could cancel my book. After that, the host agreed to receive the deposit by cash. The host stated that they would return the deposit by bank transfer. After my check-out, I left my bank number to the host to get my deposit back. After 10 days, there's still no response regarding my deposit return. P.S. I got an answer from Booking support only 4 days later. This is my worst experience with booking, and I would never use this service again.