Are you passionate about travel? Then, you’ve probably booked accommodations or rentals through online travel agencies or booking websites before.
Booking.com is one of the most popular online travel agencies worldwide. But if you’re not a traveler, Booking.com can also be a potential source of income.
You can earn money by listing your property on the platform or using their affiliate program to earn commissions.
Meanwhile, booking accommodations online is a gamble, especially for first-timers. Like with every booking site, we can’t help but ask, is Booking.com legit?
Let’s learn if Booking.com is a legit website with which we can trust our personal details. Let’s also find out how Booking.com works!
- What Is Booking.com?
- Common Questions to Understand
- Is Booking.com Legit?
- Is Booking.com Reliable?
- Is Booking.com Safe?
- What Are Users Saying About Booking.com?
- Why Are People Worried About Using Booking.com?
- Booking.com Quality & Guarantees
- Does Booking.com Offer Customer Service?
- Conclusion: Is Booking.com Legit?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Similar Gigs to Check Out
- Wrapping Up
What Is Booking.com?
Founded in 1996, Booking.com is an online travel agency started by computer scientist Geert-Jan Bruinsma.
Later in 2005, Priceline Group, which is the company behind various travel websites like Agoda, acquired Booking.com.
Since then, Booking.com has become Priceline’s major revenue driver, making it even more popular worldwide. The platform’s popularity inspired Priceline’s rebranding to Booking Holdings in 2018.
Even today, Booking.com remains one of the leading and most popular travel agencies globally. In fact, Booking.com is hailed as one of the largest and best online travel agencies worldwide in 2023, according to LinkedIn.
What Services Does Booking.com Offer?
Booking.com helps travelers explore hassle-free and with ease. The platform offers accommodations, attractions, and transport services.
1. Attractions
Through Booking.com, you can plan your next getaway or destination, wherever it may be around the world.
From breathtaking activities like skydiving to cave explorations and eco-tourism, there are many things to see and do, thanks to Booking.com.
2. Accommodations
Travelers can book hotels, apartments or condominium stays, and villa rentals.
The platform has over two million listings, including private listings from individual contractors seeking to earn extra money by renting out their property.
3. Transport Services
Apart from accommodations, the platform offers transportation services essential for your vacation getaway, including flights, airport taxis, and even vehicle rentals.
Guests can also choose between private or public vehicle transportation.
How Does Booking.com Work?
Booking.com is a platform that puts together contractors/service providers, third-party aggregators, and travelers seeking to buy services.
This means that Booking.com doesn’t sell or advertise its products or services. Rather, it’s a platform that earns a commission from service providers for every successful booking or purchase using the agency model.
Here’s how it works:
Both service providers and guests must first sign up for a Booking.com account. They need to provide their personal information and passwords too.
After signing up for an account, service providers can list their property or services, including the respective information and prices. Next, the listing appears on the platform and becomes accessible to users.
The users, on the other hand, must be at least 16 years old to create an account. Upon account creation and adding payment details, users can now make their bookings online by:
- Searching for desired accommodations that you can filter by category (price, location, etc.)
- Selecting available dates
- Following booking instructions and settling online payment
Common Questions to Understand
Whether you’re making your first online booking or purchasing a service from Booking.com, here are some of the most important things that you need to know:
Why Is It Cheaper to Book on Booking.com?
Due to its partnerships with many service providers, Booking.com offers competitive rates that are relatively cheaper than other online travel sites.
Booking.com also offers Low Price Guarantee and massive discounts or perks, allowing users to save more while traveling.
Low Price Guarantee
Booking.com has a Low Price Guarantee, where you can apply for a refund if you find your reservation cheaper on other booking websites. In return, Booking.com refunds you the price difference.
For example, you have a $300 worth hotel room reservation from Booking.com but found the exact accommodation for only $270 on another website.
You can contact Booking.com at least 24 hours before your check-in date, ask for a refund, and provide the link to the said offer. The offer must be available upon checking for you to avail of the $30 refund.
Note that your offer shouldn’t be labeled as “Partner Offer” to make you eligible. The offer should also meet the following criteria:
- The other offer must be the same as your reservation from Booking.com (same property and accommodation type)
- The check-in and check-out dates for the offer must coincide with your reservation
- The cancellation policy and conditions of the offer must be the same as your current reservation
- The offer mustn’t be part of a loyalty or rewards program
Loyalty Program and Discounts
Booking.com offers many discounts and perks, especially to loyal platform users. This makes bookings cheaper compared to other online travel agencies.
For example, you can qualify for the Genius program without paying a single penny for membership fees. All you have to do is sign up for an account and complete the required number of stays within a specific period.
After that, you can avail benefits like the following:
- Up to 20% discounts
- Free meals
- Room upgrades
- Free accommodation
- Priority support
Note that these discounts and perks only apply to the Genius program’s participating partners and service providers.
Does Booking.com Charge a Fee?
Yes. Booking.com is a commission-based e-commerce platform that earns by charging partners and property hosts.
Unlike other travel websites, Booking.com only charges its partner hosts. Depending on the property type, the commission fee that Booking.com charges is 10-20% per successful booking.
Apart from the commission fee, Booking.com may also charge its partners or service providers payout costs, depending on the provider’s preferred payout method.
The cost for virtual credit card payouts varies per credit card company. Partners or service providers will be charged between 1.1% and 3.1% for bank transfer payouts. Note that additional charges also vary per location since processing fees vary.
Meanwhile, the processing fee consists of the following:
- Charge from the payment service provider
- Scheme Fees
- Interchange fees
How Do I Confirm a Booking on Booking.com?
The first step to every successful booking is searching for desired service or destination.
After searching and evaluating several deals and accommodations, you may be ready to select your top pick. You need to be logged in with your Booking.com account to confirm a reservation.
Indicate how many days or nights you plan to stay and how many people you plan to stay with. After finishing the booking process, you need to enter your card or payment details.
Once the booking is confirmed, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Booking.com. The confirmation email includes your confirmation number and pin code.
You can appeal to their customer service team if you fail to receive a booking confirmation.
Is Booking.com Legit?
Booking.com is a legitimate e-commerce website that operates globally. Here are some points that prove it’s a legitimate entity:
- Supported by the Netherlands’ Chamber of Commerce: Booking.com is registered with the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries Amsterdam or KVK (Kamer van Koophandel) under file number 31047344. This means the company is legal, and the Dutch government supports its operations.
- Complies with the standards of the Dutch Data Protection Authority: This compliance guarantees that the platform’s users’ data are protected. Booking.com’s registration under the Dutch data protection authority is 1288246.
- Headquarters based in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The 27-year-old company has a physical address based at Oosterdokskade 163, 1011 DL, Netherlands. You can contact them via fax: +31 20 712 5609.
- The company is VAT registered: The company pays taxes to the Dutch government, and you can look them up with this VAT registration number: NL805734958B01.
Is Booking.com Reliable?
Booking.com is a reliable company where you can book transportation and accommodation services for your vacation.
You can save more by using Booking.com through their promo codes, discounts, and loyalty perks instead of DIY-travels which can be inconvenient.
At the same time, the platform offers a simple and easy-to-navigate interface that makes searching for deals easy.
The platform also features a Help Centre that offers 24/7 customer service. You can also find useful information from their FAQs page, like cancellation policies and payment conditions.
When it comes to refunds, Booking.com guarantees money back for canceled bookings as long as it’s within the scope of policies.
Is Booking.com Safe?
Booking.com is a safe platform you can trust not just with your travel and accommodation needs but with your details as well.
You can trust that sensitive details like your credit card information aren’t shared with the platform’s partners or third parties without an agreement. This is because Booking.com is compliant with the Dutch Data Protection Authority.
According to the platform, they only provide partner companies with crucial information necessary to complete a booking.
The platform users can also trust that their personal data is safeguarded from unauthorized access.
What Are Users Saying About Booking.com?
Most of the positive reviews for Booking.com are from long-term users and employees. Let’s see what they say about the online travel agency:
- Good customer service: Users express their gratitude towards polite Booking.com customer service representatives and how they were adept in solving their issues.
- Quick refund process: Booking.com is quick to respond to refund requests. Some customers say they were able to get refunds immediately.
- Good benefits and incentives packages: Both former and current employees applaud Booking.com’s benefits packages.
- Excellent work culture and colleagues: Employees claim the work environment is fair, and working with reliable colleagues is a huge plus.
What ConsumerAffairs Liked About Booking.com
Many users are happy about Booking.com’s good customer service. Some express their satisfaction about how they were able to get refunds despite the last-minute cancellation.
Some users share their experience about getting recommendations from Booking.com’s customer service representative after the service provider canceled their booking without notice.
Customers also love that the website and app are easy to use.
What Trustpilot Reviewers Liked About Booking.com
Users share that they were able to get a refund upon contacting Booking.com’s customer service.
Even if the problem is on the service provider’s end, users share how Booking.com is prompt in addressing concerns and refunding.
What Indeed Reviewers Liked About Booking.com
With a 3.7 rating on Indeed booking.com reviews, many Booking.com employees are satisfied with the company’s compensation and benefits packages.
They also express their appreciation for kind colleagues and the inclusive work environment.
What Glassdoor Reviewers Liked About Booking.com
Booking.com got a 4.1 Glassdoor rating. According to their employees, the work environment and the benefit packages the company offers are favorable.
They also achieved a work-life balance while working alongside great colleagues.
Why Are People Worried About Using Booking.com?
Here are some of the negative Booking.com remarks from users and employees:
- Unannounced or last-minute cancellations: Many users are disappointed when they arrive at the accommodation sites, and property hosts would tell them that their booking is canceled or invalid due to unavailability.
- No refunds: Despite not getting the service they paid for due to the service provider’s discretion, users claim they didn’t receive proper refunds.
- Poor customer support: Many users complain about Booking.com’s lack of helpful responses to their issues.
- Dirty rooms: Many users are disappointed that the places they rent out differ from what was advertised.
- Poor management: The major complaint of Booking.com employees is the terrible management and unfair treatment.
- Low promotion opportunities: There are little to no promotions when working for Booking.com.
What ConsumerAffairs Reviewers Worried About
With just a 1.0 rating at ConsumerAffairs, Booking.com is under fire because users complain about rundown accommodation sites far from what the platform advertises.
One user reports that the accommodation they got was dirty and smelled terrible, not to mention that they don’t abide by minimum health standards.
What Trustpilot Reviewers Worried About
Booking.com got a 1.2 rating at TrustPilot. Users complain about last-minute cancellations, not receiving confirmation emails, and poorly maintained rooms.
Some users share their experience with not getting a Genius discount as promised. Some users were not able to get refunds on flights that got canceled at the last minute.
What Indeed Reviewers Worried About
Indeed reviewers are most concerned about poor HR management and neglected work policies.
Employees, especially customer service representatives, also share unrealistic company expectations resulting in a stressful work environment.
What Glassdoor Worried About
Booking.com employees share about rare promotion opportunities and low salary increases even after promotion.
Booking.com Quality & Guarantees
When it comes to refund guarantees, the guest’s entitlement depends on the payment process they signed up for.
For example, if the guest organized their payment with Booking.com and did not arrange it directly with the service provider, Booking.com will ensure to refund the guest within five working days—as long as it meets the right conditions.
However, if the guest arranges the payment directly with the service provider, the refund terms are under the provider’s conditions. Despite that, guests can still reach Booking.com, and the customer service representative will assist them.
It’s also essential to note that refund and cancellation policy varies per service provider. So before you agree to any payment terms, review the given conditions and policies first.
Booking.com only acts as an intermediary between the guests and the service providers, so refund and cancellation terms can vary.
Does Booking.com Offer Customer Service?
Booking.com has a 24/7 customer service hotline accessible through their Help Centre.
What Customer Service Options Are Available?
From the Help Centre, you can get help with your booking by calling their active hotline number or messaging customer support.
You can reach their customer service hotline at +44 20 3320 2625 for urgent concerns. Note that additional charges may apply, especially for international callers.
You can also message their customer service if you have queries or non-urgent concerns.
Users can access the FAQs page and request to resend their confirmation details too.
Conclusion: Is Booking.com Legit?
Booking.com is a legally operating online travel agency registered with the Dutch government.
They have a headquarters based in Amsterdam, active contact information, VAT registration, and other compliance certificates that justify their legitimacy.
While it’s a legit e-commerce platform, Booking.com isn’t in control of the booking or travel experience to which guests may be subject.
Booking.com only acts as a middleman between service providers, their party aggregators, and guests.
That said, the guests are responsible for assessing services visible on the platform, including the policies and conditions that entail these.
Thus, any inconvenience or delays guests may experience at the accommodation site or service are no longer under the platform’s control.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a better Booking.com experience, check out our answers to the following FAQs:
Does Booking.com Hold a Deposit?
Yes, the deposit amount, availability, and terms may vary per service provider.
Is Booking.com Safe for Credit Cards?
It’s safe to input your credit card details to Booking.com. The platform securely stores your details to prevent any unauthorized access.
That way, third parties, and service providers can’t directly access your sensitive information.
Similar Gigs to Check Out
Here are other online travel websites worth checking out, whether you’re a traveler or someone who wants to earn extra income on the side:
- Is Traveluro Legit?: This online platform is exclusive to hotel-booking services. Find out whether or not it’s legit.
- Is SnapTravel Legit?: Now Supertravel, Snaptravel is another online travel agency that offers fantastic deals and discounts.
- Is Trip.com Legit?: One of the leading online travel agencies worldwide, Trip.com has over 1 million hotel listings.
Wrapping Up
Booking.com is a legal business entity registered with the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries Amsterdam.
It also complies with the Dutch Data Protection Authority, offering secure and reliable information management.
With millions of users and listings, the 27-year-old company is one of the leading online travel agencies worldwide.
Like this read? Feel free to check out our other posts to learn more about income-generating businesses and side gigs!
