Consumer Alert: Watch out for this booking loophole!
One reader thought she could leave a review on a terrible Booking.com rental. She was wrong.
When Diana Welcer reserved a nonrefundable apartment on Booking.com, she ran into some serious trouble. The "free" parking was impossible to find, the door lock was broken, and the mattress had urine stains.
She contacted Booking.com for a refund, and a representative told her she could cancel the reservation and receive $100 back. What the representative didn't tell her was that canceling the reservation would prevent her from leaving a review.
Welcer alleges this loophole allows Booking.com to keep negative reviews off of its site, giving hosts artificially high ratings. And she's right.
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