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Jul 28, 2026
Allison's Munich Hangover
Allison's Munich Hangover
00:00
12:06
Transcript
0:00
Hey, Eynon, ever been to Oktoberfest? No, but if I ever do, I imagine it'd go something like this. Arrive, drink beer, drink beer, drink beer, pass out, wake up. How the [beep] did I get to Germany?
0:14
Well, at least you have a place to sleep. One of our readers did not, even though she'd reserved a room on booking.com. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Booking.com.
0:23
She was out $1,000 per night, and you're not gonna believe how she lost the money. Someone did this to her intentionally. Details are in today's maddening case, which I call Mein Gott, Leute!
0:37
Munich really left me with a hangover. [upbeat music] Hey there. It's The Elliott Confidential Podcast, and here's how this works.
0:50
In each episode, we'll take a case, we'll unpack it, we explain what went wrong and how you can avoid it, and then we try to fix it. This isn't an audio-only version of the articles you might read on Elliott Report.
1:03
Oh, no. We bring the receipts, the emails, the voicemails, and the screenshots. This week especially, the stuff we got on the cutting room floor is extremely revealing. Okay.
1:15
Allison is traveling from Montreal to Munich during Oktoberfest. It's one of the busiest travel weeks of the year on the German calendar. She booked a two-night stay at a property listed on booking.com.
1:26
She prepaid roughly $1,000. I'd expect a night at The Ritz for that rate. Yeah, right. But that's what you'd expect if you're traveling during high season.
1:34
But three days before arrival, Allison notices something is a little bit off. The check-in window is for 7:00 to 9:00 AM. Check-in times are usually standard, from 3:00 PM until midnight. Yeah.
1:47
This one looks like an amateur host. There's no front desk. Um, it's one of those direct handoff type of deals for an apartment rental. So what did she do when she realized she couldn't make the window?
1:57
Well, she messaged the host three days out and she said, "Hey, uh, my flight doesn't arrive until 10:00 AM."
2:02
She even offered to skip the first night entirely and pick up the key the next morning inside the host's limited 7:00 to 9:00 AM window. Well, she messaged the host three days before her arrival, and no response.
2:16
Finally, on the day of her arrival, just before the check-in window opens, the host gets back to her. This is their text conversation the day of.
2:25
[graphic whooshes] "Dear guest, please note that we, as a private apartment rental, can offer only limited check-in windows, currently 7:00 to 9:00 AM in the morning, due to staff capacity.
2:37
Regarding your desired check-in request, we are currently checking availabilities. Can you please let us know your flight arrival time? Kind regards." I already sense some obtuseness. [laughs] Yes.
2:49
Allison gets back saying, "Our flight arrives at 10:00 AM from Montreal. Air Canada flight 9098." Something to note that even though this is the day she arrives, she's still being led on.
3:00
Meanwhile, the host probably already knows what's about to happen. Allison gets no response, and later on texts them this. "We have landed and are getting our bags. Any updates?"
3:10
"Dear guest, please note that we currently have no staff availabilities for a later check-in window outside this specific check-in window.
3:18
Hence, we are unable to check you in, and the reservation has been marked as a no-show. Please reach out to alternative properties. Thanks." You know what you're doing. [laughs] Yes, they do.
3:30
Allison texts back, quote, "We will get a refund?" No response. She texts again, "Leaving us stranded in Munich is quite the move. I first contacted you three days ago about the check-in issue.
3:43
We will be complaining to booking.com and sharing our experience online." To which they respond, "Dear guest, our manager will look at your case and try to find a viable solution in communication with Booking.
3:55
Many thanks." Then Allison really goes in. She texts, "Hi. We just booked alternative accommodations. No thanks to you.
4:06
I expect a full refund, which I consider a kindness to you, as you really should compensate people for abandoning them.
4:14
Until I receive it, please let management know I will be sharing my full story with booking.com, my credit card company, Munich Tourism, and all the places you advertise your accommodations, with screenshots of my attempts to reach out to you for three days included.
4:30
Have a great day." While we do not condone sending heated messages such as these, we gotta admit, we find them very entertaining. Yeah. Yeah, we do.
4:37
It turns out the host canceled the reservation before she even arrived and kept the full amount because the cancellation landed inside the penalty window. This is a pretty good deal for the host.
4:48
Think about the economics. No guest means no housekeeping, no utilities, no cost. The host can even relist the room for a last-minute Oktoberfest booking and collect the fees twice. Yeah. Something is off about this one.
5:01
I mean, a legitimate host wants you in the room that you paid for. A host running a scam, on the other hand, wants you out so they can resell the room and then pocket your money.
5:13
[pensive music] So how is any of this allowed? I mean, Allison even booked a flight that arrived sooner than most, and she still lost 1,000 bucks. Well, it's legal. You agreed to it.
5:25
When you click the book button, the check-in window was on that page. But it's a weaponized form of compliance. The rule is technically disclosed, but it exists to generate revenue without providing a service. Right.
5:37
You're setting a window that most out-of-town travelers cannot possibly hit. You're counting on them not reading the fine print, and then you make the guest a no-show and you keep everything.
5:48
The fine print is the business model. Allison was apoplectic, and she did what any confused consumer does.
5:56
She started researching the property to see if there were any other victims She went back and read the reviews more carefully. What she found was a pattern. She says, "All the reviews are either one or 10.
6:09
The one reviews are all people in my situation. The 10 reviews all have the same heading, similar length, and wording. It seems extremely likely that these are all fraudulent."
6:20
It looked like the hotel was covering up all of their one-star canceled booking reviews with their own fake 10-star reviews. It's called a U-curve. High on both ends, empty in the middle.
6:33
Real businesses have a bell curve. Mostly fours and fives, a few threes, and the occasional angry one. When you see nothing but ones and tens, you gotta read those one-star reviews first.
6:45
If they all complain about the same thing, like a check-in time or a surprise fee, maybe you should believe them.
6:52
Allison told us that she believes this property pulled in something like 15,000 euros from travelers like her across a single Oktoberfest. And her deeper worry wasn't the money.
7:03
She said, quote, "This scam is continuing, and it really is dangerous because they're leaving people stranded in a strange city." Yeah, Munich is a pretty strange city, isn't it? Okay.
7:14
A- as someone who used to live in Munich, it's not that strange. It's n- actually a nice place. Sure. Whatever you say, Dad. [laughs] By the time this reached our advocacy team, it was fully stuck.
7:27
Allison was out $1,000, and the host had gone silent. Even booking.com wasn't budging.
7:33
We took her case to booking.com and asked about the thing that actually matters, not just the refund, but whether a window no traveler can possibly hit is a fair policy at all.
7:44
And the point our team pressed was the property didn't let these guests check in at all. They never stayed, not even one night. In mid-November, booking.com told us it would offer a full refund. Good news.
7:58
We told Allison to watch her statement, but then nothing. Weeks went by. She heard from no one.
8:04
By late November, her credit card company came back to her and said booking.com wasn't budging, and it didn't want to refund a penny. Remember that credit card chargeback that she had threatened?
8:15
Well, it turns out that Allison had actually filed one, and when that happens, it freezes any refunds until the chargeback gets resolved. Filing a chargeback seemed like the right thing to do in this case.
8:26
It does, but a chargeback is the nuclear option, and once you launch it, diplomacy is over. The second you dispute, the bank freezes the funds.
8:36
The customer service agents who could have refunded you are now barred from touching the money because it's in legal limbo between the bank and the merchant.
8:44
If the company refunds you while the dispute is live, it can lose the money twice. So it won't do it.
8:51
Booking.com said, quote, "The customer initiated a dispute with their credit card provider, so since this dispute is active, booking.com cannot process the refund." This is textbook circular reasoning.
9:02
She disputed the charge because they wouldn't refund her, and now they won't refund her 'cause she disputed the charge. Yeah, it's like one of those Chinese finger traps. Wait, those are for your fingers?
9:13
[laughs] Oh, yes. [laughs] Allison says, quote, "This is suspicious to me. Booking.com has a habit of giving advice that will ultimately make it more difficult to get a refund.
9:25
For instance, they recommend people stay at unsuitable or dirty accommodation until they can find them an alternative place to stay.
9:34
Subsequently, these people find out from their credit card companies that they would have had to leave immediately in order to submit a successful claim." She's quite literally being told, "Trust me, bro."
9:45
[laughs] Trust me, bro. This is by the same company that just spent weeks telling her she'd never get her money back.
9:52
It may sound counterintuitive, but this is the order in which you should deal with this sort of a situation. Exhaust customer service completely, then escalate to an executive, then call an advocate like us.
10:05
Then, and only then, contact your bank and file a dispute. That's a lot of thens. The moment you file, you close the door on a negotiated settlement. But watch the clock.
10:18
Chargebacks have a limited time, so don't wait forever. [playful music] Now, this host may be an immovable object, but our advocacy team is an unstoppable force. We gave Allison a little advice.
10:32
She should get the dispute resolution letter from the credit card company. Then it can finally process the refund. Several months after we contacted Booking, Allison finally got her money back. But here's the clincher.
10:44
As far as we know, the property is still listed on booking.com. It's still open for business, and it's still waiting for the next traveler whose flight lands at 10:00 AM. Unbelievable. Here are the takeaways.
10:58
One, check-in times are really important. Check them when you're making your reservation to make sure that you can be there on time. A weird window is a red flag. Two, read the reviews before you book, not after.
11:14
Look for a U-curve. If you see one, read the one-star reviews first. If every 10-star review says the same thing, that's another red flag. Third, the chargeback is a last resort, not a first response.
11:26
Work through customer service, escalate, and get help. File the dispute only when you're out a runway. And if a host won't give you a key at any reasonable hour, that might be their business model.
11:39
If you've hit a check-in trap or a surprise fee or a policy is policy wall, get in touch with us. Our help is absolutely free. You can reach us at elliottadvocacy.org. My email address is
[email protected]
.
11:53
And if you need a designated beer funneler for your next Oktoberfest trip to Munich, my email is
[email protected]
. [outro music]
Elliott Confidential
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