Is Booking.Com Safe? Here Is The Best Way To Answer That!

By Alice Ross | ACCOMMODATIONS

Jun 12
is booking com safe

Let’s face it, traveling is not cheap. There comes the plane tickets, land transports, meal expenses, and of course, accommodations. This is one of the things that hold back people from traveling. 

Fortunately, because more and more starting to fancy traveling, more and more companies also come to offer travel deals for those who are always on the road. Booking.com is one of these companies. And with their website, people can easily choose a hotel according to their needs and budget.

But the question here is, is Booking.com safe? Before we answer that, let’s learn more about this website first…

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Booking Your Hotel with Convenience

Booking through Booking.com can save you some time and from the hassle of finding different hotels and make a comparison. It has a user-friendly interface. Another good thing about this is that you can find hotels worldwide. And then you can find the results are per city or landmark.

booking convenience

In comparison to other booking sites, Booking.com does not differ much except for their Genius reward system. Genius is an exclusive program offered to their users. You can get the Genius badge by booking five times within a year. Being a Genius member give you 10% off of their eligible listings.

Another program they offer is the Refer a Friend program. This allows you to send referral links to your friends, and when they book for the first time, you will be rewarded with $15 and the friend you referred will get 10% cash back off the booking they spent. 

​Why Is This Better Than Booking Directly From The Hotel Website?

Booking straight to through hotel websites isn’t too difficult, but also not as easy. There are some reasons why it’s better to use third-party websites like Booking.com to than to go to the hotel website directly to make your reservation. Here are those reasons:

The websites are not easy to find

Or sometimes, they don’t even have a website at all. While more hotels and guest house today already have a website of their own, sometimes, finding them is not so easy, especially if they didn’t list their business on Google.

The websites are difficult to navigate

booking frustration

Sometimes, some hotel owners don’t give much attention to the interface of their website which leaves potential guests frustrated when booking their accommodation. This is less likely to happen on Booking.com as they are very easy to use.

The websites’ payment methods are not convenient

Different hotels may offer different payment methods and sometimes, the payment methods they offer are not very flexible to you. However, on Booking.com, you can pay using your credit or debit card, or for most of them, they allow you to pay nothing to make the reservation and then give the payment once you arrive on the hotel. 

So, is Booking.com Safe?

For some travelers, their holiday turns bad when they get to their destinations and spend their first hours of it finding an accommodation to spend their nights in. This gets worse if you happen to visit the location during the peak season. Fortunately, Booking.com is here to help you avoid this situation.

And to answer your question: YES, Booking.com is safe. And for me, it is one of the best online hotel booking sites today.
But what are the aspects that make this website a safe booking site? Here are the reasons:

Credit cards are the safest option

credit card

As mentioned earlier, Booking.com allows you to pay via credit or debit card. As must as possible, pay by using your debit or credit card. It's not going to stop you from being caught out or if you don’t have one, you can easily pay at the property if that option is available. These payment options will give you the peace of mind if ever you need to cancel your booking.

Complete contact information

Another thing we like about Booking.com is that it gives not only the phone number and the complete address of the property you want to stay in, you will also have an interactive map you can use to locate the place you booked.

On top of that, if it’s your first time to use Booking.com, and hesitant about believing its reliability, you can always call the number provided to confirm their affiliation with Booking.com or if they can confirm the booking you made if you did already.

Past Guests’ Reviews

thumb up

Looking for a property on a trustworthy directory is a smart way to lessen the risk as well. If previous guests have had issues about their stay in a specific hotel, you can know about them on the reviews. Some of the aspects you must look at when looking for an accommodation must include the accessibility of the locations, cleanliness, quality of sleep, and worth of money.

Booking.com is very open when it comes to property reviews. In fact, the hotel rating – which is the overall rating a property gets based on guests’ reviews – is one of the first things you will see when searching for a hotel.

So What Makes Booking.Com So Special?

After using a lot of different hotel booking websites, I can confidently say that Booking.com is one of the best ones you can use and always going to be on top of my favorites. It is always one of the first ones I recommend to people when they ask for suggestions on where to book their hotel. Here’s why.

Clear pricing with no hidden fees

The prices shown are the actual prices you’re going to pay for the whole duration you’re going to stay. It shows everything including the minimal fee they charge, so you won’t get surprised when you look at your credit card records or when you get to the property.

You can request for other services

pickup point

As you book, you can request for other services the hotel is possible offering. These services include airport pickup, tours, or any special request you may want to ask your host. Booking.com is very interactive.

Instant confirmation

Another thing that I really like about Booking.com is its ability to immediately confirm the availability of the room. For other websites, you might have to ways for a few hours to know if you can avail the room or not. This is because of the time difference – the host cannot respond right away. The reservation systems of Booking.com, on the other hand, are always updated.

Reliable customer support

Booking.com really gives their user peace of mind with their easy-to-get in touch customer service team. Although I only had to contact their customer service a couple of times when I made an error on my booking, they were able to fix the problem immediately.

User-friendly smartphone app

Their app is probably the best hotel booking app I have used. Just like their website, it is very easy to use and it loads quickly. In fact, I prefer using the app instead of the desktop version because it is more straightforward.

booking-com

Interactive map

Lastly, probably my favorite feature – Booking.com offers an interactive map that shows the actual location of the property along with the nearby attractions, landmark, and even transport station. This makes my decision in choosing the hotel to book easier.

What mention about are the reasons why one must considering using Booking.com when booking a hotel. There are other sites that I use as an alternative to Booking.com when the hotel I want to book is not available.

List of Other Reliable Hotel Booking Sites

Expedia

Expedia is one, if not the biggest among all online travel sites on the internet. It also has a user-friendly interface and navigations that allows people to book their hotel easily even if they are not internet savvy at all.

hotel sign

Agoda

Agoda is another reliable third-party booking website you can use. It can definitely cut your hotel research time with its easy to use design. It also offers a lot of discounts on hotel, so it is perfect for those who are also looking to save some bucks when they travel.

Orbitz

Orbitz makes the process of booking a hotel easily and offers a lot of choices to customize your options. It also allows you to book cruises and buy tickets for attractions. With all the options it offers, Orbitz definitely worth checking out

Hotels.com

hotel room

Hotels.com is also one of our top overall hotel booking sites. Our favorite thing about this is that offers a rewards program that allows you get free nights.

Hotwire

Hotwire is another hotel booking site that also offers car rentals or shuttle airport pick up to its users. It is a great way to find bargains as it sells rooms, cars, and seats that were not able to be sold by the companies.

So, here are my thoughts on why you must book hotel rooms online, particularly Booking.com. If you are one of those people that are asking, “Is Booking.com safe?” Well, here is your answer!

So, what do you think? Are you going to use these third-party sites in the future? Have you used one before? Let us know in the comments below! And if you find this article helpful, make sure to share this article with your family and friends.

Rating: 4.33 (3 votes)

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Alice Ross, a long-term traveler who left the corporate world to travel the world. I chose to live life on my own phase and live day by day while immersing myself in new experiences, new knowledge, and new people in a different walk of life I met along the way.

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