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Hi,
Our place is in Sweden, we have sometimes specially in low season some fake booking on booking.com. It’s on booking.com, clients are from Romania, it’s always last minute (same day or max 1-2 days before). The card is invalid or no funds when testings. My problem is the client has 24 hours to updated a new card and of course they are never doing it. What can I do to avoid these kind of problems
PS: avoiding booking.com platform is not a solution for us
Have you contacted Booking.com and asked their advice?
I don’t use it because of negative feedback from other hosts on here.
I think every platform will have issues with fraud, it’s how they deal with them.
Are there really no other platforms that you could use or maybe look at how you partner with local employers or tourist bodies to help bring in footfall?
Best
I have finally got news from the client so this time seems ok…
I have 70% of booking from booking.com and I am using several platforms. The tourist office have a platform but it’s not possible to connect to my channel manager, regarding local employers I have often companies that make one booking on booking.com and I get them booking directly for the others time they are coming back (very often)
I will soon have a booking on my website, hope it will bring more booking
Unless you accept only cash bookings?
I’m new to booking having previously only listed with airbnb and it has NOT been a pleasant experience.
We take only cash bookings as can’t authorize card payments at the moment PLUS apparently if your new they don’t even let you see the card details anyway.
So have had just 2 bookings from booking and both were disasters.
The first booking, due to some weird issues with their system was a group of 8 who apparently had booked at an advertised rate that is only 20% of what it should be? Disaster, and I just hosted them anyway, because if I didn’t booking would have looked for other appropriate place and required me to pay the full cost of that place! No!
The second booking was a massive last minute booking of 14 people. We had literally one or two hours to suddenly prepare the place for this 14 person group that had booked instantly.
After running around for hours, and waiting till midnight, guess what? The guests don’t show, don’t communicate, nothing!
So guess what we get paid for all that chaos? ZERO!
My wife doesn’t even want to hear the name booking at the moment. I don’t even know what I’m still doing listed on that site. Perhaps sheer desperation due to the low volumes at the moment?
Basically booking - UGH!
I accept cash and card payment. If you do only cash I don’t see the difference.
To authorize card payments it’s very easy with stripe. I started last year and was able to see client cards directly.
As I said before we have 70% of business from booking.com
PS: I received news from the client that even the card as no money he will come tomorrow (nice communication). He will pay cash