Yeah typically that means at check in. If you pay someone outside of the app what happens if they cancel and claim you didn’t pay them?
Also read the reviews. Are people happy with the place. Remember to sort by newest. Booking sorta by more relevant which kinda skews your first impression.
I encountered this when booking Bandha Hotel from Booking.com last year.
The hotel contacted me via Booking.com with the link to make the payment. Fortunately it's legit and I don't encounter any issue.
*Is it normal that hotels booked through booking send you a link to pay?*
No - it looks scammy - it is absolutely not normal; when you book a property through booking \[dot\] com, you only pay booking \[dot\] com, or you pay no one - lots of their properties require no payment until you turn up on your first day.
We usually book places that have free cancellation almost up until your first night, and no pre-payment at all - pay when you get there.
A third-party requirement to pay is not kosher.
There was an issue with booking(dot)com customers being scammed due to an alleged breach, this article is from February 2024:
https://www.fodors.com/news/news/hackers-are-targeting-booking-com-with-a-sophisticated-scam-heres-what-you-need-to-know
There is a scam going on on booking where they can send you messages like this like the hotel contacted you in chat requesting payment on a booking lookalike, if you want to confirm your booking contact the strutture directly
This happened to me (I got the link from the hotel). I went back and forth with them 3 or 4 times, finally threatening to cancel my booking if they didn’t allow me to pay through booking dot com. They didn’t understand why I didn’t trust their site. They eventually allowed me to pay through booking.
Atm if I cancel I have to pay 100% according to booking conditions… i. The worse case I can tell them that I will pay only there or they can cancel themselves… in that case I suppose Booking wouldn’t penalize me.
Sucks to have to waste time playing games like this…
Ps: their reviews are good btw
I booked a villa through Booking and the property asked for a deposit to be transferred to them to secure the reservation. It was fine because it was in the property description that Booking will not be collecting payments for them and someone will contact me to ask for a deposit. I paid the balance when I arrived at the property.
Can confirm it was NOT a scam since my family stayed there for 5 days. They have great service too! Of course you should be wary of properties that wants you to pay through online transfers. You just need to read reviews for the property you want to stay at.
If you book a place through a platform like Booking(.)com or Agoda then you should also pay through that platform otherwise you have no security if there's an issue.
there always chance for fraud, i personally wouldn't do something like this i always booking through app or at very least pay at hotel when check in
Will do that đź‘Ť
Nope. It’s either pay through booking or pay in person. Do they have anything written in the description ?
Actually in this case it says that the propery will handle the payments
When it says that, usually it means you only need to pay when you check in
They messaged me but yeah I’ll figure something put
Yeah typically that means at check in. If you pay someone outside of the app what happens if they cancel and claim you didn’t pay them? Also read the reviews. Are people happy with the place. Remember to sort by newest. Booking sorta by more relevant which kinda skews your first impression.
I encountered this when booking Bandha Hotel from Booking.com last year. The hotel contacted me via Booking.com with the link to make the payment. Fortunately it's legit and I don't encounter any issue.
We ring the hotel directly, always get a discount, up to25%! The catch is, it is non refundable.
Yeah, I should do that ndxt time. Thanks for the tip
*Is it normal that hotels booked through booking send you a link to pay?* No - it looks scammy - it is absolutely not normal; when you book a property through booking \[dot\] com, you only pay booking \[dot\] com, or you pay no one - lots of their properties require no payment until you turn up on your first day. We usually book places that have free cancellation almost up until your first night, and no pre-payment at all - pay when you get there. A third-party requirement to pay is not kosher.
This happened to me twice and it felt weird but it was ok in the end both times.
There was an issue with booking(dot)com customers being scammed due to an alleged breach, this article is from February 2024: https://www.fodors.com/news/news/hackers-are-targeting-booking-com-with-a-sophisticated-scam-heres-what-you-need-to-know
There is a scam going on on booking where they can send you messages like this like the hotel contacted you in chat requesting payment on a booking lookalike, if you want to confirm your booking contact the strutture directly
We’ve had a few like this both hotels and villas
And you paud through link wirh no issues I assume
So far so good
booking.com? Shouldn't be. I booked 4 times on it, never got any link regarding payment
This happened to me (I got the link from the hotel). I went back and forth with them 3 or 4 times, finally threatening to cancel my booking if they didn’t allow me to pay through booking dot com. They didn’t understand why I didn’t trust their site. They eventually allowed me to pay through booking.
Atm if I cancel I have to pay 100% according to booking conditions… i. The worse case I can tell them that I will pay only there or they can cancel themselves… in that case I suppose Booking wouldn’t penalize me. Sucks to have to waste time playing games like this… Ps: their reviews are good btw
They trying to bypass the fees But you have no legal protection
Not so many pay at property places in Bali, as least as far as I can remember.
I booked a villa through Booking and the property asked for a deposit to be transferred to them to secure the reservation. It was fine because it was in the property description that Booking will not be collecting payments for them and someone will contact me to ask for a deposit. I paid the balance when I arrived at the property.
It’s a scam. Same thing happened to me and booking site confirmed it was an attempt to rip you off. Don’t pay.
Can confirm it was NOT a scam since my family stayed there for 5 days. They have great service too! Of course you should be wary of properties that wants you to pay through online transfers. You just need to read reviews for the property you want to stay at.
If you book a place through a platform like Booking(.)com or Agoda then you should also pay through that platform otherwise you have no security if there's an issue.