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On the other hand, if we consider the hotels as just a "user", why would they have access to full CC details, including security code. As someone booking a hot

On the other hand, if we consider the hotels as just a "user", why would they have access to full CC details, including security code. As someone booking a hotel on the site, I would expect booking.com to take responsibility for keeping my payment details secure (or, if they want to operate like a marketplace, make it clear that they're not taking responsibility, but in that case it looses a lot of value toe as an end user)

avereveard 6y ago
> why would they have access to full CC details, including security code. yeah I stopped using booking because of this. an hotel decided that the card used for reservation was the one to charge for my stay and charged it the day of arrival and I only discovered later when trying to reserve a rental car and I hit my card limit and couldn't. that pissed me off in so many ways, first because the booking wasn't a upfront pay but hotel did it anyway, second because booking disclosed my cc details to a third party instead of being a neutral escrow, and third of course because it bite me in the ass at the worst possible moment, as my car broke down and I needed to cover a rental and repairs while sorting out the rest of the travel.
- jiofih 6y ago
  Sounds like you have a habit of not reading terms. For as much as I loath Booking, pay-on-arrival is clearly stated, and there is no escrow because you’re paying the hotel directly.
  - avereveard 6y ago
    terms say 'pay at the property', not on arrival, and it say the hotel 'reserves the right to temporarily hold an amount prior to arrival', not that it will charge the stay on your provided card.
    - jiofih 6y ago
      Straight from the checkout step where you enter a credit card: > The property will charge you: €xxx > The date you'll be charged—and what happens if you cancel—depends on the booking conditions. And then the booking conditions (set by the property): > You'll be charged a prepayment of the total price at any time.
      - avereveard 6y ago
        your terms are wildly different from mine https://i.imgur.com/4qKVrBl.png https://i.imgur.com/4qKVrBl.png https://i.imgur.com/Ty7plol.png https://i.imgur.com/Ty7plol.png so maybe tone down the snarkiness and accept that services customs aren't as uniform as your anecdote made you assume them to be
        jiofih 6y ago
        The parts you highlighted refer to the online booking, and are correct - no charge to your card happened at the time of booking, you were charged by the hotel on arrival - as is custom on every hotel check in, online booking or not. On top of that, anyone taking a large payment via CC will usually require payment on the same card used for the authorization hold. Accepting another card is risky as funds can be easily made unavailable before the transaction settles. You just had wrong expectations - on cc charges, that booking would be a “neutral escrow” or be able/willing to help. I’ve been in a similar situation where they held the entire reservation amount, in the thousands, while having already taken payment, and it’s 100% up to the hotel. They just don’t give a shit. This is yet another reason why CCs are a terrible idea. Having the funds in a checking account and not being able to use them because of credit limit shenanigans is infuriating.
        avereveard 6y ago
        > you were charged by the hotel on arrival - as is custom on every hotel check in, online booking or not again, you're over generalizing your personal experience. booking on arrival happened to me exactly once. but you're not listening and keep repeating points that don't really apply to the situation at hand.
em500 6y ago
Traditionally Booking.com operated mostly as a marketplace ("agency" model, as opposed to "merchant" model like Expedia [1]). The contract and the payments are between the guest and the hotel, not between the guest and Booking. (Booking bills the hotel afterwards for the commission, they don't bill the guest for the stay.) Of course they don't always make this very clear to the consumer, and it seems to have gotten more muddled in the last few years. I think they're trying to nudge people more towards their own payment platform nowadays. [1] https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-why-booking-coms-agency-model-has-an-edge-over-other-otas/articleshow/59102504.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-why-booking-coms-agen...
nolok 6y ago
Sadly it's not how these platform operates, they provide the card for security deposit usually. That's why I've used Agoda every time I could (works well in Asia, spotty elsewhere), because they allow paypal payment. Hotel will still want your card for the deposit but you can just provide it on the first day. This way you don't have to fight with a place that did overbooking or similar and still has your card on file.

avereveard 6y ago

> why would they have access to full CC details, including security code. yeah I stopped using booking because of this. an hotel decided that the card used for reservation was the one to charge for my stay and charged it the day of arrival and I only discovered later when trying to reserve a rental car and I hit my card limit and couldn't. that pissed me off in so many ways, first because the booking wasn't a upfront pay but hotel did it anyway, second because booking disclosed my cc details to a third party instead of being a neutral escrow, and third of course because it bite me in the ass at the worst possible moment, as my car broke down and I needed to cover a rental and repairs while sorting out the rest of the travel.

jiofih 6y ago
Sounds like you have a habit of not reading terms. For as much as I loath Booking, pay-on-arrival is clearly stated, and there is no escrow because you’re paying the hotel directly.
- avereveard 6y ago
  terms say 'pay at the property', not on arrival, and it say the hotel 'reserves the right to temporarily hold an amount prior to arrival', not that it will charge the stay on your provided card.
  - jiofih 6y ago
    Straight from the checkout step where you enter a credit card: > The property will charge you: €xxx > The date you'll be charged—and what happens if you cancel—depends on the booking conditions. And then the booking conditions (set by the property): > You'll be charged a prepayment of the total price at any time.
    - avereveard 6y ago
      your terms are wildly different from mine https://i.imgur.com/4qKVrBl.png https://i.imgur.com/4qKVrBl.png https://i.imgur.com/Ty7plol.png https://i.imgur.com/Ty7plol.png so maybe tone down the snarkiness and accept that services customs aren't as uniform as your anecdote made you assume them to be
      - jiofih 6y ago
        The parts you highlighted refer to the online booking, and are correct - no charge to your card happened at the time of booking, you were charged by the hotel on arrival - as is custom on every hotel check in, online booking or not. On top of that, anyone taking a large payment via CC will usually require payment on the same card used for the authorization hold. Accepting another card is risky as funds can be easily made unavailable before the transaction settles. You just had wrong expectations - on cc charges, that booking would be a “neutral escrow” or be able/willing to help. I’ve been in a similar situation where they held the entire reservation amount, in the thousands, while having already taken payment, and it’s 100% up to the hotel. They just don’t give a shit. This is yet another reason why CCs are a terrible idea. Having the funds in a checking account and not being able to use them because of credit limit shenanigans is infuriating.
        avereveard 6y ago
        > you were charged by the hotel on arrival - as is custom on every hotel check in, online booking or not again, you're over generalizing your personal experience. booking on arrival happened to me exactly once. but you're not listening and keep repeating points that don't really apply to the situation at hand.

em500 6y ago

Traditionally Booking.com operated mostly as a marketplace ("agency" model, as opposed to "merchant" model like Expedia [1]). The contract and the payments are between the guest and the hotel, not between the guest and Booking. (Booking bills the hotel afterwards for the commission, they don't bill the guest for the stay.) Of course they don't always make this very clear to the consumer, and it seems to have gotten more muddled in the last few years. I think they're trying to nudge people more towards their own payment platform nowadays. [1] https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-why-booking-coms-agency-model-has-an-edge-over-other-otas/articleshow/59102504.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-why-booking-coms-agen...

nolok 6y ago

Sadly it's not how these platform operates, they provide the card for security deposit usually. That's why I've used Agoda every time I could (works well in Asia, spotty elsewhere), because they allow paypal payment. Hotel will still want your card for the deposit but you can just provide it on the first day. This way you don't have to fight with a place that did overbooking or similar and still has your card on file.