Swedish traveler gets double refund after ten-week wait for canceled Paris hotel booking

Magnus Tengvar's vacation plans in Paris were disrupted when the apartment hotel he booked through Booking.com for nearly 25,000 Swedish kronor (approximately $2,500) canceled his reservation just hours before check-in, citing water damage.

Tengvar, who was traveling with his party, had to quickly find alternative accommodation. The original hotel promised a refund within seven days. However, ten weeks passed without any money appearing in his account. Tengvar then contacted Booking.com, initiating a lengthy exchange of messages and calls.

“

It was stressful, but I quickly booked a new, slightly more expensive accommodation, so it worked out. And then the apartment hotel that canceled said the cost would be refunded within seven days. But after a week, no money had appeared in the account, and then I contacted Booking.com.

According to Tengvar, Booking.com "delayed the refund" and repeatedly asked him to submit the same information. He felt the booking site was not taking responsibility for facilitating a booking with a "dishonest" provider. Booking.com confirmed in an email to Dagens Nyheter that the hotel had been removed from its site due to "suspected activity."

Tengvar also reported being warned about "suspected activity" shortly after returning to Sweden, prompting him to order a new card due to potential card data leakage linked to the booking. After Dagens Nyheter contacted Booking.com, Tengvar eventually received a double refund.

“

It was miserable. My impression is that Booking.com facilitated accommodation from a dishonest landlord and did not want to take responsibility for it.