Fake Agoda bookings
We are getting false bookings on a daily basis that block our availability. The "customers" are from Chad, Senegal, Algeria. All different names but using 1 of 2 credit cards. We require customers to provide an address - the addresses for all the different customers is Agoda own offices! We require customers to provide there phone number - they are all the same number just with a different country code.
BookingCom say there is nothing they can to to stop this because the reservations come through Agoda. I believe it would be more accurate to say "choose to do nothing".
I can see it would be difficult to block, BUT
Booking from the same address - that is very obvious
Booking using the same credit cards (that have been reported as invalid) - that is very obvious
Booking using the same phone number - that is obvious
They should allow us to by-pass the 24hr (guest can provide alternative card details) and cancel these sorts of reservations immediately - perhaps via Customer Service and not just a button on the extranet.
Its not just us https://www.tellows.com/num/2035640799
BookingCom - get to grips with this otherwise many of us will have to reconsider listing our accommodations with a channel that blocks our availability with bookings that will provide no/deny us revenue
If you want to avoid "fake" bookings, late cancelations and no-shows, set your policies and payment methods properly.
https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/help/policies-payments/introducing-payment-solutions-bookingcom
we have - we have to set policies that meet our customers needs - here in France most of our French guests pay with cheques - forcing an online payment in advance would exclude many of our customers.
What we need is the reservation system that sells on our behalf to produce real sales and not fake ones and not to have policies that prohibit dealing with problems promptly.
Online payments in advance is the future now. It is how it is, everyone now is shopping stuff online etc.. You really think it will exclude many customers? I think you should give it a try with Payments by Booking.com or Online Payments by Booking.com.. I was also sceptical at first and I am glad that we went for it. 7% cancelations, 0,6% no-shows (paid) no revenue loss comparing to previous years. And we hosted a lot of french people and they all booked/paid online in advance.
Guests that don't like to pay online in advance are those who are into conspiracies, are paranoid about getting scammed, are not really sure about their travel dates, want to avoid the costs in case of not honoring the booking and ofcourse those fake ones with purposes to obtain visas, stealing identities etc.. Well no thank you, because majority of guests are not like that (even french).
Switch to Payments by Booking.com - view the comments in my profile to see the many many times I've said this in response to "fake bookings", "no shows" etc etc
3 for 3.
Forget cheques, embrace the future.
Payments by booking.com
Prepayment
Non refundable rates
1 min. Night = Risk Free (gives guest free cancellation but you still get paid if no one else takes same or full dates)
This situation described above would be the same on any other platform so it's not exclusive to BdC.
Kind regards, merry xmas.
I agree with Marco. Here is New Zealand payments are very rarely done by cheque anymore. It's online payments, part -pre payments or payment on the spot. I have a special device now that people can pay after arrival. So far only two cancellations from October onwards.
Try it Moulin. It's worth it.
Hope that helps you to get rid of the fake bookings. Because they are definitely a pain. Last thing you need!
Greetings,
Aaltje B.
Fake bookings by 2035640799 number are still being done even after this thread was created 2 year ago; shame booking.com
I got one two days ago.
I stumbled on solution for the problem and why this problem arises;
First consider that booking.com and agoda.com are owned by same corporation.
When you create listing on booking.com a clone is created on agoda.com automatically.
That clone listing is advertised on social networks by agoda.com; from this clone advertisement you are getting these fake bookings.
We found [ stumbled on ] listing for our property and reported it to agoda.com; their staff is generally aware of this situation and clone advertisement is removed in 2 to 3 days.
You can confirm this by checking address of guest reserving your property and registered address of agoda.com
We hope this is useful to you.
A fake reservation came for yesterday. Polish guest, non-existent phone number and address in Bangkok. The guest arrived at night (he was the first). He says that he did not receive a confirmation and that he gave his normal phone number and address when booking
I have had 2 bookings from this bangkok address and this same phone number. The first one cancelled and I have one due to arrive in 2 days time. They have booked smallest, cheapest room but want large ground floor room for same price!! I have contacted booking.con about 7 times now asking them to do something and no clear response yet. We should all find another platform that cares about us, coz without us they would have nothing to sell. I am so angry!!
The address in Bangkok and the fake phone number are entered by Agoda and not by the guest. Yesterday I contacted Agoda about this matter and they wrote back what they claimed and now we will receive the real data. I am waiting for the first booking from them :)
We are based in Botswana and we can't choose the option to have booking.com taking the payment for us.
We are getting 2-3 fake reservations a week.
What to do?
I am getting fake bookings on daily basis and all booking.com says that it with agoda blah blah. How to stop this. pelase suggest
Stella Maris Castelli
30 08 Prudential Tower, 19 Cecil St bangkok N/A
+54 2035640799