That's despicable, both the guests and Booking.com. But I have suffered exactly the same. Make sure Booking.com see that this bad review is at odds with the others either side, and look for a reason why they should not be reviewing eg. were they the guest who stayed, or just the account-holder and the guest was somebody else. That might get the review deleted.
A simple way would be for BDC to withdraw access to review if they have previously asked for a refund they are not entitled to. Such requests should only be made through the extranet. Then a host can simply say no. It won't make them any pleasanter to deal with face to face, but they can't harm your reputation afterwards. After all, no-shows can't review, so it can't be difficult to set up.
Oh dear, that was too much to follow, and probably too complex with only one B&B room and one self-catering unit to sell. Is there anything better, more widely used or cheaper than Paypal? I ask guests booking direct with me to use BACCS or the "friends and family" option on Paypal to avoid commission charges, so it's effectively free.
It would suit me if Booking.com guests had to pay immediately upon booking, rather than Booking.com taking their money just before the start of the 30 day non-refundable period starts. However, since nearly all this year's bookings have been last minute (ie. within 30 days of check-in) payment has usually been taken immediately anyway.
Taking private bookings through my own website, I don't block dates on the calendars or guarantee any accommodation until payment has cleared, whether made by BACCS, Paypal or cheque. I very rarely agree to take cash unless check-in is less than half a day away. The possibility that they may lose their reservation does seem to get guests to focus and pay promptly - so you may have a point! But I wonder if not having the simple card option with BDC will put some off, especially if they don't normally use Paypal or BACCS.
Frustrating, isn't it. I presume they didn't try to leave a public review. If they did, you can have it removed. The review has to be written by someone who actually stayed, not just an account holder who made a reservation. The quality of Booking.com responses to questions has deteriorated in recent years, which wastes time and temper. Try phoning them, that way if they give you an irrelevant answer you can pursue it immediately. Once you've toiled to a conclusion, make them confirm what they said in a written message - or confirm it yourself in a written message to them demanding acknowledgement - to put down a permanent marker for future reference.
If you can, opt for prepayment through Booking.com and set your non-refundable period to ensure you have adequate time to re-let cancellations - 30 days is reasonable.
If you feel generous, on a case by case basis, you can always offer to refund the guest voluntarily "if Booking.com are able to find me alternative guests for those dates".
Guests have an option to book "Risk Free" too. This means they pay a bit extra, but it extends the free cancellation period to nearer check-in. If they cancel under this policy, Booking.com refunds their money, discounts your room price AT THEIR EXPENSE, seeks alternative guests, and will pay you in full if they can't.
I sometimes get calls from people who have already paid, are not entitled to a refund and can't make it. If they let me know and ARE CIVIL ABOUT IT, I tell them to cancel IMMEDIATELY, to give me a chance to re-let so I can authorise a refund voluntarily. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, either way you are covered.
Sadly a significant element of the general public are routinely inconsiderate and dishonest. They will lie to you about the reason they need to cancel. To "sort the sheep from the goats" remind them about the terms of their reservation, suggest they cancel to give you a chance to re-let and note their reaction. Honest ones will thank you and comply, the genuine but aggrieved ones won't cancel and won't turn up (so mark them as no-shows), and the liars will show up anyway, make your life a misery and leave you a foul review.
Nothing you do or say will prevent this, so make a note on their extranet page and be ready with a suitable retort: "I note your critical review, and need to inform all readers that this guest asked for a late cancellation refund, saying they had broken their leg. Declined, they showed up anyway, and - surprise, surprise - did NOT have a broken leg. A guest who lies to you before arrival, will also lie in a Review. Just so you know..............."
I had the same thing: a unique, isolated rural lodge surrounded by animals where guests bring their own horses to ride, get's described as being an apartment in a block in town 5 miles away, that has wifi and a kettle! The airport they insisted on mentioning is a freight-only air depot! I wish they'd leave the descriptions to us. We understand they need some hooks to hang the guest searches on, but PLEASE, get the hooks right!
Also: what is a "terrace"? Google says it's on a rooftop. Not BDC! They can't tell the difference between a terrace, a patio, a deck and a balcony, lol.
Hmmm, this is one for them then, and you'll keep getting all the usual useless responses to messages with no consideration for the urgency. Have you tried phoning instead of messaging? At least you can demolish the cut-and-paste dismissals as you go, and maybe get transferred to somebody "live" who might have a better idea than the badly-trained call centre fodder.
I've seen this message when sending messages to guests and there it seems to be to do with "timing out". When composing a long message, I find it's worth composing it in Word, then cutting and pasting it in. Could the problem you are having to do with "timing out"?
That's despicable, both the guests and Booking.com. But I have suffered exactly the same. Make sure Booking.com see that this bad review is at odds with the others either side, and look for a reason why they should not be reviewing eg. were they the guest who stayed, or just the account-holder and the guest was somebody else. That might get the review deleted.
A simple way would be for BDC to withdraw access to review if they have previously asked for a refund they are not entitled to. Such requests should only be made through the extranet. Then a host can simply say no. It won't make them any pleasanter to deal with face to face, but they can't harm your reputation afterwards. After all, no-shows can't review, so it can't be difficult to set up.
Oh dear, that was too much to follow, and probably too complex with only one B&B room and one self-catering unit to sell. Is there anything better, more widely used or cheaper than Paypal? I ask guests booking direct with me to use BACCS or the "friends and family" option on Paypal to avoid commission charges, so it's effectively free.
It would suit me if Booking.com guests had to pay immediately upon booking, rather than Booking.com taking their money just before the start of the 30 day non-refundable period starts. However, since nearly all this year's bookings have been last minute (ie. within 30 days of check-in) payment has usually been taken immediately anyway.
Taking private bookings through my own website, I don't block dates on the calendars or guarantee any accommodation until payment has cleared, whether made by BACCS, Paypal or cheque. I very rarely agree to take cash unless check-in is less than half a day away. The possibility that they may lose their reservation does seem to get guests to focus and pay promptly - so you may have a point! But I wonder if not having the simple card option with BDC will put some off, especially if they don't normally use Paypal or BACCS.
What do you think?
Frustrating, isn't it. I presume they didn't try to leave a public review. If they did, you can have it removed. The review has to be written by someone who actually stayed, not just an account holder who made a reservation. The quality of Booking.com responses to questions has deteriorated in recent years, which wastes time and temper. Try phoning them, that way if they give you an irrelevant answer you can pursue it immediately. Once you've toiled to a conclusion, make them confirm what they said in a written message - or confirm it yourself in a written message to them demanding acknowledgement - to put down a permanent marker for future reference.
If you can, opt for prepayment through Booking.com and set your non-refundable period to ensure you have adequate time to re-let cancellations - 30 days is reasonable.
If you feel generous, on a case by case basis, you can always offer to refund the guest voluntarily "if Booking.com are able to find me alternative guests for those dates".
Guests have an option to book "Risk Free" too. This means they pay a bit extra, but it extends the free cancellation period to nearer check-in. If they cancel under this policy, Booking.com refunds their money, discounts your room price AT THEIR EXPENSE, seeks alternative guests, and will pay you in full if they can't.
I sometimes get calls from people who have already paid, are not entitled to a refund and can't make it. If they let me know and ARE CIVIL ABOUT IT, I tell them to cancel IMMEDIATELY, to give me a chance to re-let so I can authorise a refund voluntarily. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, either way you are covered.
Sadly a significant element of the general public are routinely inconsiderate and dishonest. They will lie to you about the reason they need to cancel. To "sort the sheep from the goats" remind them about the terms of their reservation, suggest they cancel to give you a chance to re-let and note their reaction. Honest ones will thank you and comply, the genuine but aggrieved ones won't cancel and won't turn up (so mark them as no-shows), and the liars will show up anyway, make your life a misery and leave you a foul review.
Nothing you do or say will prevent this, so make a note on their extranet page and be ready with a suitable retort: "I note your critical review, and need to inform all readers that this guest asked for a late cancellation refund, saying they had broken their leg. Declined, they showed up anyway, and - surprise, surprise - did NOT have a broken leg. A guest who lies to you before arrival, will also lie in a Review. Just so you know..............."
I had the same thing: a unique, isolated rural lodge surrounded by animals where guests bring their own horses to ride, get's described as being an apartment in a block in town 5 miles away, that has wifi and a kettle! The airport they insisted on mentioning is a freight-only air depot! I wish they'd leave the descriptions to us. We understand they need some hooks to hang the guest searches on, but PLEASE, get the hooks right!
Also: what is a "terrace"? Google says it's on a rooftop. Not BDC! They can't tell the difference between a terrace, a patio, a deck and a balcony, lol.
Hmmm, this is one for them then, and you'll keep getting all the usual useless responses to messages with no consideration for the urgency. Have you tried phoning instead of messaging? At least you can demolish the cut-and-paste dismissals as you go, and maybe get transferred to somebody "live" who might have a better idea than the badly-trained call centre fodder.
I've seen this message when sending messages to guests and there it seems to be to do with "timing out". When composing a long message, I find it's worth composing it in Word, then cutting and pasting it in. Could the problem you are having to do with "timing out"?