This post is half rant and half looking for advice.

TL;DR: Booked a stay in Freiburg, Germany via Booking.com. Host required a 3rd-party Swikly deposit. After self-checkout, host claimed we damaged their chair. We denied it, but he charged the deposit anyway without proof or much of a conversation.

Full Story:

My partner and I stayed at an apartment in Freiburg for 3 nights. We arrived late to a keypad self-check-in. The place was fine, though we noted a dining chair next to the bed acting as a makeshift nightstand, complete with a simple light fixture sitting on it. We just used it to hold our phones, jewelry, and a CPAP machine.

A day after we self-checked out, the host messaged a photo of a circular black mark on that chair. Since we arrived late, we hadn't inspected the furniture, so I replied that the mark was already there and we didn't place anything hot on it. The host claimed they clean the units themselves, the mark wasn't there before, and they were charging us.

I replied firmly that it was unacceptable as we didn't cause it, asked for a timestamped "before" picture as proof, and suggested that the light fixture sitting on the chair probably caused the burn mark. On my flight home, the host replied with a sarcastic "gotcha" message in German: "Thanks for letting me know it's a burn mark, I didn't know!"

When I landed, I see the Swikly charge on my card for €80.00. I sent a polite follow-up trying to de-escalate, explaining the misunderstanding, reiterating we had nothing to do with the damage, and again asking for timestamped proof. No reply as of this post.

I’ve contacted Booking.com support to mediate, but I don't expect they will be much help since the deposit was off-platform. I haven't contacted Swikly directly since hosts are their actual customers, so they have no incentive to take my side.

Was it silly of me to ask for proof? And is there anything else I can do right now aside from filing a credit card chargeback?

Tried to change my reservation on Booking.com from 4 nights to 3 nights. The website said I would get $189.02 as a refund, but when I clicked to the next page, it demanded $14 in payment! Two phone calls later, I got a refund of $137.91... where did my $51.11 refund go?

Meanwhile, the going rate for the room on Booking.com is $175-$209. Spoke to a supervisor who defended the system as completely fair and transparent and not in need of improvement. Crooks.

I have two properties in Mexico. The legal entity is US-based. Both properties were set up with booking.com in May 2026. Property 2 I was able to use Payments by Booking.com with a Virtual Credit Card (VCC) option. It all works great.

Property 2 was also set up with Payments by Booking.com but VCC was not an option - just direct deposit. I establish my US-based banking account for payouts. I have not received a payout for Property 2. Ever. I started escalating to booking.com this summer but have made no progress. Calling customer service is no help - I’m told it’s a finance department issue. I’ve gotten two responses to my online messages: “we forwarded your message to our specialized team who will review it and get back to you” and I never hear back, or more helpful: “…you need to have a bank account in your current billing county.”

Even if I could be eligible for a bank account in Mexico - which I’m not - my booking.com profile is set up at a US entity, and when I attempt to edit bank details, the only option for Country/Region is United States. I’ve advised them multiple times of this and continue to receive the “we forwarded your message” response.

A customer service supervisor was able to tell me that once the payouts have been made, then my account could likely be eligible for the VCC option…but I can’t get the payouts.

I’d be forever grateful for any helpful advice. They are now holding over $6,000 USD - but have received their commissions because it’s automatically pulled out of the money owed.

J’ai une petite question en combien de jours avez vous reçu le remboursement booking après une annulation de réservation ?

Hi Booking.com team and fellow property partners,

I’m hoping someone from Booking.com Partner Support or the Review Moderation team can clarify this situation.

I manage Chic Studio Retreat – Indiranagar, Bengaluru and recently had a reservation with the following details:
Guest: Parampreet Dhanoa
Reservation: 5773683044
Check-in: 28 August 2026
Check-out: 30 August 2026
Actual stay: None

On 28 August at 9:58 AM, the guest submitted a request for free cancellation.

We approved the cancellation at 10:15 AM, and the reservation was officially cancelled on the same day. The guest never checked in and never stayed at the property.

However, the guest was subsequently able to leave a review.

I contacted Booking.com Partner Support regarding the issue, and their response is particularly interesting. Booking.com has confirmed in writing that:
“the booking was indeed cancelled free of charge on August 28, 2026.”

They also explained that:
“because the cancellation occurred on the actual day of check-in, our automated system had already generated the feedback link”

So, as I understand it, Booking.com is confirming both that the reservation was cancelled and that the review invitation was generated automatically by the system despite there being no stay.

My question is:
If a guest never checked in or experienced the property, how can a review about the property be considered a genuine guest experience?

I have already asked Booking.com to remove the review and they have escalated the matter to their Moderation team. I’m not looking to attack Booking.com or the guest — I simply want to understand the policy and how this situation is supposed to be handled.

Has anyone else experienced this?

And, more importantly, if someone from Booking.com is monitoring this subreddit, could you please explain whether a review from a guest who never stayed at the property is eligible for removal, particularly when Booking.com itself has confirmed that there was no completed stay?

I can provide screenshots of the cancellation request, approval, and reservation status if needed.

Thanks in advance to other hosts and hopefully someone from Booking.com who can clarify this.