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36 Times People Were So Infuriated By Canceled Reservations, They Had To Vent Online
Interview
Last-minute cancellations are high risk when booking relatively anything—flights, accommodations, dinners, appointments, events, and even classes. Sometimes mistakes or circumstances beyond anyone’s control happen, and cancellations leave people high and dry. That’s just how life usually goes but this doesn’t mean that these instances aren’t highly infuriating or that they can’t occur due to the most ridiculous reasons.
Below, our Bored Panda team prepared a whole list of cancelled reservations that made people want to scream into the void. From services and facilities getting canceled due to double bookings to no explanations at all, scroll down to find the most infuriating situations people found themselves in when their plans got called off.
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with Kari LeMay, traveler and founder of Achieve Your Bucket List, and Tony Jefferson, traveler and founder of TravelingSession.com, who kindly agreed to give us a few tips on how to deal with reservation cancellations.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My Credit Card Was Compromised And The Thief Booked An Airbnb. I Asked Airbnb To Cancel The Reservation / Refund The Money, This Was Their Response
Lee Banks 9 months ago
My partner works on the corporate side of a high end hotel agency. On the rare days he has to take calls, I hear him cursing a lot. Third party entities are almost always the problem. If at all possible, try and book directly. Two of the major third parties are actually the same company, and they can wreak havoc on cancelations, confirmations, and refunds.
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Say No to Downvoting 9 months ago
This is an infuriating and cheeky response. It’s a stalling tactic they use on purpose to get people to give up.
Robert T 9 months ago
Your credit card company should take care of this. If your card or card details are stolen they will normally go through any recent transactions to make sure they were made by you. I had my card details stolen and a payment was made to a dating agency - there was no quibble about reversing the transaction.
primeline31 9 months ago
AirBnB co-founder Joe Gebbia has joined the DOGE team to help with determining firings.
RELATED:
#2
Reserved Ride Turns Into Me Chasing Uber Around Block Until They Cancel And Get $25 Cancelation Fee
Incredible experience this morning. Reserved an Uber to the airport a day in advance. Stops half a block away and then kept speeding away when I would get close. At one point, he drove around the block and passed me while I was standing on the street… only to park in an alley way and insist that he couldn’t see me. I tracked him down in the alley way and decided to record. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he sled off again when I got close.
On top of all this, I got hit with $25 cancellation fee. I’m just going back to regular taxis.
David 9 months ago
There was an update: UPDATE: Uber support got back to me and refunded the $25. The Uber support rep message was very general regarding the cancellation procedures and mentioned nothing about the driver’s behavior. Probably did not mention anything about the driver due to liability reasons. UPDATE 2: within 30 min of posting this comment, I got a call from Uber support. The individual was pleasant and apologized for my experience. I recounted what occurred and she stated that they would be looking into the driver’s account. I thanked her. She also offered $100 in credit to make up for my experience.
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
I called for a taxi after getting off a bus behind a closed shopping centre at about 9pm once. Waited about 20 minutes and called again to see where it was and was told I had to go to the front of the building. Did that (there was snow on the ground and I was carrying a hiking pack) and waited another 20 minutes or so. Called them again and they claimed they never told us to do that, that we should go back to the other side of the building. As we walked, we saw a taxi drive around the shopping centre (on the road, not the carpark) and then keep going away from us. I finally gave up and called another company and they were there in 5mins!
Sacred Panda 9 months ago
Report the driver. This scam should get resolved very quickly and his license revoked
Kohl_Keene 9 months ago
Uber charged me twice and refused to refund it. I had to dispute it with my credit card to get it removed.
KatSaidWhat 9 months ago
Left my phone in an uber, contacted the driver through support the next day. This m**o played games for over a week despite me offering him £20 cash to drop it off. I finally said I was now reporting him to Uber. Magically he then dropped off my phone that evening. Still reported him anyway.
#3
Details Were Stolen From A Selling Page And Used To Book A Car Rental. Email I Received When I Cancelled The Booking
So I got scammed and went through the fraud team at my bank to cancel / reverse transactions. Police involved.
One was for a foreign car company rental who I called and cancelled a booking after explaining.
The cheek of sending me an email in broken English and trying to guilt me about their father!
The hee hee to say was more than mildly infuriating.
Crikey! (ho/hum) 9 months ago
Seems to me that you have encountered a smooth criminal. Which reminds me, I must call Annie and see how she's getting on. Hope she's ok.
It’s common to hear that customers are usually the ones canceling their bookings, not the other way around. That’s why many businesses have cancellation policies that protect them from losing money. Some can be refundable if a person is calling off their plans before a certain date, while others are non-refundable.
These policies ensure that businesses aren’t affected by frequent cancellations, but they’re often not in favor of the customers when it happens the other way around. So it’s important to know what you can do when a booking gets canceled, not because of your fault.
#4
And It’s Not Sold Out Bc I Just Went On The Actual Hotel Websit And Now It’s $600!! So They Totally Cancelled Mine And Another Persons To Charge The Higher Rate
Petra Peitsch 9 months ago
I work in a hotel. Last summer we had rooms sold 1000+ euro/night, when the average rate is 200-350 euro/night. But this was in a peak season, and no actual reservations were cancelled.
DeoManus Argentem 9 months ago
That's shady AF, but I guess legal some places if included in the terms and conditions (that nobody reads). Definitely not at reputable companies!
#5
If You Needed Another Reason To Hate Airbnb. 2 Weeks Before Our Reservation Our Hosts Tells Us He Over Booked?
#6
Not Fair, They Couldn’t Have Overbooked That Many Of Us?!
Brenda 9 months ago
Always, always, always pay as soon as you book, if possible! And check to see exactly what their cancelation policy is. If you've already paid, they are usually responsible for finding you equal or better accommodations with any price increase paid by them. Or sometimes they are supposed to give you a refund plus a penalty fee if done in a certain time frame. I'd contact the corporate office to complain if they broke policy
KatSaidWhat 9 months ago
It's not "no reason" - the reason was so they could gouge with all the demand for the hotels.
For this, we reached out to Kari LeMay, traveler and founder of Achieve Your Bucket List, and Tony Jefferson, traveler and founder of TravelingSession.com, who had their fair share of bookings and agreed to give us the best tips on what to do when they get cancelled.
"As world travelers, we have been very lucky to never have an accommodation cancel on us, but we’ve had more than our fair share of flights canceled with little warning," said Kari to Bored Panda.
"They always offer to rebook us, but sometimes it’s for 2-3 days later. When that doesn’t fit our itinerary, I’ve learned to be “pleasantly persistent” to get them to book us sooner. But if our itinerary has flexibility, then we ask them to put us up someplace nice to pass the time," she tells us, sharing her trick to canceled flights.
#7
Airbnb Cancelled My Valentines Day Reservation That I Got For My Girlfriends Birthday And Offered Me A $37 Credit
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
Well, $37 is better than a slap in the face with a wet fish, I suppose…
Papa 9 months ago
Am I missing something here? If I'm interpreting the second paragraph correctly, if OP doesn't use the credits within 72 hours the full thing will be refunded. The $37.00 was just a credit on top of the upcoming re-book or refund.
Nikole 9 months ago
Yeah, he’ll get his money back, but he won’t get anything additional for the incredible inconvenience if he doesn’t book something else in three days.
Load More Replies... #8
Trying To Rebook A Flight After Having Yesterday's Cancelled
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
So, 15 hours and 28 minutes then. Only 30 minutes more than when I try to get through to HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs aka tax office, for non-Brits) then….
SkippityBoppityBoo 9 months ago
Wow 😮 That definitely beats my 'on hold' time record of 4 and a half hours with OVA energy! (UK power company)
#9
Booking.com Cancelled Our Room Reservation 1 Hour Before We Were Supposed To Check-In Leaving Us Standing In The Rain In A Foreign Country
Donna Peluda 9 months ago
Booking.com is a scam. I was sitting in a bar trying to reserve a hotel. The hotel offered on booking was just accros the road shut for the season. Doors and windows boarded up. The do this to lure you in then blame the hotel and offer you something much more expensive. Another time I booked a hotel in Barcelona. It wasn't a hotel .it was an residential building with flats rented, ran buy a dodgy russian guy. The photo of the hotel bar was the bar he ran the operation from. It was a residential building. I reported both cases but they are still advertised.
Bob Jones 9 months ago (edited)
I have used booking.com dozens of times in many countries and never had an issue
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Meanwhile, Tony said, "Personally, I haven't encountered a large number of reservation cancellations. When I have, I find it's best to stay calm and contact the airline or hotel directly. In my experience, they are often already working on a solution by the time I reach them."
#10
Delta Canceled My Flight, And Had No Available Rescheduled Flights For 18 Hours, So Half My Vacation Is Ruined. In Return, They're Offering Me 12 Dollars For The Trouble
Robert T 9 months ago
There are rules around this in the EU and UK. Compensation is considerably more for any delay. 18 hours would probably also get you a hotel room for the night.
DC and S 9 months ago
They find every loophole they can. Missed your flight because you were stuck in the plane on the tarmac for 3.5 hours (which somehow got labellebed just under 3 hours. Hmmm.)? Airports fault so no compensation and no hotel voucher even though the next flight isn't until the next afternoon. Oh. And you were a no show for that flight you missed so we've cancelled all return flights for you too. But don't worry, you can rebook with us at your expense. .... Looking at you Air Canada.
Load More Replies... Anony Mouse 9 months ago
Delta doesn’t mention that 75% of the airport restaurants don’t honor those vouchers. Not that you can get much with $12 anyway. They are the worst. They hate their customers so much,.
#11
I Booked An Airbnb A Year In Advance Of The Eclipse In April. The Host Yesterday Canceled Because They Realized They Can Make More Due To The Eclipse. The Only Places Available This Last Minute Are 10x More Expensive Than The One I Booked And Airbnb Won’ T Help
Powerful Katrinka 9 months ago
Here is all you need to know about Airbnb: the CEO just joined Elon Musk’s “DOGE” team.
#12
Airbnb Host Ask Me To Cancel So They Don’t Have To
Agreed to price. They only do showings by appointment, called and set appointment for first thing in the AM. Told them I’d pay cash, they never asked for a deposit. Drove 320 miles that night, got a hotel, and dealer sent me a message saying the car was unavailable at 8PM when we were 20 miles away.
"When seeking refunds or compensation, I always try to work directly with the airline or hotel. However, if you booked through a third-party website or agent, you may need to contact them to request a refund. For airline tickets, purchasing refundable fares can simplify the refund process," he advised.
#13
This
JudyfromAccounts 9 months ago
This was an extreme weather event that impacted multiple airlines. Truly a meltdown.
#14
Should Be Laws Against Doing This !
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago (edited)
Yep, the technical error was they technically didn’t know they could get more money at the time.
Maples Dad 9 months ago
Sounds as though this person could likely afford those 'ridiculous prices' anyway!
#15
Vrbo Cancelled My Booking 2 Weeks Before My Family Trip And Said They Found A “Similar” Place For Us To Book
We had a 4 bedroom lake front cottage booked for 10 people including 2 infants and a toddler for our annual family trip. We are flying in for this trip. Here’s the replacement they found us. No you’re not crazy, there is no house.
One of the most frequent reservations people make is booking accommodations. In fact, 235 hotel bookings are generated every minute, with it totaling 125 million a year. Their cancellation rate, including both hosts and customers, ranges from 18% to 42%.
#16
Infuriating
#17
Update: I Booked A Hotel Room 5 Months In Advance, Was Told They Had No Rooms Left When I Checked In, And I Was The “Guest Of The Day.” The Hotel Is Now Saying I Was A No Show And Will Not Refund Me For The Night They “Walked” Me To A Hotel At The Airport
#18
Borgo Egnazia Cancelled 4 Room Reservations For May. We Are In Shock. They Could Not Have Been More Rude
Borgo Egnazia canceled four room reservations out of nowhere with no explanation. I was planning on traveling to Borgo Egnazia with my extended family including one baby (we were celebrating her first birthday) in May. We woke up this morning to an email from the hotel saying the rooms we had booked five months ago were no longer available for our dates and we couldn’t stay at their property. They offered us no explanation why. They offered to rebook us at the Rocco Forte next door, which we heard was not as good for kids. They gave us only four days to let them know what our plan is with the rebooking or they would simply be canceled with no compensation, explanation or reimbursement for other sunk costs.
We now have 9 non-refundable flights from New York to Bari booked with nowhere to stay. They have ruined our vacation and we are out thousands of dollars.
We called the hotel and they simply said they were “closed” for our dates. We assume they had someone offer them a lot of money for a wedding buyout and decided to cancel all the rooms the other guests have booked. I imagine this happened to hundreds of other guests.
I highly advise against booking this hotel. They were rude, unhelpful, ruined our vacation and are leaving us out over $20,000 in non-refundable flights.
Kalikima 9 months ago
If the plane tickets cost that much, I'd find another place to stay. Who cares if it's not as kid friendly?
JudyfromAccounts 9 months ago
Yeah, rather than throw away $20K, just stay at the "not as good for kids" hotel. But it definitely sounds like someone booked a wedding.
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There are a variety of reasons why hotels cancel confirmed bookings, but it usually boils down to these three:
- A change of circumstances: they might hire the venue exclusively or want to change prices if a big event is happening nearby.
- Overbooking in hopes some guests cancel.
- The hotel is undergoing renovations and there’s a delay.
#19
Expedia Canceled Two Hotel Reservations For My Trip In A Week (One Of Them Is Non Refundable)
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
Surely, if they cancel rather than you, you get refunded?
Nikole 9 months ago
Yeah, but with two weeks only perhaps similar accommodations at a similar price couldn’t be found.
Load More Replies... #20
Airbnb Host Sent This 6 Weeks Out From Our Stay
As the title says, we are 6 weeks out and options for our trip are slim and all nearly 2x what we had booked this for over 2 months ago. If you are even thinking of selling your rental why have it up for bookings?!
Ria C. 9 months ago
I've had something along the lines of this with VRBO but they just made sure while the house was for sale/being sold all bookings were to be honored. But that may have also been the hosts request but idk.
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#21
Air Bnb Discriminating Against Me Because Of The Perfectly Legal Activities I Undertake For My Job. No Evidence. Just A Complete Ban. I Had My Accommodation Cancelled Last Minute Which Was For My Long Awaited Holiday And My $450 Fee Held For 15 Days. Absolutely Disgusting
Tenebre 9 months ago
It was using the Airbnb to create pornographic content. There's VERY few things you are not allowed to book a place for. No d***s, no child trafficking, no prostitution, and no content creation. Notice how the air bnb rep said illegal OR prohibited and the person responding only replied about illegal, not prohibited.
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m6nbtfpx7q 9 months ago
Yea without knowing what the job requires, which OP didn’t list for a reason I imagine, it’s pretty hard to judge this one
While Tony says that there's no foolproof way to prevent reservation cancellations, to minimize the impact, he suggests that "booking early flights can increase your chances of getting rebooked on the same day if a cancellation occurs. Having extra funds available can also be beneficial in case you need to book with a different airline and handle the refund later. If you're not in a rush, allowing the airline to manage the rebooking process can be the simplest option."
#22
Never Use Booking
Made a reservation on 7/29/24. The second after making the reservation I get an email from the hotel and booking.com that “the pool, the fitness center, and breakfast is closed until further notice.” I call booking.com they say to call the hotel the hotel agrees to refund me free of charge. Booking.com says after I got verbal confirmation that they need written confirmation. I put them on a 3 way call. Booking.com sends the email to the wrong email address. Holiday inn never gets it. I put them on a 3 way call as they’re processing the refund over the phone booking.com hangs up. It’s the day before the reservation … holiday inn processed the refund and booking.com is now sending me automated messages to “call the hotel and ask for a refund” when they already processed it and it’s booking.com who is charging me.
#23
' I Hope You're Having A Great Day' And Then Bang
Maples Dad 9 months ago
When she came to Edinburgh, hotels that housed homeless people were emptied to make way for paying guests. Truly atrocious.
#24
I Booked An Airbnb, Then Received This Message From The Host. A Few Hours Later, They Cancelled The Stay
To minimize the chance of cancellation, Kari additionally advises booking with reliable platforms and airlines that have English-speaking customer service. "If we’re going somewhere with an inflexible start date (such as a wedding, funeral, cruise departure, or safari start), we plan to arrive 2-3 days early. We use that time to adjust to the time zone and prepare for that next adventure," she said.
#25
Cannot Be Single In Peace
#26
So I Had To Cancel My Trip To Breckenridge Due To Covid... And I Get Hit With This
Kayci Styles 9 months ago
If they wouldn’t cancel and I still had to pay for it, I would go and then “notify” them afterwards of my positive status to ensure the safety of their future guests. I would make damn sure that they spent at least the amount of money that my stay was in additional cleaning fees.
Bill Galbreath 9 months ago
Good luck with travel insurance, they have as many loopholes as Airbnb
Load More Replies... #27
Out Of State Dealer Sold Car I Agreed To Purchase, Told Me 300 Miles In And At 8pm. Other Options Have An Upcharge!
Mike F 9 months ago
I ran into this one locally. I drove 20 odd miles in the rain and when I arrived was told "that one was sold the other day". I left them a scalding review which was followed up with the "we didn't have the time to take down the ad" BS line but I had screen shotted the ad that showed the ad was reposted AFTER the van was sold. That particular review gets lots of mileage, lol.
JudyfromAccounts 9 months ago
300 miles from 14:37 to 20:02. And the appointment is 10:00? Weird trip.
The last tip is to check your reservation status periodically. There’s a chance that a booking was canceled without notification so it’s better to take a look at it from time to time than get stranded on the day of the arrival.
#29
Someone Made A Reservation And Was Planning On Proposing Last Week, And Cancelled At The Last Minute And Left The Cake. What Do You Think Happened?
#30
Help With Customer Service
I had a reservation at Hilton I made days prior to my arrival. I arrived a midnight and was informed my room was given away because they overbooked. As an alt. they offered me a room with no TV. I accepted but when I walked into the room (after midnight now) it was occupied. I ran out and back down to the front desk. After working out that whole debacle they offered me another alt. room with no TV. I accepted again. Once I got into the room I went to the bathroom to discover there was no toilet. I went back down to the front desk to complain only to find no one was there. I go back upstairs to my toiletless room only to discover my keycard doesn't work (I'm kicking myself because I left my wallet, luggage, and keys in the room).
I go back downstairs and wait for over an hour till someone finally came back. The front desk manager said I wouldn't be charged for the stay. However it seems they didn't have the authority to make that decision because after hours of customer service having to explain this over and over and over, they've offered me 8000 points/ 50 bucks to a future stay instead. I had my credit card company clock the charge instead. While I realize it's a very small impact, I'm done with Hilton.
Tldr. Hilton gave my room away, sent me to an occupied room, sent me to a toiletless room, and then I got stuck in the lobby waiting for someone till almost 2am. They've offered me 50 bucks for a future stay.
#31
Got A Cancellation Message From My Airbnb Plus Superhost After Landing In Europe 2 Days Before My Reservation. Ran It Through Google Translate, And…
We were messaging hours before boarding to confirm check in details. Death stops for no one.
JudyfromAccounts 9 months ago
Not ideal, but stop complaining and be happy you're alive and on a vacation.
DeoManus Argentem 9 months ago
If the owner died in the rental, this is completely understandable. Especially if it was suspicious or, hate to imagine, messy.
#34
This Lyft Driver Tried To Make Me Cancel First In Order To Get A Fee
#35
I Booked A Hotel On Adani One And Got A Confirmation. When I Reached The Hotel, I Was Told That Hotel Is Sold Out And Adani One Cc Team Made Me Wait For 3 Hour And Then They Finally Cancelled
#36
Plans Cancelled Last Minute
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What do you think ?
Damned_Cat 9 months ago (edited)
We had concert tickets for New Year's Eve 1999 (aka The Millenium) and I booked a small cheap motel nearly a year in advance. When I booked, the lady told me the rate was $39 for the night. I reminded her that it was the millennium celebration and asked her to confirm the low rate. She said that was the price in the automated system and so yes, that was the price we would pay. About September 1999 I had an uneasy feeling and decided to call the motel to confirm the reservation. The man I talked to said yes, he had our reservation, but the price was $250. I argued with him and told him I had asked the booking agent at the time to confirm the price at $39. He said that he had fired her for not updating the system in a timely manner and that $250 was the price, take it or leave it. I went completely Karen on the guy and threatened to file a complaint with the State Attorney General's office for fraud, along with any other agencies that govern innkeepers. (1/2)
Damned_Cat 9 months ago (edited)
(2/2) The motel owner begged me to have a heart because he was losing so much money because he didn't update the prices in the system. I agreed to pay $79 just to be fair because I knew we'd never get any hotel at this late date. When we got there, there was a crowd of angry people in the lobby that were being quoted a rate much higher than what they had booked. One lady overheard me paying $79 and started asking why we got that rate. The motel owner was literally in tears says, "Don't talk to her! Don't talk to anyone! Please go to your room". The room turned out to be something you would see in a movie about heroin addicts and was never worth $250. If we hadn't had concert tickets for that night, I might have just gone home to avoid this fiasco.
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James016 9 months ago
I once had a car hire cancelled but only found out when I got to the desk to get the car. They couldn't tell me when or who cancelled it. They had to get a car from another hire company which took a few hours to sort out. Another time my wife and I booked a hotel in Spain, got there to check in and they have no record of our reservation and the hotels are fully booked due to a high profile football match, we have the reservation email so the person at the desk finds us a room in another hotel. They take responsibility for the error so they pay the difference as the new room is actually a suite. At least in those cases the companies did what they needed to do to resolve the problems.
Damned_Cat 9 months ago (edited)
We had concert tickets for New Year's Eve 1999 (aka The Millenium) and I booked a small cheap motel nearly a year in advance. When I booked, the lady told me the rate was $39 for the night. I reminded her that it was the millennium celebration and asked her to confirm the low rate. She said that was the price in the automated system and so yes, that was the price we would pay. About September 1999 I had an uneasy feeling and decided to call the motel to confirm the reservation. The man I talked to said yes, he had our reservation, but the price was $250. I argued with him and told him I had asked the booking agent at the time to confirm the price at $39. He said that he had fired her for not updating the system in a timely manner and that $250 was the price, take it or leave it. I went completely Karen on the guy and threatened to file a complaint with the State Attorney General's office for fraud, along with any other agencies that govern innkeepers. (1/2)
Damned_Cat 9 months ago (edited)
(2/2) The motel owner begged me to have a heart because he was losing so much money because he didn't update the prices in the system. I agreed to pay $79 just to be fair because I knew we'd never get any hotel at this late date. When we got there, there was a crowd of angry people in the lobby that were being quoted a rate much higher than what they had booked. One lady overheard me paying $79 and started asking why we got that rate. The motel owner was literally in tears says, "Don't talk to her! Don't talk to anyone! Please go to your room". The room turned out to be something you would see in a movie about heroin addicts and was never worth $250. If we hadn't had concert tickets for that night, I might have just gone home to avoid this fiasco.
Load More Replies... James016 9 months ago
I once had a car hire cancelled but only found out when I got to the desk to get the car. They couldn't tell me when or who cancelled it. They had to get a car from another hire company which took a few hours to sort out. Another time my wife and I booked a hotel in Spain, got there to check in and they have no record of our reservation and the hotels are fully booked due to a high profile football match, we have the reservation email so the person at the desk finds us a room in another hotel. They take responsibility for the error so they pay the difference as the new room is actually a suite. At least in those cases the companies did what they needed to do to resolve the problems.
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