To Whom It May Concern,
I am submitting this complaint regarding a reservation booked through Booking.com for a property listed as “Indipendenza Boutique” in Bologna, Italy.
In August 2025, I prepaid $524 for this reservation through Booking.com. Immediately after making the booking on August 15, I contacted the property through the Booking.com messaging system to inform them that my flight arrives at 6:50 PM and that my expected arrival time would be approximately 9:00 PM due to customs and transit time. The listing indicated that the property had a 24-hour front desk and allowed late check-in requests, which is why I believed this would not be an issue.
After my initial message on August 15, I sent several additional messages to the property on September 25, November 9, and February 17 requesting confirmation that my late arrival would be accommodated. I did not receive any response to these messages for months.
Recently, the property finally responded stating that check-in closes at 5:00 PM and that if I arrive after that time they will refuse the reservation and keep the full payment. They further stated that no exceptions will be made and told me to stop insisting on the request.
Because the listing advertises a 24-hour front desk and allows late check-in requests, this response directly contradicts the information presented at the time of booking. Additionally, the property appears to be privately operated units rather than a traditional hotel as represented in the listing.
I contacted Booking.com customer support multiple times to resolve the issue. Despite having access to the full message history showing my attempts to communicate with the property since August, support representatives told me they could not force the property to honor the reservation or issue a refund. During these calls, I experienced extremely unprofessional conduct from several agents, including being yelled at and having calls disconnected while trying to explain the situation.
At this point, I have paid $524 for accommodations that the property has explicitly stated they will refuse to provide if I arrive after 5:00 PM, despite my having notified them months in advance of my arrival time.
I am requesting assistance in resolving this matter and seeking a full refund for services that the merchant has indicated they will not provide. I believe the listing information was misleading and that my attempts to resolve the issue through Booking.com have not been handled appropriately.
I have retained documentation including booking confirmation, payment records, screenshots of the listing, and the full message history showing my repeated attempts to communicate with the property.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Sincerely,