Absolutely Unacceptable Experience
I am beyond disappointed with Booking.com. I made a reservation for August 1–2 at Embassy Suites in Sarasota, Florida, received my confirmation, and drove nearly four hours to the hotel believing everything was confirmed. When I arrived at approximately 9:30 PM, the front desk informed me that they had no reservation under my name. According to the front desk representative, Charlie, Booking.com had never sent my reservation to the hotel. Because of that, the hotel was completely sold out and had no rooms available. As a result, I was stranded late at night with my 9-year-old daughter and nowhere to stay. We were forced to get back into the car and drive nearly four hours back home. My daughter was exhausted, frightened, and crying, and should never have been put in that situation because of a booking company's failure. This was more than an inconvenience—it was a complete failure of service. When customers book through Booking.com, they trust that confirmed reservations are actually transmitted to the hotel. In my case, that basic responsibility was not fulfilled, leaving a family without accommodations in the middle of the night. I lost time, money, fuel, and an entire weekend, not to mention the stress and emotional distress of traveling with a child under these circumstances. I will never trust Booking.com again and will strongly discourage friends and family from using this service. If you value reliability and want peace of mind when traveling, I recommend booking directly with the hotel instead.