Snapshot of the source text at fetch time, not a live mirror of the policy page.
Plain-English summary
Booking.com's terms include mandatory arbitration and a class action waiver (risk_flags-0001, risk_flags-0002), limiting your legal recourse. You may not receive a refund if your booking is canceled due to your breach of terms. Booking.com disclaims responsibility for issues arising from Service Provider errors or actions (risk_flags-0003, gotchas-0001) and upfront payments may be non-refundable. Furthermore, Booking.com is not responsible for costs if you fail to notify the Service Provider of a late arrival (gotchas-0002), and you are responsible for the behavior of your group and obtaining their data permissions (gotchas-0003).
90% confidence
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Follow up on findings with grounded answers from this review. Not legal advice.
Risk Flags
1 finding
Critical issues that may result in significant harm to the user. These are often difficult to reverse.
high95% confidence
Mandatory Arbitration
You agree that disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration, not in court, and you waive your right to a jury trial.
Why it matters: You cannot sue Booking.com in court and do not have the right to a jury trial for most disputes, which limits your legal options.
Unless you opt out of the agreement to arbitrate within 30 days: (1) you will only be permitted to pursue disputes or claims and seek relief against us through binding, final arbitration, with limited exceptions, and you waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit or other representative proceeding or class-wide arbitration; and (2) you are waiving your right to pursue disputes or claims and seek relief in a court of law and to have a jury trial.
Customer terms of service, paragraph 5 · Citation strength: strong
Data Use
All clear
How the company collects, uses, shares, and protects your data.
✓
Looking good
No data-use concerns flagged
Verbaterm only flags concerns it can cite. No source-backed data-use findings are shown here.
Cancellation and Renewal
1 finding
Terms related to subscription, cancellation, and renewal policies.
medium90% confidence
Service Provider May Cancel Without Notice for Uncollected Balance
If you book a Travel Experience by paying in advance and the Service Provider cannot collect the balance on the specified date, they may cancel the booking without notice. Any non-refundable payment will only be refunded at their discretion.
Why it matters: Your booking could be canceled without warning, and you might not get a refund for non-refundable payments if the Service Provider fails to collect the balance on time, even if due to issues with your payment method.
If you book a Travel Experience by paying in advance (including all price components and/or a damage deposit if applicable), the Service Provider may cancel the booking without notice if they can't collect the balance on the specified date. If they do cancel, any non-refundable payment you’ve made will only be refunded at their discretion. It's your responsibility to make sure the payment goes ahead on time (that your bank, debit card, or credit card details are correct and that there's enough money available in your account).
Potentially sneaky clauses that may disadvantage the user.
medium85% confidence
Booking.com Not Responsible for Service Provider Errors
Booking.com cannot guarantee that everything on its Platform is accurate as it gets information from Service Providers, and to the extent permitted by law, it cannot be held responsible for errors, interruptions, or missing information.
Why it matters: If information about a booking is inaccurate due to errors from the Service Provider, Booking.com disclaims responsibility, potentially leaving you with issues that impact your travel plans.
We take reasonable care in providing our Platform, but we can’t guarantee that everything on it is accurate (we get information from the Service Providers). To the extent permitted by law, we can’t be held responsible for any errors, interruptions, or missing bits of information, although we will do everything we can to correct/fix them as soon as we can.
Obligation to Notify Service Provider of Late Arrival
It is your responsibility to contact your Service Provider if you will not arrive on time, and Booking.com is not responsible for any associated costs if you are late.
Why it matters: Failure to notify the Service Provider of a late arrival could lead to cancellation of your booking or additional fees, for which Booking.com states it is not responsible.
If you think you’re not going to arrive on time, contact your Service Provider and tell them when they can expect you. It’s your responsibility to ensure you’re on time, and if you aren’t, we aren’t responsible for any associated costs (e.g. the cancellation of your booking, or any fees the Service Provider may charge).
Account Holder Responsibility for Group Behavior and Data
As the person making the booking, you are responsible for the actions and behavior of everyone in your group in relation to the Travel Experience, and for obtaining their permission before providing their personal data.
Why it matters: You are held accountable for the conduct of your entire group and for ensuring you have consent to share their personal data, which broadens your liability.
As the person making the booking, you are responsible for the actions and behavior (in relation to the Travel Experience) of everyone in the group. You’re also responsible for obtaining their permission before providing us with their personal data.