Booking.com Charged Me Twice. Here's How I Got My Money Back.

Booking.com charged me twice for the same hotel room. When I noticed, it took three weeks of back and forth to get my money back. Here is what worked.

I booked a hotel in Prague for $450 through Booking.com. The confirmation showed one charge. When my credit card statement arrived, there were two charges of $450. Same hotel, same dates, same booking reference.

I contacted Booking.com customer service. The first agent told me it was a "temporary hold" that would drop off. I waited five days. It did not drop off. I called again. Second agent said the hotel had processed the charge twice and Booking.com could not do anything.

I was getting frustrated. $900 tied up for a $450 booking.

I escalated to a supervisor and cited Booking.com's own policy about duplicate charges. The supervisor contacted the hotel directly. Three days later the duplicate charge was refunded.

Key lesson: do not accept "temporary hold" as an answer. A hold that stays for more than 5 days is not temporary. Push for escalation early.

Also, always use a credit card for hotel bookings, not a debit card. Credit cards have stronger fraud protection and you can file a chargeback if the merchant does not resolve it.

I filed a chargeback with my credit card as a backup while Booking.com was handling it. The chargeback was not needed in the end but having it pending probably motivated Booking.com to act faster.