‘Booking.com blunders have nearly killed my business’

A guesthouse landlady has told how a popular travel website’s errors “decimated” her business. Paula Jones, who runs the historic Great House in Llantwit Major, has been sick with worry over mistakes by Booking.com and even feared bailiffs turning up at her door.

After Booking.com told the 66-year-old her listing would be suspended because she had missed monthly commission payments she provided evidence she had paid the amounts due. The website’s staff repeatedly assured her the issue would be resolved yet her guesthouse continued to be suspended and she received automated emails saying her “debt” had been transferred to a collection agency.

Paula spent months trying to show Booking.com it had made mistakes and struggled to sleep at night as bookings dried up and the website failed to fix the problem. Eventually, with her business facing ruin, she told her story to WalesOnline. Five hours after we approached Booking.com for comment the website admitted it had thought the…