Products · Product
Booking.com
Raised as a usability problem by 122 people on Hacker News over 11 years (2016–2026), in 55 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Dark patterns push users to book through the site, not directlyUnreviewed
20162026- Uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not make2025-11-24
- Website uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not intend2025-07-21
- Uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not intend2025-01-14
Fake urgency messages pressure people into bookingUnreviewed
20162026- Fake urgency messages like 'only X rooms left' pressure people into booking2024-05-15
- Urgency prompts clutter the booking process and are ignored, making booking annoying2023-04-17
- Artificial urgency pushes people to book before they can decide, risking losing their preferred stay2023-04-16
Hotel staff couldn't locate the booking, requiring confusing clickingUnreviewed
20162026- Hotel staff couldn't locate the booking, taking 30 minutes of confusing clicking2024-10-22
- Clicking booking details opens a chat with slow processing and only partial info in a tiny bubble2021-11-25
- Urgency popup interrupts user as they start typing their name during booking2019-12-22
Can't sort results by ascending price, making comparison hardUnreviewed
20162026- Price sort only runs one direction, and rating sort is unavailable, forcing awkward workarounds2023-04-16
- Cannot sort offerings by price ascending, making results hard to compare2019-12-22
- Hard to filter and sort results; sponsored hotels and inconsistent prices muddle sorting2017-09-02
Apartment rentals look like hotel rooms, hiding what's bookedUnreviewed
20162026- Cannot filter out private landlord apartment listings when wanting hotels2023-04-16
- Can't tell from listings whether a rental is a hotel-like place or a self-check-in Airbnb-style unit2022-09-17
- Apartment rentals look like hotel rooms, so the user can't tell what they're booking2016-10-18
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Mobile app failed to load bookings, forcing user to use laptop instead2026-01-04
- Refund ticket requires waiting, then is rejected as too late, with no way to escalate2025-11-24
- Support keeps customers on hold and costs money per minute, so only social media escalation works2025-11-24
- Uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not make2025-11-24
- Password login removed; forced magic link or SMS codes fail while travelling2025-07-30
- Forced multi-app email or code login makes simply signing in slow and tedious2025-07-30
- Website uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not intend2025-07-21
- Uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not intend2025-01-14
- Support can't resolve issues in one call anymore; the person must repeat contact2025-01-09
- Dark patterns pressure users into panic-booking hotels2025-01-03
- Hotel staff couldn't locate the booking, taking 30 minutes of confusing clicking2024-10-22
- Name change through intermediary required many charges and a week, nearly missing the flight2024-07-22
- Diverts you via search results to show extra sponsored listings2024-07-22
- Fake urgency messages like 'only X rooms left' pressure people into booking2024-05-15
- Users must navigate many dark patterns to complete a booking2024-05-14
- Repeatedly invents new dark patterns to push consumers into choices2023-12-12
- Booking app showed a confusing unavailable message, causing an accidental double booking2023-11-07
- Hard to find a decent room in unfamiliar areas last-minute2023-10-05
- Uses dark patterns that create a false feeling of scarcity to push bookings2023-10-05
- No way to reach anyone; support tickets expire every four days2023-09-30
- UI hides fees through dark patterns2023-09-26
- Can't contact them right away; support stonewalls and cites T&C2023-04-28
- Commenter finds the booking site's UX poor and bookings sometimes missing on arrival2023-04-28
- Urgency prompts clutter the booking process and are ignored, making booking annoying2023-04-17
- Final total price is hidden; can't find the sum including charges2023-04-17
- Design process seen as ad hoc, lacking user research, leading to poor experience2023-04-17
- Search ignores single-room filter, showing two-room hotels that must be sifted through2023-04-17
- Annoying tricks and pop-ups make the booking experience frustrating, driving customers away2023-04-17
- Constant urgency notifications create noise and anxiety, burying the one useful alert2023-04-17
- Users see different interface versions than friends without knowing why2023-04-17
- Manipulative dark-pattern interfaces that people can't easily avoid by choosing competitors2023-04-17
- Search shows unavailable properties by default, forcing users to set the available-only filter every time2023-04-17
- Artificial urgency pushes people to book before they can decide, risking losing their preferred stay2023-04-16
- Shows rooms as nearly sold out to pressure quick booking, with differing results on other devices2023-04-16
- Scarcity and urgency banners pressure users into booking quickly2023-04-16
- Constant 'only 1 room left!' warnings and emails after each use feel like pressure2023-04-16
- Pressure messages push users to book before they are ready2023-04-16
- Price sort only runs one direction, and rating sort is unavailable, forcing awkward workarounds2023-04-16
- Uses dark pattern messaging that pressures people into booking2023-04-16
- Prices shown exclude taxes and hidden dark patterns are hard to notice2023-04-16
- Website uses dark patterns that push users into choices they did not intend2023-04-16
- Cannot filter out private landlord apartment listings when wanting hotels2023-04-16
- Dark patterns push users toward booking through the platform instead of direct2023-04-16
- Repeating the same issue to many call center agents, who can only follow scripts2023-03-05
- Has to re-enter all personal information from scratch for every booking2023-02-13
- Choosing double or twin bed gives hotel an ambiguous request that doesn't say which2023-02-10
- Page elements keep shifting while the user is about to click them2022-11-28
- Booked a room that did not exist; no way to verify the listing beforehand2022-10-26
- Can't tell from listings whether a rental is a hotel-like place or a self-check-in Airbnb-style unit2022-09-17
- Fake urgency messages push people into panic-buying hotels and flights they did not plan to book2022-07-12