Scotland fans on £2,000 Euros trip given 'abandoned dungeon' by booking.com
They had travelled to Germany to watch Scotland take on the host nation in the opening game.
Scottish football fan films 'abandoned dungeon' accommodation given by booking.com for Euros stay in Germany
A group of Scottish fans claim Booking.com sent them to an "abandoned dungeon" after they arrived in Germany for Euro 2024.
Rory Bradley, 28, from Glasgow, travelled to the country last week to watch Scotland take on the host nation in the opening game of the tournament in Munich.
However, he claimed when he and his three friends arrived at the first property, they found it to be "an absolute mess," with one of the beds appearing to be made out of cardboard.
After spending three hours complaining to Booking.com, they were given an alternative location across the city.
Unfortunately for them, the alternative turned out to be even worse, with Bradley sharing pictures and video showing the poor state of both properties.
Once we arrived, we were STUNNED by what we found. @bookingcom had sent us to a dungeon that must have been some sort of abandoned medical facility as there was hospital beds and industrial equipment lying around the entrance. Check out this video of the full place pic.twitter.com/S4wtAIw1hs
— Rory (@RoryB96) June 16, 2024
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Once we arrived, we were stunned by what we found.
"@bookingcom had sent us to a dungeon that must have been some sort of abandoned medical facility as there was hospital beds and industrial equipment lying around the entrance. Check out this video of the full place.
“We made our way into the property and we're greeted by more industrial equipment, exposed chemicals, exposed cables and exposed pipes and to top it all off an axe that looked like something out of a murder film.
"The whole place had the vibes of a human trafficking horror film
“After all of the above within the first 6 feet of the property we made our way through the rest of the gaff and continued to find hazard after hazard including access to a generator room. We got to the other end of the property and there was a serious smell of damp.”
Bradley said the group quickly decided they were not staying there, but after spending another two hours on the phone, they were told they would have to pay for separate accommodation and then invoice Booking.com.
At that point, the friends had already spent £2,000 and didn’t have the money to pay for another property.
Bradley said they managed to book a single night in a hotel but would need help from Booking.com to find somewhere else afterwards.
He later confirmed they had managed to book accommodation in Cologne for the remaining four days of their trip.
Scotland will play Switzerland at the RheinEnergieStadion in the second group game, hoping to bounce back from its 5-1 defeat against Germany.
A Booking.com spokesperson said: "This is not the experience we would want for anyone booking a stay on our platform and are in touch with the customer, so we can look into what happened and to make sure they are properly supported.”
So at around half past 8 yesterday we turned up at the original property we booked through @bookingcom and the place was an absolute mess. One of the beds was made out of cardboard and also held together by duck tape. The 2nd bed was a sofa bed that was broken and disgusting pic.twitter.com/rgv0KkWLff
— Rory (@RoryB96) June 16, 2024
Your rights
If you booked your accomodation in the UK or with a UK travel company, you have more protection under the Consumer Rights Act, according to Which?
When booking foreign accommodation directly, you may not be covered by UK law, especially if the hotel is in the EU.
In such cases, you can try the EU's online dispute resolution service.
Booking websites such as Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, ebookers, and trivago must: disclose when hotels appear higher in search results due to commission payments, represent room availability and hotel popularity accurately, and transparently display available discounts and deals.
Make a claim while you're at the accommodation
To file a complaint about your holiday accommodation, follow these steps:
1. Request and complete an official complaint form, ensuring it is signed by the hotel staff or tour representative.
2. Take photos or videos of any issues as evidence.
3. Record the dates and write a brief summary of events.
4. Ask fellow travellers to act as witnesses to support your complaint.
5. Retain receipts for any additional expenses incurred, such as changing hotels.
If you are offered compensation with the condition of it being a 'full and final settlement', carefully assess if it adequately compensates for your issues.
If it falls short, specify that you reserve the right to claim additional compensation upon your return home.
