How I got scammed of a 250€ hotel reservation and it’s completely legal

So this is not a rant and not a complaint post. I just want to let you know about how the current hotel reservation system is built, how easy it is to scam people and how completely legal it is. <br><br>Let’s assume I found a nice hotel for 250€ per night in Rome and I book a reservation for 3 nights with a creditcard, let’s say Mastercard. I pay my reservation with my Mastercard and get a reservation code from the website, confirming my reservation at the hotel. <br><br>After 2 months I arrive in Rome and check-in at the hotel with my reservation code. I get my room key, drop my stuff and head to the bathroom to shower and freshen up. I can use my reservation code to check the reservation details at any time on the hotels website or mobile app. <br><br>This is where it gets tricky: <br><br>I check the reservation details on the hotels website and I notice that the reservation is listed with the check-in date, the check-out date, the room category and the total reservation amount. That’s it. There is no information about the payment status of the reservation, neither the payment method I used nor if the hotel received the payment. There is no information about me checking in, neither if I’m already at the hotel or not. <br><br>This is not a joke. If I change my mind and don’t show up at the hotel, the hotel has zero chance of getting their money. They might get their money 1 month after the check-out date, because Mastercard will take some time to investigate the case and communicate with the hotel. But this is also not a joke: If I don’t show up at the hotel, the hotel has the right to cancel my reservation, even without notifying me. The hotel can then sell the same room to another customer. <br><br>Now this might not be a big issue for hotels, but this is a big issue for airlines, because flight tickets are even more expensive than hotel reservations. If I book a 250€ hotel reservation and don’t show up at the hotel, the damage is minimal. But if I book a 800€ flight reservation and don’t show up at the airport, the airline has to cancel my reservation, sell my flight ticket seat to another customer and pay back my ticket money to Mastercard. <br><br>I’m not mad about this system, because it’s completely legal. Airlines know the risk when they book a flight reservation with a creditcard. They also know the risk of not showing up at the airport. I’m just here to let you know what’s going on behind the curtains of the current online reservation system and how easy it is to scam people. Just be aware of it and read the small letters. <br><br>TLDR: Book a hotel reservation with creditcard and no-show? No damage. Book a flight reservation with creditcard and no-show? Big damage for airlines. Why is that? Because it’s completely legal. <br><br>P.S. If you’re now thinking: “Just pay immediately with PayPal or Bank Transfer” - you’re completely wrong. Paying immediately is even worse than paying with a creditcard. If the hotel scams you, you can claim your money back from Mastercard. If you pay immediately, you have zero chance of claiming your money back.