If something goes wrong with a stay

How your payment works

When you book, your card is charged by the host, on the host's own account. Their business name is what appears on your statement. BookaQuest takes no commission, adds no guest fee, and never holds your money at any point.

That is why we can be cheaper than the big sites. It is also why the rest of this page reads the way it does.

What we don't do

We don't decide who is right when a guest and a host disagree, and we can't refund you — we never had your money to give back. We have no refund programme of our own and no damage cover.

We would rather say that plainly here than have you find out at the worst possible moment. The big platforms do run their own refund programmes, and if that matters more to you than price, that is a completely reasonable reason to book elsewhere.

What we check, and what that means

BookaQuest is a marketplace, not a party to your booking. The stay is an agreement between you and the host.

A listing publishes after the host finishes identity and bank verification, and — if they are new here — after we have looked at their first listing. We have the right, but not the obligation, to run those checks, and we do not promise to run any particular check on every listing.

If something here is called “verified,” that only means a relevant identification or verification process was completed — and nothing else. It is not a statement that a host is trustworthy, that a property is as described, or that a stay will go well.

What you do have

Because the host is the merchant on the charge, your card issuer's dispute process runs against the person who actually took your money. A dispute — often called a chargeback — is your bank asking the merchant's bank to justify the charge, and reversing it if they can't.

“Services not rendered” and “not as described” are the terms card issuers use for the two most common versions of a stay gone wrong. Your issuer decides the outcome — we have no say in it and cannot tell you how yours will go.

What to do, in order

1. Tell the host straight away,in writing, while you're still there if you can. Open your booking under Your trips and report the problem — that sends it to your host and keeps a copy with the date on it.
2. Take photos immediately, before you tidy, move anything, or leave. Dated photos taken on arrival are the single most useful thing you can have.
3. Keep everything in writing.Phone calls are hard to prove. Messages and emails aren't.
4. Give the host a fair chance to put it right. Many will. Your card issuer will also ask whether you tried.
5. If it isn't resolved, go to your card issuer.Call the number on the back of your card or use the dispute option in your banking app. We'll give you the charge details, the merchant name and your own report to hand over.
6. Don't sit on it. Card networks set deadlines for raising a dispute. Ask your issuer what yours is.