Failed to honour booking agreement
My experience with Lastminute has been completely unacceptable and has caused me to lose all trust in the company.
I booked and paid for a 4-star hotel at the price advertised on Lastminute's website. Shortly afterwards, my booking was cancelled on the grounds that the room was no longer available.
What makes this particularly concerning is that I contacted the hotel directly immediately after receiving the notification from Lastminute. The hotel confirmed that the room was still available, reserved in my name, and remained on their system. This was in direct contradiction to the information I had been given by Lastminute.
There was also a very significant price difference between the rate displayed on Lastminute's website and the rate offered by the hotel on its official website. To me, it became obvious that the issue was not room availability, but rather that the room had been advertised at a substantially lower price than its actual value.
Instead of taking responsibility for its own mistake and honouring the price that it had advertised and confirmed, Lastminute chose to cancel the booking. Customers should not be expected to bear the consequences of a company's own errors.
What makes the situation even worse is that Lastminute's own terms and conditions state that a confirmed booking constitutes an agreement. Despite this, the company chose not to honour the booking that it had already accepted. Apparently, terms and conditions only apply when they benefit the company.
Following the cancellation, I spent weeks dealing with frustrating communication. I received conflicting information from different representatives, and on several occasions customer service incorrectly claimed that I had requested a refund, despite me repeatedly making it clear that I did not accept a refund as a solution.
When Lastminute finally proposed an alternative, I was offered only a 3-star hotel that was significantly inferior to the 4-star hotel I had originally booked. I never demanded the exact same room — I simply requested accommodation of a comparable standard, quality, and overall experience. I also asked for additional alternatives because the option offered was not comparable to my original booking. Despite this, Lastminute was unable to provide an acceptable solution.
The final outcome was a refund — precisely the solution that I had made clear from the very beginning that I did not accept. Lastminute failed both to honour the confirmed booking and to provide a comparable alternative.
The entire process was characterised by poor communication, a lack of accountability, and a complete unwillingness to resolve a problem that the company itself had created.
If you book through Lastminute, be aware that, in my experience, a confirmed booking does not necessarily mean that the company will stand behind it. I will never use their services again and cannot recommend them to anyone who expects a company to take responsibility for its mistakes, follow its own terms and conditions, and treat customers fairly and professionally.