Hundreds left with nowhere to sleep after booking a Madrid holiday flat that didn’t exist
A listing with more than 700 reviews and a 7.7 rating looked like one of the safer bets in Madrid. […]
Hundreds of travellers arrived at a residential building in Madrid, confused by a listing that didn't exist. The listing, named Palacio Central Madrid, was advertised on Booking.com with a 53-square-metre apartment, breakfast, parking, free airport transfers, a spa, and a 24-hour multilingual reception. The listing had a high rating of 7.7 from over 700 reviews, which lured travellers from around the world to book it.
However, the actual location was a residential building in Madrid’s Retiro park, far from the promised location in Ferrol, Galicia. The fake listing promised a luxurious experience but residents found an ordinary apartment block. Booking.com removed the listing after six days, stating it was an incident affecting one of its partners.
The case highlights the need for platforms to verify the authenticity of listings and protect users' money.
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