Who do I contact about my booking?

The ten-second check

Look at your card statement and see which company actually took the payment. If it was us, we are the ones who can refund or cancel it. If the property took payment directly at check-in, they hold the money and the decision.

This sounds pedantic and it is genuinely the fastest route to a resolution, because it identifies who is able to act rather than who you happened to speak to first.

The second question, if the first is unclear

Ask whether what you want changes the reservation or changes the stay. Anything that alters the record — the dates, the name, the money, whether it exists at all — belongs to whoever holds the booking. Anything that happens inside the hotel — where you sleep, when you arrive, what you can leave at the desk — belongs to the property, because they are the only ones who can physically do it.

Almost every question sorts itself with those two lines.

Things the property decides, not us

Room location, floor, bed configuration, connecting rooms, early check-in, late check-out, luggage storage, parking, pets, cots and extra beds. We can pass a request on and often do, but the answer belongs to the front desk, and a property that has said no to us will say no to us again. Contacting them directly is not a brush-off; it is usually the version that works.

Why "we passed the request on" is weaker than you calling them

A request relayed through an agency arrives as a line of text in a booking record, days before you do, and is read by whoever happens to be on shift. The same request made to the duty manager on the morning of your arrival is answered by somebody who can see the actual room list. Early check-in and late check-out in particular depend almost entirely on how full the hotel is that day, which nobody knows in advance — hotel check-in and check-out times explains why.

Things we handle

Cancelling within the rate's policy, amending the lead guest's name or email, resending a confirmation, telling you what a rate's cancellation deadline actually is, and chasing anything where you have been charged and do not have a booking to show for it.

What you can do yourself, without waiting

Open the booking in your trips and you can cancel it there, and edit the lead guest's name and email address there, without contacting anybody. That covers most of what people write to us about. For anything else, contact us or write to bookings@bookthebed.com.

The one to send immediately

If money left your account and you have no confirmation, email bookings@bookthebed.com with the amount and the date and we will reconcile it against our own records. Do not rebook first — a booking that appears to have failed has sometimes succeeded, and why you may look charged twice covers how to tell.

What we cannot do

We cannot override a rate's cancellation policy. When you book a non-refundable rate, the property has priced it on the basis that the room is sold, and neither we nor they will generally undo that because plans changed. The policy is shown on the rate before you pay, it is worth the ten seconds it takes to read, and what "free cancellation" actually covers is the thing most people get wrong.

We also cannot pay airline compensation, upgrade you at the property's expense, or guarantee a request the property has not confirmed. We cannot see your bank statement or release a hold your card issuer has placed, and we cannot make a room appear in a full hotel. Where we do not know something, we would rather say so than give you a confident answer that turns out to be wrong at the front desk.

We do not publish a phone number, because we are a small team and an unanswered line is worse than no line. Email reaches the same people and leaves you with a written record, which is the thing that actually settles a dispute.

Common questions

What is the fastest way to reach you?

Email bookings@bookthebed.com with your booking reference in the subject line, or use the contact form. Including the reference is the single thing that most shortens the reply.

Do you have a phone number?

No. We are a small team and we would rather answer in writing than have a line nobody picks up. A written answer is also the one you can show a hotel or a bank later.

Should I contact the hotel or you about early check-in?

The hotel. It depends on how full they are on the day, so it is a decision only the front desk can make, and it is usually made on the morning itself.

The hotel says to contact you, and you say to contact the hotel. Now what?

Send us the booking reference and tell us exactly what the property said. That situation normally means the reservation is held under a supplier reference the desk has not searched — what to do when the hotel cannot find your booking has the checks that resolve most of them.

Can you get me a refund on a non-refundable room?

We cannot promise one. We can ask the property, and properties do sometimes waive a charge when something serious has happened. Anyone who guarantees it in advance is guessing on your behalf.

Who do I contact about a flight booking?

The operating airline for anything about the flight itself — cancellations, seats, bags, compensation. Us for the booking record and the money. What happens if my flight is cancelled sets out the split, and it holds for flights booked on their own and inside a flight-plus-hotel booking alike.

I have not had a reply. How long should I wait?

If it is about your stay and you are travelling within forty-eight hours, contact the property directly as well — they can act on the day and we cannot. For anything else, reply on the same email thread rather than starting a new one, so the history stays together.

Where do I see what I actually booked?

In your trips: the reference, the dates, the room and what was paid. That page is the authoritative version, not the confirmation email, which is a copy of it.

I have not booked yet and I have a question about a property.

Ask the property. Their answer is the one that binds them. If you are still choosing, search a city, browse a destination guide or check what rooms typically cost first. Our cancellation policy covers the terms that apply once you do book.