Guest: Rahul Lio · Host: Nataša · One-bedroom apartment · Listed as "Anywhere On Foot – Big Belgrade Fortress Flat – Free Parking"
Three nights, paid in full and directly to the host in Serbian dinars rather than through the platform. Figures below are from the host's own Booking.com invoice.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Room — 3 nights × €44.84 | €134.52 |
| Cleaning fee | €22.00 |
| City tax — €1.15 per person per night × 3 | €3.45 |
| Total paid | €159.97 |
The same invoice records a commissionable amount of €156.52 and Booking.com commission of €18.78 — approximately 12%.
On 10 August, after the condition of the apartment was raised, the host offered a refund — conditional on her own staff's inspection:
"At this point, the best thing I can do is issue you a refund once you check out of the apartment tomorrow, provided that my cleaning team confirms that there has been no damage or misuse of the apartment."
Host, 10 Aug 15:25
Asked how much, she quoted one night: €44.48. Then, unprompted:
"Of course I can offer more, 2% more. I will have to Mark you as a no-show on booking so I don't have to pay their commission that way you can get a bigger refund. If that's what you want let me know"
Host, 10 Aug 15:35
I did not agree to being recorded as a no-show.
On 11 August, Booking.com's own system emailed to confirm the reservation had been modified.
| Field | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Departure | Tuesday 11 August 2026 | Monday 10 August 2026 |
| Room price | €134.52 | €89.68 |
| Reduction | €44.84 — exactly one night at the invoice rate | |
Removing that night from the record reduces two things the host owes: Booking.com's commission on it (≈€5.38 at the 12% shown on her invoice) and the Belgrade residence tax on it (€1.15).
The booking ran to 11 August and I checked out on 11 August, when I removed my belongings from the apartment. On the afternoon of 10 August, because of the condition of the flat, I paid for a room elsewhere and slept there — but I had not checked out. My belongings were still in the apartment, I still held the keys, and the apartment was still let to me.
On 10 August at 15:05 she wrote:
"As your scheduled checkout is tomorrow, you are welcome to continue using the apartment until your checkout time."
And at 15:25:
"the best thing I can do is issue you a refund once you check out of the apartment tomorrow"
"Tomorrow" was 11 August. On 11 August she amended the record to show departure on 10 August — a date she had twice stated in writing, twenty-four hours earlier, was not my checkout date.
Shortening a booking is the ordinary mechanism a host uses to process a partial refund. Here the night was removed from the record — relieving the host of Booking.com's commission on it and the residence tax on it, which is precisely the outcome she had described in writing the day before — and no refund has been paid. Both sides of the transaction ended up with her.
| Position | Amount |
|---|---|
| Paid to the host | €159.97 |
| Refund agreed in writing | €44.48 |
| Refund actually received | €0.00 |
| Replacement accommodation, night of 10 August | $89.21 |
| Claimed | €159.97 + $89.21 |
These are available in full to Booking.com, to Airbnb, and to the Serbian tourist inspectorate, sanitary inspectorate and tax administration on request. This page is a summary; the underlying documents govern.
Accuracy. Every figure on this page is taken from the host's Booking.com invoice or from Booking.com's own system emails. Every quotation is verbatim. If any of it is shown to be inaccurate I will correct it and note the correction here.
Rahul Lio
Guest, 8–11 August 2026