A group of seven women travelling to Ibiza for a hen party were left without their booked accommodation after the three-bedroom apartment they had reserved through Booking.com disappeared from the platform shortly before their arrival.

Flavia Zsofia Hannus, 23, said she had paid £1,800 for the three-night stay near Ushuaïa Ibiza, where the group planned to begin their celebrations.

The account was first reported in July and has resurfaced in international coverage this week. The available information describes the incident as an apparent accommodation scam, but it does not establish who was behind the listing.

The Booking Disappeared Before the Trip

According to Hannus's account, the group had booked the apartment for seven people and paid the £1,800 cost.

Several days before their scheduled arrival, communication with the host stopped.

The accommodation listing subsequently disappeared from Booking.com, while the women still had the original reservation in their booking information.

The group was due to arrive on a Sunday evening and had not received the necessary check-in information by the day of arrival.

Contact With Booking.com

Hannus said she spent around two and a half hours contacting different Booking.com representatives while trying to resolve the situation and find alternative accommodation.

She said the platform initially tried to reassure the group, despite also being unable to establish contact with the host.

Alternative accommodation was eventually offered, but the options were located on another part of the island and required the group to make another payment upfront.

That meant the travellers had already paid £1,800 for the original booking while facing another accommodation expense for their stay.

The group ultimately found alternative accommodation, but the incident affected their plans and the first part of their trip.

Booking.com Removed the Listing

Booking.com has said that the safety and reliability of its platform are priorities and that it investigates suspected fraudulent activity.

A company spokesperson said accommodation listings are checked for suspicious activity and confirmed that the property involved in this case was removed from the platform following an investigation.

The company has also published guidance warning travellers about fake properties and payment requests outside the terms shown in a booking confirmation.

Booking.com says travellers should not make payments that are not included in the property's stated payment policy and should contact customer service if they receive suspicious payment requests.

A Warning About External Payments

One particularly important detail in the group's account concerns the payment process.

According to reports based on Hannus's account, the group received a payment link outside the normal Booking.com process. Hannus said they contacted Booking.com and were told that the payment arrangement was legitimate before proceeding.

Booking.com's current safety guidance says travellers should not follow external payment requests or provide payment details through email, telephone, text or WhatsApp. It also advises users to check the payment conditions shown in their booking confirmation before making any payment.

Holiday Accommodation Fraud Remains a UK Concern

The case comes amid wider warnings about holiday fraud affecting UK travellers.

Action Fraud recorded 6,066 reports of holiday fraud in 2024, with reported losses totalling £11,183,957. The average reported loss was £1,844 per victim. July was the month with the highest number of reports, with 647 cases.

Consumer organisation Which? has also documented cases involving accommodation listings on Booking.com, including investigations into listings that appeared to be fraudulent or did not provide the accommodation customers had booked.

What Travellers Should Check Before Paying

Booking.com advises travellers to:

• Check the payment and cancellation conditions shown in the booking confirmation.

• Avoid payment requests that fall outside those conditions.

• Be cautious about requests to communicate or pay through external channels.

• Check reviews and property information before booking.

• Contact the platform directly if a host requests unusual payment arrangements.

• Never provide card details in response to unsolicited messages claiming to come from the accommodation or booking platform.

Booking.com also states that once a confirmed booking exists, accommodation providers are required to honour it. If the provider cannot provide the booked accommodation or a suitable alternative, the platform says customers may be entitled to cancel without charge and receive a refund, depending on how the booking payment was handled.

The Ibiza Booking Case

The women eventually found somewhere else to stay, but the episode highlights the risks travellers can face when accommodation arrangements break down shortly before arrival, particularly during Ibiza's busy summer season.

The available reporting does not establish whether the original £1,800 was ultimately recovered, nor does it identify a person responsible for the listing.

For that reason, the case is best described as an apparent accommodation scam or suspected fraudulent listing rather than a proven criminal fraud.