How to Remove a Booking.com Review — What Properties Can Do

Q: Can hotels remove negative Booking.com reviews?

Hotels cannot remove Booking.com reviews simply because they disagree with the content. Booking.com only removes reviews that violate its content guidelines — reviews containing hate speech, personal information, promotional content, content unrelated to the stay, or reviews where the guest did not complete the stay. Genuine guest opinions, even negative ones, stay on the platform. The correct response to a review you disagree with is a measured, professional property response visible to all future guests.

Q: How long does Booking.com take to respond to a review report?

Booking.com typically responds to review reports within 3–5 business days. Complex cases may take longer. If Booking.com declines to remove the review, you will be notified via the extranet. There is no formal appeals process, though you can resubmit with additional evidence if you obtain new information.

How Booking.com reviews are different from other platforms

Booking.com's review system has one significant structural difference from TripAdvisor and Google: only verified guests who actually completed a stay can leave a review. Reviews are triggered automatically by Booking.com after checkout — the guest receives an invitation to review, and only guests who booked through Booking.com and stayed at the property are eligible.

This means fake reviews from non-guests are structurally much harder to generate on Booking.com than on open platforms. However, it also means that a guest who had a genuinely bad experience — and who is writing about that experience accurately — cannot have their review removed simply because the property disagrees.

What Booking.com will remove

Reviews Booking.com's content policy qualifies for removal

Personal information: Reviews containing full names of staff, phone numbers, email addresses, or other personal identifiers
Hate speech or discriminatory content: Reviews containing language targeting protected characteristics
Promotional content: Reviews that appear to be marketing (positive or negative) rather than genuine guest feedback
Content unrelated to the stay: Reviews discussing matters unrelated to the property, room, or guest experience
Abusive or threatening language: Reviews containing personal threats or abusive content directed at staff
Mention of ongoing legal matters: Booking.com may remove or withhold reviews where an active legal dispute is in progress between the guest and property

What Booking.com will NOT remove: A negative review that accurately describes a guest's genuine experience — even if you believe the guest's expectations were unreasonable, or the issues they describe have since been fixed. Booking.com does not adjudicate factual disputes between properties and guests. The correct response is a professional property reply.

How to flag a review through the extranet

Log in to the Booking.com extranet

Go to the Booking.com extranet at admin.booking.com and log in with your property credentials.

Navigate to Guest reviews

From the extranet dashboard, go to Property > Guest reviews (or Reviews in the main navigation, depending on your extranet version).

Find the review and click "Report this review"

Locate the review you wish to flag. Click the "Report this review" option (sometimes shown as a flag icon). This option is available next to each review in the extranet.

Select the policy violation and provide context

Choose the specific reason why you believe the review violates Booking.com's content guidelines. Provide a clear, factual explanation and include any supporting evidence — reservation records, communication logs, or documentation of the violation.

Submit and await Booking.com's decision

Booking.com typically responds within 3–5 business days. You will receive notification in the extranet of their decision. If they decline removal, the reason will be stated.

Write a property response instead

For reviews that do not qualify for removal, a property response is more effective than attempting further removal requests. A well-written property response:

Shows future guests that management is professional and responsive
Provides your side of the story without being defensive
Demonstrates that issues mentioned have been addressed
Is visible to every future guest who reads the review — often read more carefully than the original review

Properties with professional, consistent response practices maintain higher booking conversion rates even with some negative reviews than properties with high scores but no responses.

Frequently asked questions

Can hotels remove negative Booking.com reviews?

Only if the review violates Booking.com's content guidelines. Genuine negative guest opinions — even ones the property believes are unfair — cannot be removed. The correct response to a genuine review you disagree with is a professional property response.

How long does Booking.com take to respond to a review report?

Typically 3–5 business days. If Booking.com declines removal, you will be notified in the extranet with a reason. There is no formal appeals process, though you can resubmit with new evidence.

A guest left a review mentioning a staff member by name. Does this qualify for removal?

Booking.com's guidelines restrict reviews that contain personal information (phone numbers, email addresses, personal identifiers). The mere mention of a staff first name in context ("the receptionist Maria was rude") is generally considered review content rather than personal information disclosure. Reviews that name staff with specific personal details (full name + contact information) are more likely to qualify for removal on privacy grounds. Report it and Booking.com will assess the specific content.

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