Your arrival housing fell through: what to do tonight

Key rules

• Emergency: Call 112 if you feel unsafe or suspect fraud.
• Refund: If the host cancels, you are entitled to a full refund.
• Replacement stay: The host does not have to find you a new place, so secure a bed yourself while the platform helps.
• Proof: Keep screenshots and receipts, because claims for extra costs need evidence.
• Complaints: Take unresolved problems to the regional tourism department or your local consumer office.

Get a bed first, then deal with the money

Tonight's job is a place to sleep. The refund fight can wait until morning. If you feel unsafe at any point, call 112.

Tonight: three ways to find a bed

1. Ask the platform to rebook you. Open the booking in the app or website and use the chat or call-back option. Say you are already in Spain and need a replacement tonight. Contacting them through the booking itself gets the best results.

• If a host cancelled on Airbnb, you are entitled to a full refund. Airbnb can also help find a similar listing and, in some cases, gives a rebooking credit or covers part of a price difference.
• On Booking.com, the property is expected to arrange or pay for a similar alternative nearby. If the replacement costs more, Customer Service can ask the property to cover the difference.

Don't wait for the platform to answer before you look elsewhere. Replies can be slow.

2. Walk in or call. In most cities, hostels, pensiones/hostales (small budget guesthouses) and hotels take walk-ins if they have space. Apartments and tourist rentals usually don't, because they need pre-arranged check-in. If you arrive late, call ahead, as some receptions close.

3. Book one night online. In peak weeks, at weekends and during big events, walk-ins often fail. Book a single night online, even for the same day. Then you can sort out the longer term tomorrow.

What a bed may cost at short notice

These are rough same-day prices in Madrid and Barcelona:

• Hostel dorm bed: €20–45 a night, and €50–80 in peak weeks.
• Budget private room or 2–3 star hotel: €70–150, and €150–300 or more at peak times.

Valencia, Seville, Málaga and Bilbao are similar or a little cheaper, except in event weeks. Coastal places in July and August are often full and expensive. November to February is usually easy, apart from holidays.

Keep your refund claim alive

• Screenshot the listing, the confirmation, the cancellation and every message.
• Keep every receipt for the replacement stay.
• Report the problem to the platform now, not after you leave.
• Ask for a full refund, a similar replacement stay and cover for the extra cost. Say you are already travelling.
• If you paid by card and the platform does not refund you, ask your card issuer about a chargeback.

The host does not have to find you a new place. Spanish consumer law gives you a full refund when the provider cancels. If the provider is at fault, you can also claim proven damages, such as the extra cost of a replacement stay. How much you get back depends on the platform's terms at booking and on the host's cooperation.

If the platform and host don't fix it

Tourist accommodation is regulated by each region, so complaints go first to the regional tourism department. You can also use your local consumer office (OMIC) or the regional consumer authority.

Wherever you stay, ask for the hoja de reclamaciones. The business must have one available. For disputes with a platform, the European Consumer Centre Spain helps foreigners. If you suspect fraud, such as paying for a stay that doesn't exist, call 112 or go to the police.

The exact office and form depend on your region and town, so ask your town hall or the regional tourism office which applies.

Choosing between options

How do you get a bed tonight?

• Use the platform's rebooking help: Your booking is on Airbnb or Booking.com and you have time to wait for a reply. Both refund in full and can help find a similar place.

• Walk into or call a hostel, pensión or hotel: It is low or mid season and the platform is slow to answer. These places accept walk-ins if they have space.

• Book a single night online: It is peak season, a weekend or an event, when walk-ins rarely work. You can sort out the longer stay tomorrow.

Start the platform request first, then secure a bed yourself if you will not have an answer before you need to sleep. Keep receipts so you can claim the extra cost back.

First 24 hours when your accommodation falls through

• If you feel unsafe, call 112 (free, works without credit) and stay on the line to give your address: Straight away, before anything else

• Secure a bed for tonight: walk into or call hostels, pensiones/hostales and hotels, and book a single night first: Tonight. Apartments and tourist rentals rarely take walk-ins, and in peak season or at weekends it is harder, so book online the same day

• Contact the host and the platform through the booking itself, using the app chat or call-back option, and ask for rebooking help: As soon as you know. For Airbnb, report within 72 hours

• Document the problem: screenshots of the listing and messages, the confirmation, receipts and photos, plus the cost of any replacement bed: While you sort the bed, before anything is deleted

• Claim the money back: ask the platform first, then your card issuer for a chargeback if you paid by card: Within days. Chargebacks are generally allowed for about 120 days, but some issuers set shorter windows such as 60 days

• If the place is a real business, ask for the hoja de reclamaciones (official complaint form) and file it with the regional consumer authority or your town's consumer office (OMIC): Once you have a replacement bed, after the first claim

• For tourist accommodation problems, complain to the regional tourism department; the European Consumer Centre Spain helps foreigners with platform disputes: If the platform or business does not resolve it

Checklist

• Message the platform through the booking itself, using the app chat or call-back option, and ask for rebooking help.

• Ask for a full refund and a similar replacement stay, and say you are already travelling.

• Call hostels, pensiones/hostales and hotels near you to ask for a bed tonight.

• Keep screenshots of the cancellation and your messages, and keep every receipt for a replacement stay.

• Ask the host or platform to cover any extra cost of the replacement stay.

• Ask for the hoja de reclamaciones (official complaint form) wherever you stay, and note your regional tourism department or local consumer office (OMIC) as the place to file the full complaint.

What to watch out for

• Peak-season beds can be full or very expensive: In peak weeks, at weekends and during big events, walk-in beds are scarce and prices jump. Book a single night online as early as you can instead of walking around, then sort out the longer stay.

• The host does not have to find you a new place: Spanish law gives you a full refund and compensation for proven extra costs if the host is at fault, but it does not oblige the host to rehouse you. Ask the platform for rebooking help and keep every receipt to prove extra costs.

• Claims need proof and the right office: Without screenshots, messages and receipts, a refund or compensation claim is hard to win. Complaints go to a regional office, and the form and office vary by region. Save everything tonight, and file with your regional tourism department or local consumer office (OMIC).

• Report the problem to Airbnb quickly: You must report an issue to Airbnb within 72 hours of discovering it and of checking in to be covered by AirCover protection. Contact Airbnb through the app tonight rather than waiting.

What if you already paid for a stay that turns out to be fake?

If you have already paid, act in the next few hours, not days. Your bank is the first call, because the chance of getting money back falls fast.

Do these in order

1. Stop paying. Send no more money, documents or ID, whatever the "host" says.
2. Save the evidence. Do it before anything gets deleted (see the list below).
3. Call your bank or card issuer straight away. Use the number on the back of your card or on the bank's official app. Ask them to block the card if needed and to start a chargeback (card) or a recall (bank transfer).
4. Report it to the platform, if the booking came through one. For Airbnb, you must report within 72 hours to be covered.
5. File a police report. Banks and insurers usually ask for it, and you will need the report number.
6. Sort out a bed for tonight. Use a verified channel and pay by card, not by bank transfer.
7. Follow up on refunds. Keep chasing your bank and the platform. If a real business was involved, add a complaint to your town hall's consumer office.

Who can reverse the payment

• Paid by card: your card issuer. Ask for a chargeback. Visa and Mastercard generally allow chargebacks for about 120 days from the transaction or expected service date, with an absolute maximum of around 540 days, and issuers may set shorter windows such as 60 days. Do not wait for the limit.
• Paid by bank transfer: your bank. A transfer cannot simply be reversed, but the bank can ask for a recall. It only works if the money is still in the recipient's account. Instant transfers are very hard to get back.
• Unauthorised payments: if someone took money without your approval, tell your bank without undue delay and within 13 months at the latest. The bank must normally refund by the next business day unless it suspects fraud.
• Tricked into paying: if you approved the payment yourself, banks often refuse. Ask anyway and ask for the refusal in writing.
• Paid in cash: none of these routes apply. The police report and the platform report are your main options.

Evidence to keep

• Screenshots of the listing: web address, photos, price, host name and profile.
• Every message: chat, email, WhatsApp and SMS, with dates and times visible.
• The booking confirmation.
• Payment receipts and bank or card statements.
• For transfers, proof showing the recipient's IBAN and name.
• Call logs, and photos or video of the property if you went there.
• Receipts for extra costs, such as a replacement hotel.
• Case numbers from the platform and your police report number.

Do not delete chats, emails or accounts. Save everything as PDFs or screenshots with timestamps, and back it up somewhere else.

What if your booking falls through?

Get a bed for tonight first

Sort out where you will sleep before you chase the money.

1. Contact the platform you booked through. Ask for rebooking help. Host cancellations and some problems qualify for rebooking or credit.
2. Search for rooms with free cancellation on booking sites. Also call hotels and hostels directly, because last-minute rates are sometimes cheaper by phone.
3. Widen the search. Try hostels, aparthotels and rooms slightly outside the centre or near train stations.
4. Book one night only. Extend once you know more.
5. Do not pay cash or make a bank transfer to a private individual. Pay by card to a real business.

Act quickly if a big event or the high season is near, because rooms fill up fast.

Document everything straight away

Save each item as a screenshot or PDF with the date and time visible, and back it up. Do not delete chats or accounts.

• Call logs.
• Photos or video of the property, if you arrived.
• Receipts for anything extra you had to pay because of this. Keep them for your claim.
• The platform's case numbers.
• Your police report number, if you report fraud.

How to get your money back

Go down this list in order. Use the first step that matches how you booked and paid.

1. You booked through a platform: open a claim under its guarantee first. It can rebook you or refund you.
2. You paid the host by transfer or cash: there is no automatic protection. Ask your bank to try to recall the transfer, send the host a written demand, and file a police report if it looks like fraud. After that, make a consumer complaint or a small-claims case.
3. The host is a real business in Spain: complain to the regional consumer authority or to your town's municipal consumer office. Ask for the official complaint form (hoja de reclamaciones). If the business is in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre in Spain helps for free.
4. Last resort: a small-claims court case.

If you have travel insurance, check whether it covers cancellations and claim there too.

Frequently asked questions

Will the platform pay for a more expensive replacement?

Not always. Booking.com can ask the property to cover the price difference, and Airbnb may give a rebooking credit or cover part of it. If you still pay extra, you can claim proven extra costs from the host under Spanish contract law.

Can I just walk into a place without a booking?

Usually yes in low and mid season. Hostels, pensiones/hostales and hotels take walk-ins if they have space. Apartments and tourist rentals generally do not, and late arrivals should call ahead because reception hours can be limited.

What will a bed cost at short notice?

Hostel dorm beds in Madrid and Barcelona are roughly €20–45 a night, and budget rooms or 2–3 star hotels roughly €70–150. In peak weeks prices rise sharply, and coastal places in July and August are often full.