Mafadi Air Short Term Rental Management
1|3 reviews
JVDR
Jolene Van Der Ross
1 reviews | Active since Member
06 Sept 2025, 06:00
The first and the last time!
The worst experience I’ve ever had. There are issues between Bookings.com and Mafadi Air and as a customer I was “smack bang” in the middle of it! I made a booking at 19h41 and cancelled the booking at 06h59 the next morning, due to a work emergency. They refused to refund me and billed me the full cancellation fee, because “at midnight the full cancellation fee was app****”. My Booking was 4 hours and 19 minutes old. I didn’t check in, and the cancellation was 2 days before check in. The sent me from pillar to post and I’ve been fighting this since January. Mafadi Air sends me to Bookings for the refund. Bookings requests Mafadi approval, Mafadi declined the approval. Mafadi then says the building was sold so they cannot refund me from a listing that was deleted. Bookings then says if Mafadi decline they can escalate and refund. When I contact them to inform them that Mafadi declined to refund, they escalate, then decline my refund due to the “midnight policy”. Does nobody think anymore? A booking that was 4 hours old is all of sudden worth 800 rand? Does that make sense? Make it make sense?! I went to Department of Tourism, none of them comp**** with Tourism. I went to NCC (National Consumer Commission) didn’t receive any feedback or an attempt to resolve. The CPA is explicit when referenced to reasonableness. Their refusal to resolve and or refund is in direct conflict with the law and they, for some reason, are oblivious to what reasonableness means. Not refunding booking that was only 4 hours old before the full cancellation fee was in effect is considered as unreasonable. They way they’ve handled this, the blatant disregard for the law, the inability to resolve, the lack of communication is such a disappointment. This was my first booking with Bookings.com and will definitely be my last. As for Mafadi Air, every booking from now, I will have to scrutinise to ensure that I do not book or lease from them. Their customer retention and customer satisfaction is non existent. The worst experience I’ve ever had.
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Replies (56)JVDR
Jolene Van Der Ross's updateReviewer Update
08 Jan 2026, 10:42Following my initial post, further developments have only reinforced the concerns I raised.
Despite Tourism and the NCC’s oversight, Mafadi Air’s cancellation policies remain contradictory and unreasonable — with deadlines stated as midnight, 2 days before check‑in, within 14 days, and even charging 100% of the accommodation cost for cancellations made within 12 hours. If two governing bodies could not identify these policies as unclear, what confidence can consumers have that the Tribunal will act fairly?
The sequence of events is telling:
• Bookings.com attempted to refund me.
• Bookings.com requested Mafadi’s authorisation to proceed.
• Mafadi refused to authorise, waive, or refund fees, instead blaming the booking system.
This refusal, coupled with shifting blame, leaves consumers trapped without remedy. In what constitution is this considered fair?
The broader question remains: if South African suppliers can impose unfair practices unchecked, and governing bodies fail to intervene, can consumers still rely on South African institutions for protection?
Despite Tourism and the NCC’s oversight, Mafadi Air’s cancellation policies remain contradictory and unreasonable — with deadlines stated as midnight, 2 days before check‑in, within 14 days, and even charging 100% of the accommodation cost for cancellations made within 12 hours. If two governing bodies could not identify these policies as unclear, what confidence can consumers have that the Tribunal will act fairly?
The sequence of events is telling:
• Bookings.com attempted to refund me.
• Bookings.com requested Mafadi’s authorisation to proceed.
• Mafadi refused to authorise, waive, or refund fees, instead blaming the booking system.
This refusal, coupled with shifting blame, leaves consumers trapped without remedy. In what constitution is this considered fair?
The broader question remains: if South African suppliers can impose unfair practices unchecked, and governing bodies fail to intervene, can consumers still rely on South African institutions for protection?
JVDR
Jolene Van Der Ross's update08 Jan 2026, 10:42
Reviewer Update
Following my initial post, further developments have only reinforced the concerns I raised.
Despite Tourism and the NCC’s oversight, Mafadi Air’s cancellation policies remain contradictory and unreasonable — with deadlines stated as midnight, 2 days before check‑in, within 14 days, and even charging 100% of the accommodation cost for cancellations made within 12 hours. If two governing bodies could not identify these policies as unclear, what confidence can consumers have that the Tribunal will act fairly?
The sequence of events is telling:
• Bookings.com attempted to refund me.
• Bookings.com requested Mafadi’s authorisation to proceed.
• Mafadi refused to authorise, waive, or refund fees, instead blaming the booking system.
This refusal, coupled with shifting blame, leaves consumers trapped without remedy. In what constitution is this considered fair?
The broader question remains: if South African suppliers can impose unfair practices unchecked, and governing bodies fail to intervene, can consumers still rely on South African institutions for protection?
Despite Tourism and the NCC’s oversight, Mafadi Air’s cancellation policies remain contradictory and unreasonable — with deadlines stated as midnight, 2 days before check‑in, within 14 days, and even charging 100% of the accommodation cost for cancellations made within 12 hours. If two governing bodies could not identify these policies as unclear, what confidence can consumers have that the Tribunal will act fairly?
The sequence of events is telling:
• Bookings.com attempted to refund me.
• Bookings.com requested Mafadi’s authorisation to proceed.
• Mafadi refused to authorise, waive, or refund fees, instead blaming the booking system.
This refusal, coupled with shifting blame, leaves consumers trapped without remedy. In what constitution is this considered fair?
The broader question remains: if South African suppliers can impose unfair practices unchecked, and governing bodies fail to intervene, can consumers still rely on South African institutions for protection?