Hotel booking scam targets Labor Day travelers

With Labor Day right around the corner, millions of Americans will be traveling for what will be their end of summer reprieve – however, it could very well be anything but.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is warning consumers about a hotel booking scam that is costing nearly US$4 billion and affecting nearly 55 million bookings per year.

Here’s how the scam works:

Consumers goes to book their hotel reservation online by searching hotels on Google or another like search engine. S/he then clicks on one of the top links that pops up, which appears to be the actual hotel’s website. They are then taken to website, which appears to be the hotel’s website, with the hotel’s logo, the hotel’s copyrighted images, and even a URL that includes the hotel’s name.

No red flags being raised, the consumer either calls the 1-800 number or books through what they think is the actual hotel’s website.

They then get to the hotel to find out that they did not actually book with the hotel website, but instead through a third-party. Sometimes they get there, and they don’t even have a reservation.

But the consumer, in most cases still gets their room – so what’s the problem?

This flat-out deception can result in a number of issues, including, but not limited to:

• The reservation is not what they want or need – such as two double beds or handicap access.

• An additional booking fee, usually around 25%, that they would not have been charged had they actually booked directly through the hotel’s website.

• If they need to cancel or change their reservation, they are out of luck – and since third-parties charge the consumer in advance unlike the hotel, it is nearly impossible to get their money back.

• The reward points they thought they were earning don’t exist.

• The reservation was lost or never existed.

So, if you are making your last-minute plans for the Labor Day weekend and looking for a hotel, Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) when using search engines to find that deal that may not be such a great deal after all.

For more information, click here.