If you are planning an upcoming trip, keep an eye out for hotel booking scams. BBB Scam Tracker continues to receive reports of travelers falling victim to lookalike websites. Always confirm you are on the right website before making hotel reservations.
How the scam works
You search for hotels in the city you plan to visit. Among the top search results is what appears to be an official hotel website or a legitimate travel booking agency. When you click the link, you find a website with professional photos from the hotel and reasonable pricing.
Everything looks normal, so you decide to book a room. You enter your credit card information and check out. However, when you review your credit card statement, you notice you’ve been charged a much higher rate than you agreed. It turns out that you weren’t on the official hotel website after all! You accidentally clicked on a third-party site without affiliation with the hotel.
When you contact the company to cancel your reservation, you may not be able to get through to anyone. And even if you do, they’ll likely tell you you’ve made a non-refundable reservation. The best they can do is cancel your reservation and charge you for it anyway.
In a recent BBB Scam Tracker report, a consumer shared, “Purchased a hotel reservation for a Hilton hotel in Chicago. But when I called the hotel they said they don’t have any record of the reservation. Same answer after I called them multiple times. Then they transferred the call to Hilton reservation and they said the same. Then only I realized that they are a fraudulent company. And when I researched them online I found lot of similar incidents…”
How to avoid hotel booking scams
- Only book hotels through official websites. The best way to avoid this kind of scam is to check and double-check you are on an official hotel website before you enter your credit card information. Scammers are pros at building fake lookalike websites to fool you into giving up your information. Look closely at the URL to ensure you are on the hotel’s official website or a booking agency you know and trust.
- Only make reservations through secure websites. You’ll also want to ensure websites and their payment pages are secure, meaning they start with https:// and display a padlock symbol. If a web page isn’t secure, don’t enter your personal information and close the tab.
- Contact the hotel directly. If you’re unsure about a booking site or deal, call the hotel directly to confirm that the offer is real and that your reservation is in their system.
- Look for red flags in communication. Be wary of unusual payment requests, such as wire transfers, prepaid cards, or payment through untraceable methods. Also, be on the lookout for typos and grammatical or spelling errors. Legitimate hotels typically do not have these errors.
- Watch out for misleading ads. Look at search results carefully. Just because a website is the first result on the page doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Watch out for high-ranking ads that scammers could sponsor.
- Research businesses you aren’t familiar with. If you find a booking site that looks professional but you haven’t heard of it before, proceed with caution. Search for reviews on third-party websites and keep a close eye out for reports of scams. Never share your personal information with a person or business until you know they are trustworthy.
- Check the cancellation policy. Review the hotel’s cancellation policy carefully. Scammers might not provide clear information on this, making it difficult to get a refund.
- Search BBB.org. It’s always best practice to search hotels near you on BBB.org to check reviews, ratings, and BBB Accreditation. When booking a hotel online, look for the BBB Seal; it’s The Sign of a Better Business®.
