Booking a Hotel Online? Watch Out for This Scam That Could Cost You 85% More
Booking a hotel online should be simple enough. We search for the hotel, click one of the first links, pick a room, and start daydreaming about vacation. Now, that first link needs a second look.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has filed a lawsuit claiming that two hotel booking websites, GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com, have been making themselves look a lot like official hotel websites.
People may not realize they've booked through a third party until they've already paid. And some have paid up to 85% more.
How the Hotel Booking Scam Allegedly Works
The alleged hotel booking scam starts where most vacations do: Google. According to the lawsuit, the third-party sites buy search ads that place them near the top of the results when someone searches for a particular hotel.
The sites may also use web addresses containing the hotel's name and pages that are designed to look a lot like the real thing. In other words, when you’re trying to book a hotel online, it only takes one wrong click to end up somewhere you didn't want to be.
One example in the lawsuit involved San Francisco's Palace Hotel. A king room found through Guest Reservations cost $595, including taxes, while the same room and date cost $381 through Marriott's website. The difference was even bigger for a refundable room: $775 through Guest Reservations versus $419 through Marriott. That's quite a surcharge for clicking the wrong search result.
People May Not Notice It Right Away
The extra hotel booking fees aren't always what tips people off. According to the city, some guests didn’t realize they’d used a third-party site until they tried to change or cancel their reservation.
The lawsuit claims bookings through the sites often requires full payment upfront and may come with stricter cancellation policies.
And this isn't based on a handful of unhappy vacationers. More than 1,800 complaints about Guest Reservations and BookOnline have been reported to the Better Business Bureau. Booking Holdings, which provides hotel inventory to the sites, is also named in the lawsuit. The company has said that it takes consumer protection seriously and believes the lawsuit lacks merit.
Take an Extra Look Before Booking
None of this means we need to approach every hotel search with a magnifying glass and a detective hat. But, it does give us a good reason to slow down for a few seconds before handing over our credit card.
If you think you’re booking directly with a hotel, check the web address against the hotel's official website to make sure you’re where you think you are. It's also worth comparing the final price and reviewing the cancellation policy before hitting that tempting “Book” button.
Then, you’ll have more room in the vacation fund for dinner, drinks, and a room with a view instead of an 85% surprise at checkout.
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