PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Florida lawmakers have requested the Federal Trade Commission launch an immediate investigation into fraudulent online hotel booking sites.
A recent RetailMeNot.com and Omnibus survey found that due to the convenience of around-the-clock booking and the ability to easily shop for travel deals, close to 3 in 5 Americans use travel websites to book their travel.
While consumers are trying to score a deal, travel experts tell Local 10 News that scammers are piggy-backing off the popularity of online booking sites by setting up fake websites.
"Unfortunately the websites go up and come down so quickly that the consumer has no idea that they have been scammed until they show up at the hotel," said Heidi Dennis, general manager of the Atlantic Hotel and Spa on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
"This has been an ongoing problem, just talking to other hoteliers," she said.
According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, 2.5 million hotel reservations were made nationwide through misleading booking websites.
Those traveling to and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were apprehensive and cautious after hearing about the scams taking place.
"Really, that's crazy. People are paying for hotels and they don't have a place to stay when the get there? That's ridiculous," said Rhied White, who had just returned to South Florida from a family trip to Israel.
White said he booked his trip through a trusted travel agent.
"I didn't even know this was a problem," White said. "It is good to know, thank you."
South Florida hotel managers have had to turn away customers with what looked like legitimate confirmations.
"A lady came to the front desk, she had a confirmation, it looked like ours but we didn't have her name in our system," said Dennis. "When we started to dig deep to find out what was going on, the confirmation had pictures of our hotel, it had the name of our hotel, but it had a completely different street address. Then when we looked at the web address, it wasn't anything we recognized. Not one of the major third parties, like TripAdvisor or Expedia and the rate was so low. That was also a red flag. Come to find out, she had actually booked online, got a room, they took our pictures, the description of our hotel, but it wasn't our hotel. I was so upset, I felt so bad for her. People need to know if it is too good to be true, it probably is. My advice is call to confirm the rate and website with the hotel directly."
Dennis said in this case, the customer was out the money she paid to the website and the Atlantic was not just sold-out at the time, but going rates were three-to-four times higher than the price the customer had been quoted on the bogus hotel booking website.
"We did find her somewhere else to go but she has already paid her money, so she lost her money," Dennis said. "How many people is it going to take to lose their money before somebody takes action?"
U.S. Rep Lois Frankel is one of more than two dozen members of Congress taking action by asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the companies tricking consumers with deceptive and fraudulent booking websites.
"Florida's Restaurant and Lodging Association approached our office, told us about these issues and of course alarms go off because for Florida we are the top travel destination in the United States, so it is an issue that we care about," said Frankel. "Can you imagine you have these big plans to go to Key West or Fort Lauderdale Beach or Disney World, you pack your family in a car, (and) after a long trip show up to a hotel only to find out no reservations or the cost of the hotel is six, seven, times more than they expected? All those people are losing their money. This is really a bipartisan effort. Our entire Florida delegation from Pensacola to Key West, we signed onto a letter (and) we have asked the Federal Trade Commission to take a look, to investigate. We have not heard back from them yet, but we will stay on it because this is important to Florida."
READ: Full letter
The Federal Trade Commission told Local 10 News it does not comment on correspondence it receives.
Here are some hotel booking consumer tips:
-Take time to verify the legitimacy of the website.
-Call the hotel directly to confirm a reservation.
-Use the brand name of the hotel when making a search.
-Take special care when paying in advance.
-Make sure a rewards program is directly tied to the hotel.
-Ask about the privacy policy and the cancellation or change policy.
-Send complaints to the Federal Trade Commission.
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