Inside the Beltway Madness: The Crackdown on Alleged Hotel Scam Websites

October 10, 2016 | rjmcgarvey | Consumer affairs, Travel

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By Robert McGarvey

 

There are important matters involving travel that our Senators and Representatives could be poking into – everything from sometimes deceptive resort fees through the absurdities of frequent flyer mileage programs — but, no, apparently they would rather do the bidding of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and sponsor legislation aimed at stopping the menace of online hotel booking scams.

That is, rogue sites pretending to be an actual hotel.

Say what? You are unfamiliar with this being much of an issue?

Likewise here.

Ditto other reporters.

And yet several senators have sponsored a bill to stop this purported menace and that is a companion to a House bill.  

Everybody insists this is not aimed at Expedia, Booking.com, et. al.  

The House bill says: “This bill amends the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) to prohibit a third party online hotel reservation seller (an online seller that is not affiliated with the person who owns the hotel or provides the hotel services or accommodations) from charging a consumer’s credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account for any good or service sold in an Internet transaction, unless the seller discloses all material terms of the transaction.

“Before the conclusion of the transaction, the seller must describe, and disclose the cost of, the offered good or service.

“The seller must also disclose, in a manner that is continuously visible to the consumer throughout the transaction process, the fact that it is not affiliated with the person who: (1) owns the hotel, or (2) provides the hotel services or accommodations.”

AHLA is adamant that “there is a mushrooming problem of ‘affiliates’ or rogue vendors using false advertising and other scams to trick consumers into thinking they are booking directly with the hotel.”

AHLA has in the past said bogus hotel bookings scam consumers for upwards of $200 million annually and that is indeed a bad thing. There are said to be instances of consumer credit card info stolen, and of sites that charge consumers for hotel bookings and don’t in fact have rooms to sell. All bad. All should be stopped.

But is this the stuff of legislation?

Why?

Pretty much everything cybercriminals may be doing on bogus hotel websites already is illegal under various federal and state laws.   New legislation is unnecessary.

Pretty much from the beginning of the web savvy companies have continually searched the web for bogus iterations of their sites – and they have gotten good at initiating takedown actions.

All those defensive actions are happening without the need for new federal law.

Why do hotels insist they need a special law that targets alleged counterfeit websites?

AHLA has said: “The legislation makes it easier for consumers to tell the difference between the actual hotel website and fraudulent ones masquerading as name brand sites. It requires third-party hotel booking websites to clearly disclose that they are not affiliated with the hotel for which the traveler is ultimately making the reservation.“

Wait, however. Assume I am a criminal who has erected a counterfeit hotel website with the intent of stealing credit card info and applying bogus charges.  Am I going to be bound by a law that insists I notify consumers I am not such and such legit hotel operator?

Uh, of course not.

Are you beginning to suspect that just maybe this bill is some kind of a Trojan horse in the hotel industry’s so far unsuccessful campaign against Online Travel Agencies and their commissions ranging up to 30%?

Hoteliers scream in continuous pain as they contemplate those OTA fees. Sometimes you honestly want to reach for ear plugs, the din can bet so loud.

Which is why you have to think that just maybe this legislation is a backhanded slap at the OTAs.

Even though the Senate legislation very specifically says: “Platforms offered by online travel agencies provide consumers with a valuable tool for comparative shopping for hotels and should not be mistaken for the unlawful third-party actors that commit such misappropriation.”

When was the last time you were booking at Expedia and in fact thought you were booking direct with Hyatt?

Right, that has never occurred, not to you, possibly not to anybody.  

I never thought I’d express support for more Congressional gridlock but in this case I am. We just don’t need this law.

Now, if Congress wanted to attack resort fees – legislation in fact championed by Senator Claire McCaskill — count me as a supporter.

But as for this superfluous scam website bill, nah, not so much.

 

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After Kardashian: Can You Trust Hotel Security to Keep You Safe

October 5, 2016 | rjmcgarvey | Travel

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By Robert McGarvey

 

The Kim Kardashian caper in France – where the reality star claims to have had $9 million in jewelry robbed while staying at the the Hôtel de Pourtalès aka the No Address Hotel – is the wake up call that prompts the question: how safe are we in hotels?

The Erin Andrews case raised similar questions, perhaps more poignantly.

Crime happens at hotels.  

We collectively spend a lot of time worrying about terrorism and, without minimizing those worries, a reality is that ordinary, brutish, thuggish crime remains a part of life on the road.

The Kardashian heist is in fact small time. Years ago, on January 2 1972, perhaps the biggest hotel robbery of all time happened at the swank Pierre in Manhattan –  some $28 million in cash and jewels were lifted by a gang of eight.  Said to be the work of organized crime.

Hotel burglaries in the south of France – especially Cannes — are almost commonplace.

But every day there is unglamorous hotel crime.

Here’s a particularly bloody shoot out at a Motel 6 in Phoenix a few months ago.  

In Waco, police have launched an initiative to cut hotel crime rates which presumably had reached a level where it was bad for business.

Vehicle break-ins might qualify as commonplace crime at hotels.  (Word of advice: leave absolutely nothing of any value in a car parked in a hotel lot.  It’s a hassle to schlep those extra bags into the room, but do it.)

Frequently the perpetrator is a stranger, sometimes a family member or friend.  

Lots of electronics are said to be stolen from hotel rooms.

Here’s the question: how vulnerable are we? How risky are hotel stays – really?

Josh Williams, director of risk management for Crescent Hotels told Hotel Management, “We can only control so much of what goes on at [a given] hotel, and if this can happen to a Kardashian it raises some questions. If you are in my position, you get skeptical and cynical because you have to ask the questions.”

He added: “Bank-style silent alarms, working in groups and having more physical security present at all times, especially when dealing with celebrities or luxury guests, these things could have prevented this.”

Understand, the Kardashian business may have captured lots of headlines but it is unclear that it actually means much to you or me.  For one thing, she was staying in what amounts to private apartments. For another, the very way she conducts her life is antithetical to good security.

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has made good points about the Kardashian robbery – assuming in fact it occurred. The victim, per Lagerfeld, has to share some of the blame: “(She is) too public, too public – we have to see in what time we live. You cannot display your wealth then be surprised that some people want to share it.

“I don’t understand why (Kardashian) was in a hotel with no security and things like this. If you are that famous and you put all your jewellery on the net, you go to hotels where nobody can come near to the room.”

Lagerfeld has a point.  Would you put pix of yourself – and your expensive baubles – on social media?

If so, good luck.  

My personal rule of travel is to bring nothing that has real value.  That even extends to technology (I usually travel with an aged Chromebook that can’t be worth over $100 and an elderly Nexus tablet).  I recommend a similar philosophy. Bring nothing you’d cry about if it went missing.

I also never use the in-room safe because there is rich documentation online that many are very, very easy to break into.  

In-room, good practice is to always use all the available door locks.  Sure, a determined criminal could always force the door – but most would not have the motivation to do so if they encounter enough locks.

Can you trust hotel security to keep you safe? When I’ve visited high profile executives and celebrities in hotels, they have always brought their own security.  What’s that say?

Yes, I do trust hotel security – in well run properties – to maintain a baseline level of safety in the property. But, outside of some special properties in Manhattan, Las Vegas, and Washington DC, hotel security often lack deep training and preparedness.  They do their job – absolutely – but their training has not equipped them to operate at the level of big city law enforcement.  

Nor should guests expect that much.

Ultimately your safety in a hotel comes down to you. What you do and don’t do.  

Who do you tell you are staying where?

What valuables do you bring?

Do you pick hotels in safe, secure neighborhoods and where fundamental security seems to be practiced in the public areas?

Ultimately, your safety in a hotel is not much different from your safety on Fifth Avenue.  You are in charge.  Manage accordingly.

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