Imposter Websites Scammed Tourists Booking Hotels, Lawsuit Says

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco's city attorney is suing two third-party hotel booking sites, accusing them of scamming consumers into paying "significantly higher rates."

The lawsuit accuses GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com of taking "elaborate" steps to mimic real hotels and hurting the hospitality industry by artificially inflating hotel prices.

Booking Holdings, the two websites' hotel room inventory supplier, is also named in the lawsuit and is accused of aiding in the scheme.

"Tourists simply trying to check in are getting cleaned out by this hotel booking scam," City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement Wednesday. "With inflation straining household budgets, these excessive markups only add to the burden."

The lawsuit asks the court to shut down the websites and help "get people their money back."

The scam, according to Chiu, dates back to at least 2022. Both third-party sites used Google and other search engine ads to make sure their links popped up at the top of hotel search results, according to the lawsuit.

"The websites replicate authentic hotel booking portals, using misleading URLs like “hotelname.bookonline.com," according to the city attorney. "The booking portals give little indication that they are third-party sites."

These sites would overcharge people up to 85%, and reservations are often non-refundable, according to the lawsuit.

Many people didn't know they had overpaid, and only when they tried to modify or cancel the reservation with the real hotel, they'd discover they used a third-party site, according to Chiu.

"Others realize the issue when they look closely at their confirmation emails and see they were not sent by the hotel at all," city officials said.

There have been over 1,800 nationwide consumer complaints against GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com, reported to The Better Business Bureau, according to Chiu.

BookOnline.com has the lowest BBB rating of the two, with an "F."

"Scams like this don't just drain a traveler's wallet, they wear away the trust San Franciscans place in the people and institutions meant to serve them," José Cisneros, the city's treasurer, said. "The City Attorney's lawsuit sends a clear message to bad actors targeting our residents, businesses, and tourists: San Francisco is fighting back."

San Francisco launched a portal earlier this year called "StopScams SF" to protect consumers against these schemes, Cisneros said.