Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

San Francisco city attorney takes aim at hotel booking scams

nbcbayarea.com · 12dShare

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two hotel booking sites that have been allegedly scamming travelers into paying substantially higher prices for hotel rooms. The defendants in the case are GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com. In the suit, the city attorney’s office is alleging that these sites advertise online as if they are authentic hotel booking sites, but instead are trying to rip off tourists and trick them into paying more for hotel rooms. The city is also suing Booking Holdings, the websites’ hotel room inventory supplier that allegedly assisted in the scam. BookOnline.com, GuestReservations.com, and Booking Holdings could not be reached for a comment. When using GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com, travelers end up paying 35 to 85% more in markups, according to the city attorney’s office. GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com have received thousands of complaints across review websites. “It’s time to stop the scam and help Ca

First report: Tourists at SF hotels scammed by booking websites, city attorney says — sfstandard.com, 12d