Hotel scammers, housing pirates, room block poachers…however you refer to them, they have been a major problem in the convention industry for years. These are companies that masquerade as being the official housing partner for an event and sell room blocks that don’t actually exist. Their victims may pay thousands of dollars, only to arrive at the hotel and be told they don’t have a reservation.
Back in 2008, the American Society of Association Executives won a federal lawsuit against the hotel scammer Complete Event Planning, Inc. Despite this monumental win, third-party hotel scams are continuing to sprout up and to bring financial pains. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association,there are 55 million bad hotel bookings annually: that’s nearly $4 billion dollars in poachers’ pockets!
Read More “What 2018 PMA registrants need to know about hotel poachers”