Booking.com hack in Venice: Over 2,000 tourists paid €15 for fully booked hotel
Unknown individuals hacked the booking.com listing of a Venice hotel and lured thousands of holidaymakers with prices from €15. Only when they arrived on the spot did those affected realise their bookings were fraudulent.
Fake hotel page on Booking.com: Mass fraud in Venice
More than 2,000 holidaymakers fell victim to an online fraud scheme conducted through the booking platform booking.com. According to the Kleine Zeitung, travellers from several European countries and Canada booked a room at the Hotel "Antigo Trovatore" on the Calle delle Rasse – in immediate proximity to St Mark's Square – at prices far below market level.
Nights were offered from €15, sometimes around €50; some guests reserved three nights for €120. According to the Italian daily newspaper "Il Gazzettino", the hotel's actual average price during high season is around €300 per night.
Queues extending into the street
The bookings were made during the night of 6 to 7 October. Shortly afterwards, the first guests appeared at the entrance. "In groups of 30 to 150 people they stood at reception with booking confirmations from booking.com", hotel staff reported. On peak days, the queue of disappointed guests extended from the reception all the way out into the street.
The hotel has only 25 double rooms and has been almost fully booked daily since August through the carnival season – there was no room for genuine guests.
Page hacked, money gone
The staff believe that unknown individuals gained access to the hotel's booking.com profile and manipulated the prices. According to hotel staff, the confirmation page following the payment process was also compromised – it remains unclear where the debited amounts went.
The hotel operators face an ongoing problem: future bookings were able to be stopped, but guests with existing confirmations continue to appear. "None of us knows at the moment how long people will keep coming who already have what they believe to be a booking confirmation from Booking in their hands", the hotel staff said. "We have no data on these guests. That all has to be done by Booking."
According to the hotel, refunds are being issued in some cases in the form of vouchers that can be redeemed on the platform within one year. The total amount of damages is not yet known.
Criminal complaint filed
The hotel operators have filed a criminal complaint. Booking.com stated that it is doing everything it can to clarify the case and prevent further incidents of this kind.
Source: Kleine Zeitung