Tips to Avoid Hotel and Homestay Booking Scams

Don't get duped by a fake listing or a questionable payment plan. These important tips are here to help!

By: Jessica Butler

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Dodge the Fraud and Enjoy Your Stay

Vacation is the best time to relax, let loose, and forget your worries. However, booking scams can create the opposite effect. Whether you’re looking for a hotel room or you’re renting out a host’s home, consider using these tips to avoid getting scammed.

Use Reverse Google Image Search

You found your dream homestay property to stay in, but there’s one thing you should do off the bat. Just in case it seems too good to be true, take advantage of Google Images' "search by image" feature. Download or save photos of the listing and upload them to see if the images are found anywhere else on the web — like an original listing on another site. It’s a quick way to see if your listing is fraudulent and doing this can save you time, energy, and your hard-earned money.

Don't Make Any Payments Outside of the App

If you’re using a popular app to book your stay, beware of questionable payment situations. If the homestay host or rental owner asks you to pay them outside of the app itself, odds are they are trying to scam you. There’s just no good reason to pay someone outside of the booking app, which is more secure and has customer support available if you experience any issues.

Beware of Fake Booking Sites

There are a lot of copycat websites made to look like official hotel websites, so be sure to double check the website’s URL and search for a padlock symbol in the URL bar (that means it’s a secure website). And if you book through a third party website, always make sure that they are affiliated with the official hotel.

Catch Fake Emails

If you receive a "congratulations" email offering a generous discount at a hotel or homestay property, think twice. Cross reference this email address with the contact email addresses found on the official website. Another common email scam asks you to "verify your account," which should be easy to catch if you haven’t created or made changes to your account on that site. Most importantly of all, if you’re suspicious of an email, don’t click any links!

Always Read Reviews

Knowing other guests’ experiences will give you a better idea of what yours will be like. If you notice previous guests mentioning bait-and-switch situations or saying they had difficulty communicating with their host, that might be a sign that this isn’t the best place to book your stay. Scroll through the reviews and look for comments about the listing photos looking different in real life, double booking experiences, or inflated prices.

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Tips to Avoid Hotel and Homestay Booking Scams

Related To:

Shop This Look

Dodge the Fraud and Enjoy Your Stay

Use Reverse Google Image Search

Don't Make Any Payments Outside of the App

Beware of Fake Booking Sites

Catch Fake Emails

Always Read Reviews

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