New Delhi: The tourism industry expert cautioned people not to fall prey to misleading offers on hotel booking and tour packages on fake websites to avoid inconvenience. Talking about fake booking of hotels, Garish Oberoi, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India, told ETV Bharat, “We have noticed several incidents where tourists had booked hotel rooms or tour packages online while they reached the destination they did not get their names in the booking list.”
“The incidents happened because people generally don’t check the authenticity of the website and book their tour package and make payment on a given account as a third party platform. Before booking any hotel room, people should check the authenticity of the website,” said Oberoi.
Booking on fake websites often leads to inconvenience to travellers as well as they compromise their safety. Advising the travellers, who are planning to visit their dream destination during this summer vacation, Rakesh Roy, member of Prayagraj Hotels and Restaurants Owners Association, told ETV Bharat, “We often receive complaints on such incidents where tourists were duped by fake online sites.”
“I want to advise people that they should not be trapped in unrealistic offers on fake websites. Before booking a hotel or guest house, they should verify the authenticity of the website and use government approved tourist websites for booking to avoid cheating,” he added.
Describing the modus operandi of fake sites, tourism industry experts said during the summer vacation, festivals or weekends, these people circulate advertisements to mislead travellers by offering heavy discounts. Hence, innocent people are trapped in their lucrative offers following this they make payment without cross-checking or verifying authenticity of the site.
Echoing similar sentiments, Deepak Choudhary, a tour operator, said, “To avoid facing unwanted situations, people should remain careful when doing online booking. They should use reputed online platforms and stay informed about it. If possible, people avoid payment transfer to personal accounts.”
“We have seen that travellers often don’t follow necessary steps to differentiate genuine booking sites and fake ones as a result they become victims, which leads to financial loss, tour disruption and mental harassment,” Oberoi said.
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