AUSTIN, Texas — Jacob Denney and his family travel to at least one national park each year.
“Everywhere a toddler will allow you to go,” Denney said.
Their last trip was to Yosemite National Park – but it didn’t start off as planned.
“It's been quite the process,” Denney said.
They thought they booked a hotel room at Yosemite Valley Lodge, within walking distance of a park trail. The receipt from a third-party company, Stayforlong, showed seven nights for $3,766. Denney said they didn’t get a reservation number, only a “voucher number.”
He said they called the hotel and found their reservation did not exist.
“How are we supposed to fly out of state with our toddler and find out we don't have a reservation?" Denny said.
Denney said they started their reservation through a different, domestic website. From there, they clicked on a booking and got rerouted to Stayforlong.
“It's a common tale where we see a booking happen or an offer start to take place on a website that looks legitimate. It might carry a brand or a logo you might recognize, but then you go into a different portal. You go down the rabbit hole, and every time you go into a different website,” said Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Meza said the BBB is getting more travel-related complaints than earlier this year, and Federal Trade Commission data shows $42 million lost to vacation and travel fraud this year alone.
“When you take an offer with a third party, just know that you are sacrificing," Meza said, suggesting that travelers book directly through the hotel. "So you're giving up something in exchange for a low deal."
Denny and his wife tried to get their money back. They sent emails to the company for months. Email responses provided by the family show misspellings, and grammar issues and admit the company did not have a confirmation at the time of the booking.
Five follow-up emails show excuses for not giving the family a refund. The most recent, sent Nov. 6, shows a person named “Lee-Ann” writing the reservation is a “complex case.”
Denney said he doesn’t think he will see the $3,766 spent on the booking.
“That's a mortgage [payment] and then some,” Denney said.
The family went on the trip, booking a rental in a nearby town. The original hotel was full, and they couldn’t push the trip to next year. This was their last opportunity for a national park vacation before their family grows again.
The KVUE Defenders emailed Stayforlong, asking if they were investigating the claim, but they did not respond.
In a press release to KVUE, the BBB listed travel-related schemes as most often see:
“Travel scams can take a variety of forms, but some of the most common include:
- "Vacation rental con. These con artists lure in vacationers with the promise of low fees and great amenities. The "owner” creates a false sense of urgency – such as telling potential clients that another vacationer is interested in the rental – to encourage a target to submit a payment before they can do sufficient research or question the ad's legitimacy.
- "'Free' vacation scams. When a cruise or travel company advertises a vacation as free, it does not necessarily mean the trip is without cost or restrictions. Watch out for add-on fees for air transportation, port charges, taxes, tips and other undisclosed fees.
- "Third-party booking site scams. Exercise caution if you book your airfare, hotel, or other travel through an unrecognized third-party website. BBB Scam Tracker continues to receive reports of scammers pretending to be online airline ticket brokers. In the most common version of the scam, travelers pay with a credit card and, shortly after making the payment, receive a call from the company asking to verify their name, address, banking information or other personal details – something a legitimate company would never do.”
BBB’s Scam Tracker allows people to make complaints and search for possible scams in their area. They say each complaint is investigated and if law enforcement requests information, the data is shared.
The BBB offered these safety tips:
- "Get trip details in writing. Before making a final payment, get all the trip details in writing. Details should include the total cost, restrictions, cancellation penalties, and names of the airlines and hotels. Also, review and keep a copy of the airline’s and hotel’s cancellation and refund policies and the travel agency or booking site's cancellation policies.
- "'Too good to be true' deals. As is common in various scams, if the deal or discount seems too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers often use this tactic to lure in potential victims and use aggressive “limited-time” language to entice travelers to pay before researching the business.
- "Avoid wiring money or using a prepaid debit card. Scammers know these payment options are fast, immediate, and challenging to reverse. BBB recommends using a credit card for online transactions whenever possible because it is often easier to dispute pending charges when a product or service is never received.
- "Call the rental owner or hotel. If you are not using a service that verifies properties and owners, be wary of negotiating a rental solely by email. Speaking directly with the owner on the phone and asking detailed questions about the property and local attractions will clarify whether the listing is genuine. If using a third-party booking site, verify the hotel or rental has received your booking by contacting them directly.
- "Unsolicited offers. Be cautious if you win a free trip from a contest or sweepstakes that you do not remember entering. This is especially true if the offer is time-sensitive and requires you to pay a processing or other fee to receive a promised reward. Check the official website of the company the promotion originates from to verify that it is legitimate."