The Jersey Hospitality Association said that this is the first time they have been aware of this happening and are warning holidaymakers to be careful when booking accommodation online.
Three different groups arrived at hotels in the Island to find that they did not have a room booked, with the most recent guest arriving last week after paying for a week’s accommodation through a scam site.
After receiving the reports the JHA has contacted the States police and Trading Standards, as well as Action Fraud and the National Crime Centre in the UK.
At first sight they look secure, with a security padlock in the top left-hand corner, but Simon Soar, JHA manager, said if people look in more detail at the sites they will notice that information is missing.
‘I don’t think it has any impact on the reputation of the hotel businesses: it’s all down to the website,’ he said.
‘It’s a fraudulent website and you only have to look through to realise it’s really not finished. They’ve put some work into it but there’s a lot of information missing which you’d expect from a legitimate website.’
Mr Soar added that you should also always ensure you get an appropriate confirmation when booking.
The expense of finding new accommodation has fallen on the holidaymakers but the Jersey hotels made sure they could find an alternative room, if they were unable to accommodate them.
