Booked a room at the Marriott SLC University Hotel for a September wedding on February 25, 2025, through the Marriott website. Only to immediately cancel the reservation after realizing it was a fraudulent site. Researched that “Website cloning is a method where cyber criminals create nearly identical websites to mirror original ones out of malicious motives.” Found many names for the website. Hotelvalues.com, GuestReservations.com, and GetARoom. They all point to PRICELINE, which claims them as “travel partners.” PRICELINE booked the reservation with the hotel, and PRICELINE holds the money.
Talked with corporate Marriot rep who emailed me confirmation of the SCAM reservation, including the reservation number and details, PLUS, the following disclaimer:
Rate Rules:
Cancelling Your Reservation
You may cancel your reservation for no charge before 11:59 PM local hotel time on 2025-02-26. After this time, please note that your prepayment for this special rate is non-refundable.
The cancellation was within 10 minutes of making the reservation on 2025-02-25.
Discussed the scam with Marriott SLC Front Desk and was coached to call PRICELINE, to request reservation cancellation. Then, the Priceline rep is to call the Marriott to get validation that Marriott waived the cancellation fee. Got as high as a supervisor, who refused to comply with the hotel’s request and instructed me to contact GetARoom (this was the first time I heard of this company). Supervisor stated that I was “not supposed to call PRICELINE, because I booked through a third-party site.” When I countered that the site was a scam, he replied “there is a reservation, so it is not a scam.”
Finally, in the dispute with my credit card company, which PRICELINE provided states:
“The reservation was made online through our website by the cardholder and all information was
entered by the cardholder including check in/check out dates, hotel name, location, city, state,
country, room types, number of persons booked, charges.” Are they claiming ownership to the malicious websites?
BTW my credit card company did not dispute the charges. I will be refiling a credit card claim with updated information. Plus, posting to multiple sites, and contacting EVERY player with the details.
Posted by
Land of La
9515 posts
I’m confused.
Did you book via the Marriot website or did you book through Priceline?
Posted by
OP
PDX
3 posts
I thought I was on a Marriott site. I have NO reason to go with a third party booking agent.
The confirmation was from Hotelvalues.com, another reservation related message arrived from Guestreservations.com. I just found out yesterday that the Marriott reservation was actually booked by Priceline. When I talked to Priceline, I was told that I booked through their “travel associates.” Further, that I should “not be calling Priceline,” but needed to call “GetARoom.” This was the first time I heard about this company. As you might imagine, the reviews these companies are awful, BBB score of “F,” etc. Thankfully, I have the time to research, and chase leads about where the money is. Priceline said the Marriott had it, Marriott said NO. However, since the response the credit card denial claim came on a Priceline stationary, my bet is it is with them.
What a world we live in!
Posted by
la la land...
1126 posts
I bet you won't make that mistake again.
Posted by
Minneapolis
184 posts
What is actually unacceptable about the reservation, the price?
Not scolding but for the big chains you might as well set up an account so you can log in and confirm site authenticity by doing so. Or use the app.
Posted by
Portland, OR
405 posts
Doesn't Priceline own Booking.com? I see regular posts (IIRC) about problems with Booking.com here.
Posted by
OP
PDX
3 posts
Consider reporting similar events:
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/money/fees/getaroom-com-class-action-alleges-deceptive-hotel-booking-methods/
For more information on Web cloning:
https://thehackernews.com/2025/02/cybercriminals-can-now-clone-any-brands.html
Website cloning is a method where cyber criminals create nearly identical websites to mirror original ones out of malicious motives.”
Have you been scammed? - Consider creating a claim against Priceline (Norwalk, CT) on Better Business Bureau website. As of this date, they have an “A-“ rating.
I also created a claim for GetARoom, however, expect nothing to come of a BBB “F” rated company. “F” because they ignore claims .
In my particular experience, higher daily rates, plus hundreds in service fees. Plus, strict “no cancellation” of the purchase. Since the transaction IS A SCAM, I did not feel compelled to abide by their rules and immediately cancelled the reservation.
Interestingly, it appears Priceline has several “travel affiliates” that feed money to them through this method of clone websites: guestreservations.com, hotelvalues.com, GetARoom.com. Not that expect anyone actually seeks to book directly with these sites.
Also interesting; from the hotel end. Priceline makes the reservation for the booking. Despite the “no cancellation“ stipulation to the buyer, the reservation documentation on the hotel side DOES HAVE a cancellation policy akin to 24 hour cancellation of the airlines. Why the discrepancy?
Bottom line, these are “cyber criminals,” and they should not be rewarded.
Posted by
Western WA
121 posts
Have you tried contacting the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)? You can report fraud thru the FTC which can look at the company's practices. One way to try and stop these types of things.