Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-22) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27) led the entire bipartisan Florida delegation in calling on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an immediate investigation into fraudulent online hotel booking sites that for the past several years have hurt consumers and hotels, negatively impacting local economies in Florida that depend on tourist dollars.

Without their knowledge, consumers are misled into making reservations through call centers and websites purporting to be operated by hotels, but actually having no relation to them. These deceptive practices fool customers into falsely thinking they are booking directly with a prominent hotel chain and often lead to additional hidden fees. In some cases, no bookings are even made at all.  According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, in the last year alone, close to 2.5 million reservations were made on such deceptive sites, resulting in guests of Florida hotels finding themselves out hundreds of dollars for either a worthless reservation or one that delivered much less than promised online.

Please find below and attached the letter signed by all 27 members of the Florida Congressional Delegation sent to the Federal Trade Commission urging immediate action to stop these deceptive practices.

 

June 5, 2015

The Honorable Edith Ramirez
Chairwoman
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20580

Dear Chairwoman Ramirez:

We write to urge the Federal Trade Commission to immediately open an investigation into companies deceptively targeting consumers with fake online hotel websites. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), thousands of consumers are misled every year into making reservations through fraudulent websites and call centers that give the appearance of being connected to a hotel, but actually have no legal relation to them. AHLA estimates that fraudulent online booking scams have cost U.S. travelers upwards of $220 million per year. These deceptive practices hurt both consumers and hotels, and we implore you to look into the issue immediately.

As a result of these illegitimate practices, AHLA has informed us that consumers may be charged additional hidden fees, lose expected loyalty points, or show up at hotels only to learn that their reservation was never made or that Americans with Disabilities Act compliant accommodations were not furnished.  This especially affects the State of Florida, which is the top travel destination in the United States.

As Members of Congress from Florida, we respectfully request that you investigate these deceptive acts. We look forward to working with you to educate consumers and rectify these misleading and dishonest practices. Thank you for your consideration of an issue critical to the people of Florida.

Sincerely,

Lois Frankel                                                                Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Corrine Brown                                                            Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

John Mica                                                                   Ander Crenshaw
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Jeff Miller                                                                    Mario Diaz-Balart
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Debbie Wasserman Schultz                                         Gus Bilirakis
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Vern Buchanan                                                           Kathy Castor
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Bill Posey                                                                    Thomas J. Rooney
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Theodore E. Deutch                                                    Rich Nugent
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Dennis Ross                                                                Daniel Webster
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Frederica S. Wilson                                                     Alan Grayson
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Ron DeSantis                                                              Patrick E. Murphy
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Ted Yoho                                                                     David Jolly
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress

Curt Clawson                                                              Carlos Curbelo
Member of Congress                                                   Member of Congress                                

Gwen Graham                                                                       
Member of Congress

 

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