A place called "getaroom.com" has just scammed me out of $175. Called my credit card and hotel, and I'm basically out of luck. Here is what to watch for so you don't get ripped off also.
So I went to book a hotel, the brand doesn't matter, could have been any chain. Googled them, and got their site... or so I thought. Great price I thought, so I booked. Went through the usual stuff name, address, credit card number. I checked that all was okay, and clicked their " BookNow" button. BOOM! A reply comes that says I've booked the rooms, the cost is non-refundable and the price has some goofy $175 extra charge. There was no second chance to click ok or back out, they just took my money and were done with me.
Long story short. The web site was NOT the hotel but those scammers at "Getaroom". The scammers say the money is non-refundable so too bad. Credit card company can't do anything except dispute with marginal chance for success. The hotel has my reservation so I'm not totally ripped off. I feel like such a dummy. I'm an IT pro and should have caught it. So for your future protection here are the red flags.
The web site had only a single outdoor picture of the outside of the hotel. NO lobby, room or any other interior pictures. RED FLAG.
Looking back, there was only one incident of the hotel logo, on the lead page, not on the booking page. RED FLAG.
Finally I recall thinking that the web site was jerky and very poorly done for a major hotel company. (It was not their site so, yeah, cheaply done) RED FLAG
Anyway. Be careful out there. I'm out $100-$175, not thousands. My CC company will watch for future transactions so I'm protected.
Please learn from my stupidity, that will be the value for my money lost to a scammer.
I'm trying to find a BBB or other association to look into these guys. So if you have ideas, I'll take them.