Tagged: scam

New Trend: Hotels Are Charging Much More for the Fees You Don't Ask About

One of the benefits of writing a published guidebook for the same destination year after year, as many Frommer's writers do, is that the constant observation of a place makes it much…

Delta and United Get Sued for Selling Windowless 'Window Seats'

U.S. airlines have turned seat assignments into a profit center. It didn't used to be this way, but that's where we are now. We pay for what we used to get for free.Passengers…

Uber Changed Its Settings to Charge Travelers Extra Fees: Here's How to Undo It

When Americans pay for something in other countries and they're asked if they would rather charge their accounts in the local currency or in U.S. dollars, only one correct choice will…

You Can Now Use Venmo for JetBlue Tickets—but Should You?

JetBlue has become the first airline to accept Venmo as a payment option when booking flights directly on the JetBlue website. The airline's partnership with the popular mobile payment…

No, the U.S. Didn't "Ban" Resort Fees. Here's What the FTC Actually Did

Another day, another flagrant twisting of the truth by some of the people who cover news of the travel industry.You probably saw some posts and news headlines that told you that junk…

Why Experts Warn Visiting Spain Now Poses a Huge Risk of Identity Theft

The Spanish government calls it Royal Decree 933/2021, but the tourism industry calls it something more sinister: Tourism Big Brother.On December 2, 2024, a new law took effect in…

Resort Fees Increase in Las Vegas for the Second Time in 2024

MGM Resorts, which controls many of the biggest casino-hotels in Las Vegas, has raised resort fees again—for the second time this year. On Wednesday, December 4, the Bellagio, Aria,…

How to Get Out of Paying a Hotel's Resort Fee—It Can Be Done!

Resort fees can be the ultimate buzzkill during your hard-earned vacation. Having to pay an extra $20 to $50 per night, plus tax, is a good way to cancel out whatever good vibes you…

Bags Stolen From Baggage Claim: The Airlines' Big Luggage Security Problem

Many travelers won't know or remember this, but there was a time when airline passengers had to to present a claim check in order to pick up their luggage after flights.Until the early…

All of Las Vegas Hotels' Resort Fees in 2024—So You'll Know the True Price of a Night

Along with gambling and over-imbibing, resort fees have sadly become a way of life in Vegas. These per-night, plus tax, add-ons can turn that cheap Vegas deal you found into an…

Uber and Lyft Cleaning Fee Scams: Beware Nauseating Vomit Fraud

There was a time when the only kind of vomit fraud you had to worry about involved plastic throw-up of the sort favored by practical jokesters. With the advent of ride-hailing apps…

One of Brazil’s Visa Requirements Could Get You Kidnapped, Consumer Group Says

This post, originally published December 26, 2023, has been updated with new information.As Frommer's has previously reported, Brazil's electronic visa for travelers from the United…

Scam Alert: Passengers Report Fake Airline Phone Numbers Are Listed by Google

Over the weekend, as airports in the northeastern U.S. endured another 1,300 flight cancellations, reports surfaced of a complex scam operation that has allegedly compromised Google…

Las Vegas Casinos Accused of Fixing Prices in 90% of Rooms on the Strip

Here's a budding lawsuit worth keeping your eye on.Casino operators that account for about 90% of the rooms on the Las Vegas Strip—Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International,…

Hate Resort Fees? Want them Banned? Now's the Time to Tell the Government

Living in America today requires taking frequent emergency actions to avert the latest civic crisis, be it a high-stakes election, a GoFundMe for someone who slipped through the…

Hertz to Pay $168 Million to Falsely Arrested Customers—From Its Insurance

We have an update to the ongoing scandal involving the Hertz Corporation, which was accused by hundreds of customers of reporting them to police for stealing cars that were lawfully…

Scam Alert: Road Trippers Getting Fleeced by E-Toll Racket

During the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, road authorities around the world accelerated toward a destination they had been nearing for years: cashless tolls. From New York City's…

$500 for Oysters? How Tourists Can Avoid Big Overcharges at Restaurants

A beach restaurant on the Greek island of Mykonos (pictured above) has garnered a lot of negative attention this summer for allegedly charging tourists prices that make LaGuardia…

Canada Gets New Airline Refund Rules (They're Better Than America's)

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced this week that as of September 8, 2022, its regulations governing passenger protections will be expanded.Until now, flyers on…

New Travel Warning: Hefty No-Show Fees for Missed Reservations

If there's one thing the modern travel industry is good at, it's penalizing customers for its own dysfunctional systems. Squeezing so many bodies on planes there's no longer enough…

New Scam Alert: When You File Covid-Related Border Entry Forms, Watch Out

There are precious few outfits dedicated to the protection of the consumer—and goodness knows the United States has a long way to go in customer protection with actual legal bite. So…

With the Return of Travel Comes the Return of Robocall Travel Scams

If the pandemic had one silver lining, it was that, from March through August, the number of robocalls of all sorts dropped precipitously. Like everyone else, the employees of the call…

MGM Resorts in Legal Hot Water Over Resort Fee "Lies"

If you have traveled or shopped for travel in the past few months, you've probably noticed a vexing trend: Many hotels in the United States have drastically curtailed amenities because…

5 Tips to Remember When You Pay for a Hotel Room

1. Find out exactly what the hotel’s cancellation policy is. Before you click the BOOK button on a hotel reservation, read the hotel’s cancellation policy line-by-line. Then read it…

Hotels Suspended Amenities But Are Keeping Resort Fee Cash. The Scam Must End

At this point, everyone knows that the travel industry has been forced to curtail its usual offerings. To satisfy social distancing and tight sanitary protocols, hotels have suspended…