“'Phantom hotels' and fake B&Bs increase before Chinese New Year” plus 1 more

'Phantom hotels' and fake B&Bs increase before Chinese New Year

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 08:08 PM PST

The Chinese New Year break has seen many hotels and other types of accommodation across Taiwan booked to the max, causing a reported rise in 'phantom hotels' or cases of lodging operators deceiving customers, largely through the Internet.

Customers have reported cases where operators take advantage of the slim pickings by making them pay in full before they even get to the location, violating tourist regulations of a maximum 30 per cent down payment fee.

Other operators have reportedly lured customers by using pictures of nicer hotels on their website; travellers only realise they've been duped when they arrive at the shabby establishments in person.

According to numbers compiled by the tourism bureau, there are over 3,000 bed-and-breakfasts (B&B) in Taiwan, the majority of which can be found in Hualien County (700) and Yilan County (500). Most of these establishments have a website or online presence that allows travellers to check out their amenities.

However, there has been a reported increase in traveller complaints regarding the disparity between the B&B pictures online and the less-than-spectacular reality. Some owners have distorted pictures by elongating the rooms using a wide lens camera, making them appear more spacious than they actually are.

The tourism bureau has also received numerous calls of travellers accusing B&B owners of making them pay their stay in full in advance. Such practices violate the bureau's "Model Contract for the Direct Reservation of Rooms in Tourist Hotels", which stipulates that businesses can request only a 30 per cent down payment fee at most.

The most disturbing complaints were those regarding 'phantom hostels', where travellers book rooms from a legitimate-seeming hotel website offering amazing deals, only to discover, after their credit cards were charged, that such a place was too good to be true. Other B&Bs advertise "English-speaking tour guides" in their packages, yet foreign travellers report turning up and finding out their English-proficient guide can only speak a few canned phrases.

The bureau urged the public to double-check every place they're considering and too look for feedback online. Word-of-mouth is still the most reliable recommendation in terms of privately owned B&Bs, the bureau added.

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Virgin Hotels searching for Washington foothold | washingtonpost.com

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 05:59 AM PST

1 February 2011

Virgin Hotels searching for Washington foothold | washingtonpost.com

Virgin Hotels has identified a few sites for its foray into the Washington lodging market, but is at least two years away from launching a property under its new flag, according to owner Richard Branson. Speaking at the American Lodging and Investment Summit here last week, Branson, founder of the Virgin Group empire, would not say where in the area he is looking but assured that the Washington market was a prime target.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011