Each year, exhibitors and attendees are flooded with solicitations from unaffiliated travel agencies, list services, housing agents and other service providers claiming to be endorsed by or affiliated with trade show management. 

It is estimated that room pirating and poaching scams impact upwards of 15 million bookings per year, resulting in more than $1.3 billion in lost revenue for hotels and money from unwitting consumers.  As the popularity of mobile booking continues to increase, it's become more difficult for consumers to distinguish between a Show vendor's website and a scam website, putting them at risk of ending up with invalid hotel reservations, fake attendee lists, or unapproved contractors.

Recognizing the growing threat from this type of marketing, the U.S. House and Senate introduced H.R. 2495 and S. 1164 – Stop Online Booking Scams Act, which prohibits websites from pretending to be the hotel and allow state attorneys general to pursue restitution and refunds on behalf of victims.

Learn how a lawsuit against a poacher was recently handled and hear what a housing vendor does to assist associations with hotel poachers.