Hotel and room scams
Stop room poachers and fake housing offers
It’s one of the oldest event scams: an email or call offering rooms at the “official” rate, below your block price, payable now. SummitShield shows people who your real housing partner is and catches the fakes.
How the scam works
It usually goes like this
Your block opens
And the room poachers notice.
“Official hotel partner”
Cheaper than your block, and urgent.
Deposit taken
Often non-refundable, or for rooms that don’t exist.
No reservation
And your hotel block is short.
Red flags to look out for
If you see any of these, stop and check before you pay or reply.
- “Official” or “authorised” housing you don’t recognise
- Rates below your published block
- Asking for full payment or a deposit by bank transfer
- A deadline that’s days away
- Contact from a company you’ve never heard of
What to tell your exhibitors
Five habits that stop these scams. Copy them into your next newsletter.
- 1Never pay a new bank account without checking it with us first
- 2Check any email, website or number on our check page
- 3Look for the stamp on our invoices, and click it
- 4Forward anything that feels wrong to our check address
- 5Only use the suppliers listed as official
How SummitShield helps
Protection at every step
Check page and check address
Your official housing partner shown on your check page.
How it worksPlanted contacts
Find out which shared rooming list leaked.
How it worksScam alerts across events
Room poachers seen at other events are recognised.
How it worksFake website watch
Fake booking sites found and reported.
How it worksGenuine email record
Your real housing emails confirmed as genuine when people check.
How it worksTrack down and report
Report the room poacher’s domain and email account.
How it worksLive example
See how an event shows its official suppliers and known scams
Try the official directory and scam check for a made-up event. Paste one of its scam addresses and see the instant answer, browse its official suppliers, and see the scams already reported.
Questions people ask
What is a room poacher?
A company that contacts your exhibitors or attendees, claims to be your official housing provider, and sells rooms outside your block. Some rooms don’t exist; others cost more or can’t be cancelled.
How do I stop room poachers?
Make your official housing partner easy to check, warn exhibitors early with specific examples, and find out where they’re getting your contact lists. SummitShield helps with all three.
Other scams we help stop
The scams that follow events around
Event email scams
Protect your exhibitors and attendees from event email scams: fake invoices, hotel offers, attendee list sales and “official” partner emails.
Read morePhone and text scams
Phone scams target event exhibitors with fake housing, directory and stand calls.
Read moreAttendee list scams
Exhibitors get offered “your event’s attendee list” for sale.
Read moreFake event websites
Fake event websites sell tickets, stands and rooms in your name.
Read moreInvoice and payment scams
Fake stand invoices and “new bank details” emails cost exhibitors thousands.
Read moreThe 8 most common event scams
A plain guide to how each one works, the signs to look for and how to stop it.
Read the guideFree for event organisers
Protect your event today. It’s free.
Set up in an afternoon. Your exhibitors and attendees get a place to check what’s really you, and you get an early warning when someone uses your name.