Beware of Fraudulent Housing Agencies and Websites
Third-party companies often illegally represent themselves as travel agencies (or as SNO’s official housing provider) soliciting meeting attendees and exhibitors, and offering to assist them with their hotel reservations. This practice, referred to as "room poaching," can have serious consequences, including higher room rates, non-existent reservations at check-in, loss of pre-payment, or sub-standard hotel accommodations.
Room poachers often require pre-payment for rooms, but in the end, do not make a hotel reservation for you. Once you realize you do not have a reservation, payment cannot be reclaimed, often resulting in significant monetary loss.
Room poaching poses numerous problems, including:
- Room poachers often do not deliver on promises to customers. When participants arrive, the reservations are non-existent or the hotels booked are located far from the conference.
- Sometimes the rooms have been cancelled with hefty cancellation charges placed on the guest’s credit card.
The poacher might inform registrants and exhibitors that the hotel room block is "sold out," and that if you do not book with them immediately, you may not get a room. Additional deceptive tactics may include:
- Room poachers may distribute forms or promotional materials that appear to be issued by SNO.
- Room poachers may not deliver on promises to customers. When customers arrive, reservations are sometimes non-existent or the hotels are not conveniently located.
- Room poachers may seek to represent themselves as being affiliated with SNO by illegally using our name or logo.
Don't be misled! The only way to secure a room in the official SNO room block at the Marriott Marquis or approved overflow hotel is to book through the link on the SNO website.