Multiple online travel sites are looking into misleading listings for non-existent Las Vegas hotels.
Booking.com and Expedia are investigating apparently fake hotel listings for an off-Strip property, the companies confirmed to the Review-Journal on Thursday.
The listings are for Palette and Collection O hotels, neither of which is an operating hotel in Las Vegas. Both listings use the address of the OYO, a budget property whose hotel is operated by PRISM and its casino operations overseen by Paragon Gaming. The images associated with both the Palette and Collection O listings appear to have been altered from photographs of the existing property or depict a hotel that could not be identified at the listed address.
PRISM, an India-based travel and hospitality company, is the parent company of OYO Hotels and counts both Palette and Collection O as brands under its larger corporate structure.
PRISM did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
On Friday, an Expedia representative said both the Palette and Collection O listings were suspended from the site pending an investigation with OYO.
“Expedia Group’s Partner Provided Content Policy states that content cannot use generative AI to mislead, misrepresent, or misconstrue the property to drive bookings,” the spokesperson told the Review-Journal. “If we identify content that does not comply with the policy, we will take appropriate action against the partner.”
Any customers who believe a booked property was misrepresented in a listing should contact Expedia support, the company said.
A Booking.com spokesperson said the company was also looking into the matter.
“We take the process of verifying accommodation listings seriously,” a spokesperson for Booking.com said, adding that listings go through a number of checks before going live on the platform. “We also have dedicated teams and technical tools that monitor for suspicious activity around the clock. These measures are designed to help prevent fraudulent listings from appearing, but we recognize that bad actors continue to develop increasingly sophisticated tactics.”
The spokesperson said the company immediately investigates concerns and takes appropriate action, which includes removing listings “where necessary.”
The listings drew attention on social media this week after a TikTok video raised questions about a Las Vegas hotel being offered online under a different name. The video was followed by additional social media posts about the listings, prompting broader discussion about how travelers could unknowingly book a hotel under a name that did not match the actual property and who’s responsible for the apparent deception.
The Review-Journal reviewed multiple travel site listings Thursday and found that properties advertised as Palette Las Vegas and Collection O Las Vegas were associated with the address of OYO Las Vegas. The listings also used images that appeared to have been altered from photographs of the existing property or that depicted a hotel that could not be identified at the listed address.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
