Booking accommodation is slowly becoming a gamble as trusted sites get flooded with fraudsters.
- Students struggle with online registration and travel miles for in-person assistance.
- People use Booking.com to defraud customers.
- Use of AI consultants blocks customers from getting safe and speedy assistance.
Owam Vinqi, a Wits fourth year student from Port Elizabeth was left without a place to sleep on Thursday, January 15p on Thursday. Vinqi who had spent fifteen hours travelling to Joburg was left stunned after being informed of the non-existence of her booking during check-in at 286 Fox Street, Maboneng.
Vinqi had booked a studio apartment for a two night stay on Booking.com for R810. Money she could barely afford to part with, as her trip was primarily to sort out a registration block due to outstanding fees of R13 000. The last thing Vinqi expected was to fall prey to a scam.
Upon her arrival, a security guard at 286 Fox Street said her booking was invalid, as she had no email with a secret code to present at check-in. The proof of transaction Vinqi had on her banking application was not enough.
“I looked stupid talking to the security. When I tried contacting Sterling [the alleged manager of the apartment] via the Booking.com platform, I received no response.
“I exhausted all my options and finally accepted that I had been scammed,” said Vinqi. She was able to access emergency accommodation in Doornfontein provided by the Wits SRC.
Wits Vuvuzela reached out to Sterling, who refused to disclose his full name and surname, regarding Vingi’s allegations. He denied any knowledge of the booking and explained that Booking.com handles all payments and confirmation letters. He said he only receives his cut days after hosting the guest.
“I do not know if or how she was scammed. If she did not receive a confirmation email, she should take the matter up with Booking.com and they will refund her,” said Sterling.
This incident is one of many global Booking.com scams. In the UK, customers lost a total of £370,000 (ZAR 8 090 645,70) between June 2023 and September 2024 reported The Guardian.
Furthermore, last month, Euronews raised serious concerns regarding the careless nature of Booking.com’s security, specifically its failure to remove fraudulent listings that have become ‘stains’ on the platform’s reputation.
Closer to home, content creator, Ariel Lyndsey, made headlines in December 2025, after she was scammed twice in the Camps Bay area in Cape Town. Despite reporting the first fraudulent listing, she found another deceptive property on the same app, highlighting a dangerous lack of oversight in the platform’s verification process.
Wits Vuvuzela’s efforts to get through to a human consultant at Booking.com were blocked by many AI consultants on calls and Instagram and lastly an international helpline.
Vinqi had exhausted the above options before resorting to opening a fraud case through her bank, and now she is awaiting feedback on the case.
FEATURED IMAGE: Illustration of a student stranded in Maboneng. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Wits Vuvuzela, FEATURE: No scam is worth losing your bank account over, Aug 2025
- Wits Vuvuzela, SASCO denounces corruption amidst NSFAS woes, Jan 2024
- Wits Vuvuzela, FINANCE FEATURE: The struggle for accommodation at Wits, Oct 2023
