Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lois Frankel Urge FTC to Crack Down on Fraudulent Hotel Sites

On Wednesday, two South Florida congresswomen reached across party lines to team up and urge Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez to crack down on  fraudulent hotel booking sites.

Earlier this year, Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrat U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel led the Florida delegation in asking the FTC to investigate these types of sites. They doubled down on their efforts on Wednesday, sending a letter to Ramirez again on the matter. 

“As the Labor Day holiday approaches, many South Florida families are focusing on the last days of summer and the last chance for a vacation,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Our residents shouldn’t have to worry about their hard-earned money being taken by unscrupulous people. Consumers and hoteliers deserve to be protected from those who imitate legitimate hotel booking websites for the purposes of defrauding the public.”

"Thousands of consumers are misled every year into making reservations through fraudulent hotel websites and call centers, costing us hundreds of millions of dollars each year," Frankel said. "These deceptive practices hurt both travelers and hotels throughout South Florida."