A month of Google Ads data shows how widespread predatory online travel agency (OTA) ads have become in the hotel sector. Operto, a hospitality technology company, identified 1.1 million such ads targeting 204,000 hotels worldwide between May 22 and June 21, 2026. Properties in the U.S. are most impacted, with hotels targeted by an average of 6.6 predatory ads each.
These ads do more than redirect bookings—they impersonate official hotel websites, misleading guests into believing they are booking directly. The analysis found that GuestReservations.com alone accounted for nearly half of the detected ads, followed by sites like Room77.com, HotelsOne.com, Reservations.com, and ReservationCounter.com. The deception continues after the search, as guests contacting these sites are often told they are interacting with the hotel itself, further confusing the booking process.
For hotels, the consequences extend beyond lost revenue. Operto reviewed 232 Better Business Bureau complaints against GuestReservations.com between July 2023 and May 2026. Nearly half (46%) involved deceptive cancellation policies, while 38% came from guests who believed they had booked directly with the hotel. Another 34% reported hidden fees, and 5% involved arrivals where the property had no record of the reservation. The fallout includes financial losses and frustrated staff dealing with guests who later discover they were overcharged or misled.
AI fuels predatory OTAs’ rapid evolution
Operto traces the issue to 2015, but advancements in artificial intelligence have made these operations more sophisticated. Predatory OTAs now use algorithms to scale their operations, complicating hotels’ efforts to detect and block them. The company’s CEO, Tim Major, explained that these sites operate in a more refined manner. Operto is developing AI-driven tools to identify and report these sites, but the challenge persists as blocked domains quickly reappear under new legal structures.
Hotels already working to increase direct bookings face additional pressure. Predatory OTAs not only divert guests but also charge higher rates than standard OTAs, increasing commissions for middlemen while leaving hotels without customer data. The Operto report cites one hotel, Alaska Frontier Inn, found 25% of its bookings were intercepted by predatory OTAs. Guests, convinced they had booked directly, later learned their reservations came through Booking.com or Expedia, damaging trust in both the hotel and the booking process.
Legal action has been limited. A California lawsuit filed this summer by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu alleges that GuestReservations.com and BookOnline.com engage in deceptive business practices in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit also alleges that Booking Holdings aided and abetted the hotel booking scam, as it “acted as the websites’ hotel room inventory supplier”. Major noted that legal challenges often fail because these ads include just enough language to avoid clear violations.
Industry fights back with AI detection tools
PhocusWire also reached out to Booking.com, GuestReservations.com, and BookOnline.com for comment. Major said AI is making the industry’s hotel-name hijacking problem even worse. “As we researched, we found it goes back to 2015, but now with AI tools and algorithms, predatory OTAs have been able to amplify what they do. And they run it in a much more sophisticated way,” he said.
Major added that Operto is developing tools to counter the problem, including AI agents that act as “investigators.” Any websites they find are reported to Google and ultimately blocked from search results. “We found AI can attack this problem in ways pre-AI technology couldn’t attack it,” he said.
However, after they are reported and blocked, Major said predatory OTAs are able to set up “shell companies” almost instantaneously, and the process is repeated. “We play Whac-A-Mole against them,” he said.