As a small business, you sometimes feel so exposed to all sorts of things that threaten to take your business away from you overnight, that you wonder why you are trying in the first place!
The latest surge in glamping site scams is particularly worrying. These scams take images from real glamping sites and market them as their own, or as a broker for such sites – they then take a guest’s money through a fake booking, never having been affiliated with or having connection to, that original business. These guests then arrive at the glamping site either to find it doesn’t exist at all or that no reservation has ever been received.
How do we protect ourselves from this, both as customers and as business owners? I’ve been reading about this because it is so important for customers to be able to have confidence to book online, as well as doing everything I can to protect my own small business.
My main piece of advice on the topic is BOOK DIRECT. Check that the business has its own website if you find it on a broker site, and vice versa. Contact the business from their own website, using the details listed there. You can also use this contact to ask if they offer any discounts for booking direct 😉
Secondly, use google to research the business – does it have a google business listing? Are there recent reviews on the listing? Has google authenticated the business (little blue tick)?
Try other review sites, such as TripAdvisor. How much of a digital footprint does the business have? How much history is there in the review listings? Does it appear on google maps? You can even click on the map view and see if you can see the business on street view/google earth 😉
One thing I do too, is once I have made the booking, go back on the website and check that those dates have now become unavailable to book by anyone else. I know it’s not always possible if that site doesn’t show a booking calendar but it gives peace of mind if they do!
I also think it is a great idea to pay by card – however, I say this cautiously because I know that, for my business, I incur hefty card fees for these transactions so as a business owner I would always prefer payment by bank transfer (!).
These little checks should take no time at all and are a really simple way of verifying that the business exists.
Glamping site scams really hurt small businesses by removing customer confidence in a market that is already saturated and seasonally unpredictable! By doing research and by booking direct, together, we can squash them out!
Joanne X
Owner, Little Seed Field
Would you like to find out more about a glamping cabin break in Yorkshire? Visit my website to discover the beautiful Little Seed Field.