What is a “Poacher”?
A “poacher” is defined as a hotel or third-party hotel or agency who is unaffiliated with the event yet solicits business from known or potential event participants. This is a fraudulent activity and must be taken seriously.
Why are we so concerned about this?
A poacher’s false or deceptive practices may cause a number of serious issues. Here are just a few examples:
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- Sell attendees nonexistent rooms
- Offer false pricing that can cost attendees hundreds of dollars
- Cause clients to incur attrition penalties for not filling hotel blocks
- Damage the relationship between a client and hotels, causing issues with future negotiations.
How can you avoid this?
By educating your audience about onPeak, the official hotel partner. You can better protect your participants against poachers when they have the information they need. We have put together everything you need: tips on how to fend them off, email templates, recommended messaging, and a sample cease and desist letter. Simply see below for everything you need to be prepared.
Resource Library
Poacher Action Plan
Message Library
Cease and Desist Letter Template
Download Poacher Email Templates
Report a Poacher
File a Fraud Report – Help stop them!
If your company has received fraudulent emails or phone calls soliciting you to purchase attendee lists, book hotel rooms, or other products/services – file a report!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created a new process for individuals and companies to report these activities. The FTC will share these reports with their law enforcement partners to help with investigations and stop these practices
How to file a fraud report:
- Go to Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- Click on “Report Now”
- For Question 1: “Is your report about any of these common problems?”
- Select “An Impersonator” (top left answer)
- For Question 2: “Who were they pretending to be?”
- Select “Well-known or trusted business”
- Click “Continue”
- Add as much information as you have and submit!
Thank you for helping us report these frauds – with enough complaints, we can work to stop these practices from targeting exhibitors!
Additional Resources:
One more idea: Reservation Website
Looking for additional ways to deter participants from booking with poachers? Talk to your event team about adding a custom card to the reservation website. Take a look at an example of one of our favorites below.
