Hotel guest blacklist website irks privacy campaigners
Thursday, 01 Oct, 2010
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A Bristol company that has launched a hotel guest blacklist website has prompted a privacy watchdog to call for a government enquiry.
GuestScan.co.uk offers hoteliers the chance to find out if people who have booked a stay at their property have caused any problems to other hoteliers in the past, such as non-payment or room destruction.
The website gathers its information by allowing hoteliers to share their experiences of individuals but watchdog Privacy International says the site is “despicable” and “probably illegal”.
However, the site has written approval from government body the Information Commissioner’s Office and is registered under the Data Protection Act.
While Guestscan assures customers that all information on guests and their behaviour has been checked and verified before being posted, Privacy International’s spokesman Alex Hanff said that the company had misrepresented its purpose when registering with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
He said it had suggested the main purpose of the site was staff administration and PR when in fact it was clearly about presenting a hotel guest hall of shame.
Guestscan’s official registration does, however, list an objective as “keeping a client behaviour log”.
Hanff says the matter is now being taken up with the Information Commissioner.
On Guestscan’s website, there is an endorsement from the Bed and Breakfast Association’s chief executive David Weston as well as one from the chief executive of the English Association of Self-Catering Operators Martin Sachs.
Guestscan creator Neil Campbell told Travelmole: “’There has been a lot of misinformation about the site. We do not hold any details on people’s sexual orientation, race or religion and we do not have a hall of shame.
"If you are a member of the site and you want to check out someone who has booked with you, you put in the name, address and telephone and we will inform you if there has been a problem with them.
"What you can’t do is trawl through a list of names. This all allows small hoteliers and B&B owners to make their mind up about a booking."
He added that all the people on the blacklist were informed.
Campbell said the site, which started on September 15, would have 10,000 members within the next two weeks.
*What’s your view on Guestscan? Travelmole would love to read your views so make a comment.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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