Marriott warns against calls offering free stays

Marriott International is warning its customers against phone calls offering free stays at its hotels. The company said the "fraudulent" calls are being made in "different parts of the world". In a statement, it said: "The caller offers a complimentary stay at a Marriott hotel to entice the person taking the call to listen to a sales pitch unrelated to Marriott... [We have] not provided any information to the parties involved in these fraudulent calls". Marriott has advised customers to be particularly suspicious if the call mentions a competition that you have not entered. The group said: "We urge you not to provide any personal information, especially credit card information. Instead, simply end the phone call." Marriott recently announced it will merge with Starwood Hotels & Resorts (see news, November 16), which has itself just revealed that 54 of its hotels have been hacked (see news, November 23). Less than two months ago, Mandarin Oriental confirmed a security breach at ten of its hotels (see news, September 1). marriott.com Tom Otley