A young New Zealand tourist and her nine friends were left stranded on the Gold Coast after discovering the luxury holiday home they had paid $10,000 for did not exist, in a sophisticated scam that has left them reeling.
The Dream Holiday That Turned Into a Nightmare
Georgia Pemberton from New Zealand organised the trip to Queensland's Gold Coast for a fun vacation and New Year's Eve celebrations with her friends. She found what appeared to be the perfect property on Bookabach, the popular New Zealand-founded booking platform owned by the Expedia Group.
The listing showed a stunning waterfront house large enough for their group of ten. While the cost of $10,000 for an eight-day stay over the busy festive period was significant, Ms Pemberton felt it was justified as the expense was being split among the friends.
After paying an initial deposit, communication with the supposed host seemed excellent, lulling the group into a false sense of security. The remaining balance was due on 22 December, the very day the friends flew to Australia.
The Devastating Discovery at the Doorstep
Upon arrival, the group went straight to the address, expecting check-in instructions. Ms Pemberton knocked on the door, only to be greeted by the actual homeowner, who was utterly bewildered.
"I said, 'Yeah, we've booked this place on BookaBach.' She goes, 'I don't do Bookabach'," Ms Pemberton recounted. "My heart literally sank. What do you mean you don't do Bookabach? Who did I just pay $10,000 to?"
The resident confirmed it was her family home and she had never listed it as a holiday rental. She revealed the scammer had stolen photos of her property from a real estate website and even used personal images of her from WhatsApp to create a fake host profile.
"The girl that came out was the same girl that was the host in the Bookabach pictures. So this scammer has taken photos of the woman from her WhatsApp and has pretended to be her," Ms Pemberton explained, suggesting the fraud may have been personal against the homeowner.
Left Stranded and the Aftermath
The group was suddenly left on the street with their luggage, with nowhere to stay. "We are literally in the streets, like rolling around our suitcases," Ms Pemberton said. "I started to freak out... we're just rolling around our suitcases in a different country, with nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep."
In desperation, a friend contacted Bookabach. The platform provided hotel accommodation for a couple of nights while the group scrambled to find alternative lodging, eventually securing a place through Airbnb for the rest of their trip.
Ms Pemberton described feeling "sick to her stomach" and issued a stark warning to other travellers. "Moral of the story, be careful because there are genuinely people out there who do this and you never think this would ever happen to you," she said.
A spokesperson for Bookabach told media they "sincerely apologised" for Ms Pemberton's experience and confirmed they take fraudulent claims very seriously. They stated the property listing had been removed and that Ms Pemberton had been refunded in full, with an active investigation ongoing.
