Moment tourist turns up at holiday apartment to find ‘incredible sea view’ – but closer inspection leaves her stunned
THIS is the shocking moment a tourist who thought she had booked a hotel room with “incredible sea views” was left with a nasty surprise.
At first glance, Sonja Dennig, 28, thought she had the most perfect hotel room for a weekend getaway in Westerland, Germany.
But upon taking a closer look, the social media influencer was left in disbelief as she realised the sunny view was nothing but a fake poster stuck on the window pane.
Dramatic footage showed Sonja walking towards the window to experience what looked like a perfect shoreline.
But as soon as she moves her camera around, a grim metal grill is captured along with a poorly lit industrial light that was used to fake the sunny rays
Sonja, who boasts more than 924,000 followers on Instagram and another 479,000 on TikTok, said: “We were screwed so hard.”
She added: “We thought, ‘Wow, what a great view we have,’ but look, it’s just a photo. We’re just in the basement.
“You’re in bed, it’s midnight, but you think it’s either evening or morning sun. It’s pretty amazing.”
The video quickly clocked up more than 3.6 million views on TikTok, triggering an avalanche of reactions from social media users.
One social media user said: “The most amazing thing is that the picture looks totally real.”
While another person commented: “Well, you have to let them be creative.”
A third user questioned: “But it must be stated somewhere in the description that it is in the basement.”
It comes after another influencer who paid through her nose for a hotel room was shocked to discover the truth.
Clarisa Murgia spent extra money on the room because of the spectacular coastal views she saw in an advert – only to discover it was fake.
During a holiday trip to Europe, Clarisa from Argentina checked in at the hotel and rushed to her room to finally see the stunning views in real life.
However, when she entered the suite, she realised the view was of a huge seaside poster stuck on the wall of a building opposite her balcony.
Clarisa – who said she felt beyond scammed – filmed the scene to show the cheap con that was done to attract more tourists.
She showed how the poster looked just like the real beach from one angle at the balcony.
But as soon as she panned the camera to the side, a huge picture of a beach and mountain is shown on the other side of a dingy alley.
The real view was of a crumbling white wall with stains and rows of barred windows.
Meanwhile, fraud experts have warned holidaymakers to be on the lookout for scams that could cost them thousands online when booking holidays.
With the cost of travel rising everywhere, finding a deal online can be really difficult, which scammers will try and take advantage of.
How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
- If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool.