Beware of fake booking websites

Fraudsters are currently offering our chalets on fake booking websites. They use our name, our photos and our address, but they have nothing to do with us. If you book and pay there, you do not have a booking with us.

Known fake websites so far:

• hain-ferien.de („Hain & Haus“)
• hain-ferien.net („Hain & Haus“)
• ferienhaus-reise.com
• ferienhaus-reisen.com – now offline
• hain-ferien.win („Hain & Haus“) – now offline
• ferienhaus-check.com – now offline
• ferienhaus-chalet.com – now offline
• ferienhaus-chalets.com – now offline
• hain-ferien.com („Hain & Haus“) – now offline

We have already managed to get six of these websites taken offline. The fraudsters keep changing the names and the look of their websites, so new ones may appear at any time.

Beware of TikTok

Most of the people affected found the fake websites through TikTok. Videos with footage of our chalets are posted there, for example by accounts such as “UrlaubsHausFinder”, “ferienhausfinder”, “Ferienhaus-Reisen” or “Ferienhaus-Check”. They lure people with prices from €99 or €130 per night, often “perfect for Christmas and New Year’s Eve”.

These accounts do not belong to us. Our official social media channels are Instagram (@baumchalets_allgaeu) and Facebook. If you see a video of our chalets with a link or a price, please never book through that link. Go directly to baumchalets.de.

Ads of this kind also run on Facebook and Instagram, for example from a page called “Ferienhäuser & Chalets” with prices from €75 per night. This page does not belong to us either. Since November, many of those affected have reached the “Hain & Haus” websites through Instagram, where our chalets are offered for €97 per night.

How to spot a fake

• You receive a key box or access code. We don’t use those. We welcome you in person.
• The price is below €395 per night. Our chalets are never that cheap.
• Check-in from 9 am, check-out until 7 pm. With us, check-in is from 3 pm and check-out is by 10:30 am.
• The booking number starts with “FH-” or “HH-”.
• A “Monika Fischer” contacts you, usually via live chat, and pushes for a quick instant transfer.
• You receive WhatsApp messages from “Hain & Haus” or “Monika Fischer”, for example from the numbers +49 1573 3455712 or +49 163 6088165. We never contact you out of the blue about a booking you did not make with us.
• The money is to be paid into a private person’s account.
• You found the offer through a TikTok video or an ad, often with a discount code such as “Weihnachten26”, “AUSZEIT15” or “AUSZEIT20”.

How to book safely

• directly on baumchalets.de
• by email to book@remove-this.baumchalets.de
• by phone on +49 8320 92 59 532 or via WhatsApp
• through our partners Booking.com, Airbnb and Jochen Schweizer / mydays

When you book directly, you always pay TREERIDE GmbH, never a private person.

Not sure?

Write to us before you pay anything. We will tell you right away whether an offer is genuine.

Already paid?

1. Call your bank immediately and ask them to recall the transfer because of fraud. Many banks have an emergency number that is also available at weekends. Every hour counts.
2. Don’t let them stall you. The fraudsters often promise to pay the money back “within 10 days”. That does not happen. Don’t wait for it, act right away.
3. Report it to the police. In Germany you can also do this online via the online police station of your federal state. Outside Germany, contact your local police.
4. Send us your documents at book@remove-this.baumchalets.de: booking confirmation, transfer receipt with recipient and IBAN, and the reference number of your police report. We collect all cases and pass them on to the investigators.

We have reported the websites to the police, the domain and hosting providers, the German Federal Network Agency, the consumer advice centre, and to Google, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. We are sorry for everyone who has been taken in.