Profiteering

[Legal1234]

I know someone who goes to conventions and rents out 10+ hotel rooms and he makes a huge profit by charging people more then what the rooms cost. From what I heard he can make up to 20,000 dollars on a good weekend doing this. Is this profiteering or in anyways opening him to legal problems rather civil or criminal? The conventions are not always in the same state but a lot of them are in Ohio.

 

[Zigner]

I know someone who goes to conventions and rents out 10+ hotel rooms and he makes a huge profit by charging people more then what the rooms cost. From what I heard he can make up to 20,000 dollars on a good weekend doing this. Is this profiteering or in anyways opening him to legal problems rather civil or criminal? The conventions are not always in the same state but a lot of them are in Ohio.

Sounds like an astute business-person to me.

 

[FlyingRon]

Can't imagine a civil issue. While there are some civil anticompetition laws out there, I don't see how this falls under anything like that.
His biggest issue is the hotel will wise up and cancel his reservations. If there's money to be made on the rooms, it is they who have the interest in preserving it.

It also sounds like a real risky venture. If he's going to charge above market, he'd have to pay for the room and then resell it. Any damage to the room or even just room service charges and the like he'd be on the hook for. Further, like a scalper, if he gets stuff he can't resell, he'll have to eat that.

 

[LdiJ]

Can't imagine a civil issue. While there are some civil anticompetition laws out there, I don't see how this falls under anything like that.
His biggest issue is the hotel will wise up and cancel his reservations. If there's money to be made on the rooms, it is they who have the interest in preserving it.

It also sounds like a real risky venture. If he's going to charge above market, he'd have to pay for the room and then resell it. Any damage to the room or even just room service charges and the like he'd be on the hook for. Further, like a scalper, if he gets stuff he can't resell, he'll have to eat that.

I actually think that there is a way around that. I cannot for the life of me remember exactly how it works, but it has something to do with prepaying the basic room rate but whoever checks in has to give their own credit card for anything else. I did that once. I bought a package and paid cash up front, but then once I checked in I had to give my own card to cover any other charges.

 

[FlyingRon]

I actually think that there is a way around that. I cannot for the life of me remember exactly how it works, but it has something to do with prepaying the basic room rate but whoever checks in has to give their own credit card for anything else. I did that once. I bought a package and paid cash up front, but then once I checked in I had to give my own card to cover any other charges.

That works if the reseller is cooperating with the hotel. The hotels are wise to this gambit often (this is why you have to show ID to claim the reservation).