Wetherspoon controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2026
Phishing scam hijacked Booking.com listings, sending tourists to a Wetherspoon pub address
Issue disclosure
Consumer group Which? disclosed that scammers used a sophisticated phishing attack to hijack legitimate property listings on Booking.com, including a fake listing for 'The London Crown' luxury apartments whose given address was actually The Liberty Bounds, a Wetherspoon pub near Tower Bridge. A customer paid £73 via Booking.com for a one-night family stay and discovered the address was the pub, and Which? said Wetherspoon staff have been turning away up to 20 tourists a day. Booking.com said the attack affected the properties' own computer systems and gave cybercriminals temporary, unauthorised access to the accommodations' Booking.com accounts; a second hijacked listing, 'Apartments near Big Ben', used the address of Portcullis House on the House of Commons estate. The fake listing had drawn 250 negative reviews across August and September, according to Which?. Booking.com said it suspended bookings at both properties and is supporting affected customers, while Wetherspoon said it notified Booking.com and asked for the listing to be permanently removed.
Company response
Remediation — Booking.com
We take incidents like this extremely seriously, and suspended bookings at both properties, as well as supporting affected customers.
Clarification — Wetherspoon
Wetherspoon said it had informed Booking.com about this scam "as soon as it came to their attention"
Source excerpt
This is upsetting for the pub team, as there is little they can do to help, but even more so for the people who have been misled and have lost money as a result.
Wetherspoon said it had informed Booking.com about this scam "as soon as it came to their attention"