Last updated: October 23, 2026
Dear guests,
Your safety and the protection of your data are very important to us. As more and more fraud attempts are currently being reported in the hotel industry, we would like to inform you and show you how you can protect yourself.
What is phishing?
In phishing attacks, criminals pose as a trustworthy sender—such as a hotel, booking platform, or bank—to obtain money or personal data. The messages often look deceptively genuine and may even include correct details such as your name or travel date. The aim is to prompt you to act quickly and without thinking—for example, by entering your credit card details or making a payment via a fake link.
How scammers operate in the hotel industry
In recent months, companies in the hotel industry have been targeted particularly often by such attacks. Guests receive messages via WhatsApp, SMS, email, or phone asking them to “confirm” their booking again, settle an allegedly outstanding payment, or update payment details—otherwise the reservation will supposedly be cancelled. Typical warning signs include an unknown sender number or email address, unusual time pressure, and links that do not lead to the hotel’s official website.
Security incidents involving industry service providers
We are aware that partners and service providers we work with have also been affected by data protection incidents in the industry. So far, we have not received any notification that data from guests of Designhotel Wienecke XI. has been affected. Based on what we currently know, we therefore do not assume that our guests’ data has been leaked. Should we receive new information, we will of course inform the affected guests immediately.
Regardless, we ask you to remain vigilant, as scammers may also deliberately impersonate hotel staff.
How to protect yourself
Please note: Designhotel Wienecke XI. will never ask you for your payment details via WhatsApp or SMS, or ask you to confirm your booking again this way. Do not enter credit card details, passwords, or confirmation codes via links in messages, and do not make any payments unless you are absolutely sure the request is from us.
If a message seems suspicious, please do not respond and do not click any links. If in doubt, contact us directly using the contact details on our official website. We’re happy to check your booking for you—better safe than sorry.
What to do if you suspect something?
If you have received a suspicious message, please do not reply, do not click any links, and do not open any attachments. Ideally, take a screenshot of the message and then block the number or sender. Feel free to inform us by phone or email so we can check your booking and warn other guests.
If you have already entered payment details or made a payment, please contact your bank or credit card provider immediately to have the card blocked and, if possible, recover the payment. You can reach the central card-blocking hotline at 116 116. If you have disclosed a password, please change it immediately—also for other services where you use the same password.
We also recommend reporting the attempted fraud to the police. In most federal states, you can conveniently do this via the Onlinewache. You can also report phishing messages on WhatsApp directly in the app as spam.
Contact Us
- Phone: +49 511 12 611 0
- WhatsApp: +49 511 12611507
- Email: reservierung@wienecke.de
- Questions about data protection: marketing@wienecke.de
Thank you for your trust. We look forward to welcoming you.
Your Designhotel Wienecke XI. team
AI-assisted tools were used to create this article. The content was editorially reviewed. Please send feedback to marketing@wienecke.de.