Latest news with #MariaLepère
The Independent
02-05-2025
- The Independent
Ghost booking: The tactic travellers are using to ease US border control fears
Travellers are using a new tactic to ease anxiety at US border control – 'ghost booking' – after a series of arrests for alleged visa violations, including insufficient proof of accommodation. On 18 March, two German teenagers were denied entry to Hawaii and detained by border officers who called their trip 'suspicious'. Upon arriving in Honolulu, Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepère were allegedly denied entry into the US despite holding the required Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). According to Beat of Hawaii, border officials flagged potential illegal work intentions and detained the teens after learning they had not fully booked their accommodation. Pohl said: 'They found it suspicious that we hadn't fully booked our accommodations for the entire five weeks in Hawaii.' As the Trump administration cracks down on immigration, what is ghost booking? And why are people using it for a more seamless stateside travel experience? What is 'ghost booking'? A "ghost booking" is when a traveller makes a reservation for a hotel room, flight, cruise or campsite with no intention of showing up. Rooms, seats, cabins or pitches are then either cancelled for a full refund or sit empty despite being booked. Why are travellers making ghost bookings? Many countries require proof of accommodation to enter as part of the visa application process or at their borders. In the US specifically, British travellers need to have a valid passport and either an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) or a visa to enter or transit through. The US immigration process does not, by law, require travellers to show proof of a hotel booking at the border. However, demonstrating you have accommodation arrangements is generally expected, and visitor visas may ask for proof of this as part of an application. It is wise to have a hotel confirmation on hand, at least for your first night, as well as onward travel plans and relevant finances to prevent questioning and possible deportation by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. Border control can be particularly suspicious of backpackers travelling with no forward itinerary or onward ticket. By making a refundable ghost booking for a flight or hotel, those travelling with an uncertain itinerary are more prepared to disclose their travel plans if pushed by immigration control. Do ghost bookings make border crossings easier? According to travel expert The Points Guy (Brian Kelly), travellers must have an itinerary planned at all times for an 'uneventful' entry or exit between borders – even if it means making refundable bookings that won't be used. In an Instagram video last week, he said: 'It is very easy to make refundable lodging reservations so I highly recommend that to anyone travelling to have that because whenever you enter a country they want to know that you have enough money so that you're not gonna be a drain on societal resources and you've got a ticket home that's within your tourist visa.' Brian advised jet setters to always have a PDF file or printed-out reservations of their flight leaving the country and accommodation during the stay. When else do people 'no show' a room reservation? At attractions such as theme parks, hotel guests often benefit from perks unaccessible to a day visitor. Ghost booking is common at Universal Orlando Premier in order to obtain the complimentary Universal Express Pass – this allows guests to skip lines for participating rides in Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. In other cases, people have made unused reservations on rental platforms such as Airbnb as donations to local hosts in areas experiencing a humanitarian crisis. Are there any downsides? Yes. Many accommodation providers who offer fee-free cancellation are already extremely concerned about the high number of bookings that are cancelled at the last moment. There are accounts of travellers making multiple free-cancellation reservations for different properties on the same nights, deciding much later which to take up – and cancelling the remainder. Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, said: 'These guests want a convenient menu of accommodation to choose from, at no risk to themselves. I deplore the practice, because it harms the finances of the proprietor and prevents other, well-intentioned travellers from being able to book. 'This is a different form of 'ghost booking' to those made for crossing borders: at least the guest intends to stay in one of the properties. 'For a leading travel media figure to 'highly recommend' the practice of making spoof bookings just for an easier ride through the US border is, to say the least, questionable.'
The Independent
22-04-2025
- The Independent
The ‘suspicious' holiday plan that led to two teens being deported from Hawaii
Two German teenagers, Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepère, were denied entry to the U.S. and deported from Hawaii despite having the required travel authorisation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents deemed their trip "suspicious" due to their lack of pre-booked accommodation for their entire stay. The teens were reportedly interrogated, subjected to body scans and strip searches, handcuffed, made to wear prison uniforms, and detained overnight in a holding cell. They were eventually deported back to Germany via Tokyo, Qatar, and Frankfurt. This incident follows a travel advisory update from Germany regarding stricter U.S. border control measures and an overall decline in European visitors to the U.S.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Teenagers ‘arrested and strip searched in Hawaii over badly planned holiday'
Two German teenagers were allegedly strip searched and deported over a badly-planned trip to Hawaii. Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepère, 18, arrived in Honolulu with plans to explore the island for five weeks after graduating high school. Instead, the pair say they were interrogated for hours upon their arrival before border agents denied them entry and turned them around, according to German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. 'It was all like a fever dream,' Ms Lepère said. 'We had already noticed a little bit of what was going on in the US. But at the time, we didn't think it was happening to Germans. That was perhaps very naive. We felt so small and powerless.' Officials are said to have become suspicious of the teenagers after learning they had not booked accommodation for their entire five-week stay in Hawaii. The pair said they were pulled aside and allegedly subjected to body scans and strip searches before being handcuffed and given green prison uniforms. On March 19, a day after arriving, they were taken back to Honolulu International Airport in handcuffs, where they requested to be sent to Tokyo, Japan. Three days after their arrest, they returned home to Rostock, Germany, according to Ostsee Zeitung. 'They found it suspicious that we hadn't fully booked our accommodation for the entire five weeks in Hawaii,' Ms Pohl said. 'We wanted to travel spontaneously. Just like we had done in Thailand and New Zealand.' The German Foreign Office told the outlet it was involved in the pair's case and provided consular support following their experience. Around the same time as the teenager's detention, Germany updated its travel advisory for the United States to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens. Since taking office, Donald Trump has announced a string of immigration-related executive orders that focus on stricter border policy, tighter visa vetting procedures and a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the United States. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Teenagers ‘arrested and strip searched in Hawaii over badly planned holiday'
Two German teenagers were allegedly strip searched and deported over a badly-planned trip to Hawaii. Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepère, 18, arrived in Honolulu with plans to explore the island for five weeks after graduating high school. Instead, the pair say they were interrogated for hours upon their arrival before border agents denied them entry and turned them around, according to German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. 'It was all like a fever dream,' Ms Lepère said. 'We had already noticed a little bit of what was going on in the US. But at the time, we didn't think it was happening to Germans. That was perhaps very naive. We felt so small and powerless.' Officials are said to have become suspicious of the teenagers after learning they had not booked accommodation for their entire five-week stay in Hawaii. The pair said they were pulled aside and allegedly subjected to body scans and strip searches before being handcuffed and given green prison uniforms. On March 19, a day after arriving, they were taken back to Honolulu International Airport in handcuffs, where they requested to be sent to Tokyo, Japan. Three days after their arrest, they returned home to Rostock, Germany, according to Ostsee Zeitung. 'They found it suspicious that we hadn't fully booked our accommodation for the entire five weeks in Hawaii,' Ms Pohl said. 'We wanted to travel spontaneously. Just like we had done in Thailand and New Zealand.' The German Foreign Office told the outlet it was involved in the pair's case and provided consular support following their experience. Around the same time as the teenager's detention, Germany updated its travel advisory for the United States to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens. Since taking office, Donald Trump has announced a string of immigration-related executive orders that focus on stricter border policy, tighter visa vetting procedures and a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the United States.
