That Las Vegas Hotel Listing Used AI-Doctored Photos to Hide a Different Hotel
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6
Booking Sites Listed On
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$450+
Paid by One Traveler
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2
Fake Hotel Names Used
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High
Fooled Index
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AI-ALTERED PHOTOS — The sign in the listing photo isn't on the real building.
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In mid-August 2026, travelers and Las Vegas creators flagged two hotels, Palette Las Vegas and Collection O Las Vegas, listed on major booking sites near the Strip. Neither operates as a separate hotel. Both listings pointed to the address of OYO Hotel & Casino, a budget hotel off the Strip that used to be the Hooters Hotel. The listings appeared on Booking.com, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and Trip.com.
The photos gave it away. Exterior pictures of the OYO had been altered with AI so that its real signs read Palette or Collection O. The traveler, Ariana Patiño, said even the bedding in some room photos showed the new names. Room photos were reworked versions of OYO’s own rooms with upgraded features, and news reports noted that Expedia’s “exterior” shots included the Las Vegas Convention Center and Fremont Street, neither of which is outside the hotel.
Patiño told KSNV she spent more than $450 on her three-night stay and parking. She said a staff member told her the second name had been created to see which one would gain more traction. After the story spread, she received a full refund.
Expedia suspended both listings while it investigated, and said its policy bars partners from using generative AI to mislead or misrepresent a property to drive bookings. Booking.com also said it was looking into the matter. OYO’s parent company said the listings were a mistake, posted before planned renovation and signage work was finished, and OYO offered some guests refunds or free upgrades.
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Neither hotel exists on its own. Both listings shared OYO’s address, and no separate Palette or Collection O hotel operates there.
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The signs were swapped. AI-altered exterior photos replaced OYO’s real signs, and even the bedding in some room photos showed the new names.
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The “exterior” shots were borrowed. One listing showed the Convention Center and Fremont Street as the hotel’s surroundings, and neither is outside it.
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The front desk confirmed it. A staff member reportedly told the traveler, “That’s us. This is OYO.”
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🚨 Fake Listing, AI-Altered Photos
Palette Las Vegas was never a separate hotel. It was OYO’s own building, shown in AI-altered photos under another name, and the booking sites suspended the listings after travelers and reporters flagged them. OYO says it was a mistake made before planned renovations.
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In California, You Now Have the Right to See the Original Listing Photo
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Since Jan. 1, 2026, California’s Assembly Bill 723 requires real estate agents, brokers, and anyone working for them to say plainly when a listing image has been digitally altered, whether with AI or with editing software that adds, removes, or changes things in the picture. The label must be on or next to the image, and it must tell buyers how to see the unaltered original, for example through a link or QR code. Ordinary touch-ups such as lighting or color do not trigger the rule, but virtual staging does. New York’s Department of State also warned homebuyers in November 2025 about a significant rise in AI-generated pictures in real estate listings.
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That Viral ‘Whistleblower’ Exposing a Delivery App? His Badge and ‘Internal Document’ Were AI
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In early January 2026, an anonymous Reddit user claiming to be a developer at a food delivery company posted a “confession” saying the company used a “desperation score” to push worse-paying orders to drivers who seemed to need work most. The post collected more than 87,000 upvotes and about 36.8 million impressions across platforms, according to Dataconomy. When technology reporter Casey Newton of Platformer contacted the poster, he received a photo of an Uber Eats employee badge and an 18-page “internal document” full of charts and formulas. Newton ran the badge through Google’s Gemini, which found a SynthID watermark, a hidden AI marker that survives cropping and compression. Uber Eats’ chief operating officer called the claims “completely made up.” Newton wrote that a document like that once would have seemed credible because it took so long to make, and that AI tools have changed that.
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YOUR REALITY DETECTOR TOOLKIT |
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Today’s Skill: Check Listing Photos Against a Second Source
A polished photo is a sales tool. A second source tells you what the place is really like.
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Reverse-search the listing’s photos
The traveler noticed the check-in desk in the Palette photos matched OYO’s. A reverse image search can show the same picture under another name.
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Read recent guest reviews first
One verified review on Expedia said the “new” hotel was really OYO with no Palette signs anywhere. Guest reviews and guest photos are harder to fake than a listing.
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Ask to see the original
California’s law gives home buyers a way to see unedited photos. For any hotel or rental, you can ask the host for unedited photos or a live video tour.
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