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It has been brought to our attention that there are companies contacting our speakers and sponsors, claiming to be able to assist with hotel rooms or with providing participant lists. Though these companies and others may appear legitimate, they are scammers. They are NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL and are not authorized to use our name, our conference hotel name or either of our trademarks.
The Council does NOT sell our participant or provide it to anyone who is not a registered participant or sponsor for our conference. The Council also does NOT work with any third parties or intermediaries for booking reservations for our group room blocks. If an overflow hotel is available, the Council will provide you with their information to book directly with the hotel, never with an intermediary. You will ALWAYS be instructed to book directly with the hotel for any Public Affairs Council conferences. Though you may receive reminders to book your hotel room and warning/notices as we get closer to our hotel cut-off date, those e-mails will always come from a pac.org e-mail address and no one will ever call you soliciting reservations or credit card information.
Please be aware of the following common scenarios related to these type of scams:
- No one should e-mail you asking for a fee to provide you with the conference participant list
- No one should e-mail or call you directly to book your hotel room or offer you a “special discounted conference rate.” This is a scam and they are not affiliated with the Public Affairs Council. Hotel reservations can and should only be made directly with our conference hotels. You can find information on how to book your reservations ONLY on our website or in your official registration confirmation for the program. All e-mails related to this conference would come from a pac.org e-mail addresses.
- No one should be offering threats about the group running out of hotel rooms and that you must book with them directly and ASAP to guarantee your rooms. Any e-mails regarding the group room block will come directly from pac.org e-mail addresses. E-mails from any other address should be considered a scam. When in doubt about the status of the room block or if you have questions about booking your room, please contact Kristin Hanley for verification.
- If you receive a phone call from someone wanting to speak to the “trade show coordinator or the person who is handling your Public Affairs Council Annual Conference registration/hotel reservations/sponsorship/exhibit booth that your company is attending in X month,” it is a scam and they are not affiliated with the Council.
- If someone emails or calls you claiming to be from the Public Affairs Council’s Exhibitor and/or Sponsorship Department, do not share any information with them. The Council does not have an Exhibitor or Sponsorship Department and we would not reference ourselves as such. This is a scam and they are not affiliated with the Public Affairs Council.
We are very sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these scammers may be causing. Thank you to all who have alerted us to this matter and sent in the information we needed to take action and help prevent others from becoming victims. Should you have any questions regarding our conferences, please contact us at 202-787-5950.