A Las Vegas hotel is facing accusations of misleading tourists by marketing rooms under two seemingly separate identities, "Palette Las Vegas" and "Collection O Las Vegas." The OYO Hotel & Casino, located on Tropicana Avenue, allegedly created these distinct online presences using altered photographs and slightly varied addresses to attract guests while obscuring the property's already poor reputation.
One traveler, Ariana Patiño, reported booking a stay at Palette specifically to avoid the OYO, which has been described by local blogger Jennifer Gay, who runs the @vegasstarfish social media pages, as the "worst hotel in Las Vegas." Gay has cited issues including cleanliness and odors during her own stays. Upon arrival, Patiño was allegedly informed by a front-desk employee that Palette was, in fact, the OYO hotel.
The employee reportedly stated that the alternate listing was intended to see which name would "gain more traction." Both Palette and Collection O listings were marked as "new" and featured amenities associated with the OYO, such as its Steak n' Shake and late-night chicken wing specials. Digital images used for these listings appeared to have been digitally altered, with the OYO's exterior signage replaced by the "Palette" and "Collection O" branding, according to Vital Vegas.
The addresses provided for Palette and Collection O were 117 E. Tropicana Ave. and 119 E. Tropicana Ave., respectively, while the OYO Hotel & Casino is located at 115 E. Tropicana Ave. However, the descriptions for the "new" hotels listed their address as 115 E. Tropicana Ave., the same as the OYO.
These dual listings were not confined to the OYO's website. Palette and Collection O appeared on major travel platforms including Booking.com, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and Trip.com. Some listings on these sites noted the proximity to the OYO casino, while others implied that the listed hotels themselves did not have a casino.
This apparent strategy may have been an attempt to bypass the OYO's negative online reviews. The hotel reportedly held a 1.7-star rating on Yelp and faced numerous guest complaints regarding dirty rooms, broken elevators, and malfunctioning air conditioners. The Collection O listing, which first appeared on July 24, had a 4-out-of-10 rating on Travelocity, with a significant portion of reviews giving the lowest possible score. A Trip.com review mentioned an uncleaned room, a broken elevator, and cracked floors, leading the guest to leave immediately.
While Palette is a brand owned by OYO's parent company, Prism, and Collection O is part of OYO's booking network, neither name is physically present at the Las Vegas property. Vital Vegas speculated that this could be a test of potential replacement brands for the OYO, though the company's intent remains unconfirmed. The practice might not meet Nevada's legal definition of bait-and-switch, and no official findings of fraud or legal violations have been made.