Spanish police have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of hacking a hotel booking platform to reserve luxury rooms costing up to €1,000 per night for just one euro cent. The suspect was detained at a hotel in Madrid, where he allegedly accumulated more than €20,000 in unpaid stays. Authorities described the case as the first detected instance of this type of manipulation targeting a hotel payment validation system.

Investigators said the man altered the platform’s payment authorisation process through a cyberattack, enabling transactions to be approved after entering only €0.01 as the charge. The bookings initially appeared legitimate, with the irregularity only uncovered when the payment processor transferred the minimal amount to the hotel company. Police launched an inquiry after the suspicious activity was flagged by the travel website and completed their investigation within four days.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was reportedly completing a four-night stay normally valued at €4,000. Authorities said he had also consumed minibar items and left additional bills unpaid. Spanish newspaper ABC reported that he had previously been arrested in the Canary Islands over a similar incident involving a luxury hotel. Police indicated that further bookings at other hotels may also be under investigation.

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