- A 20-year-old man was arrested for allegedly hacking a hotel booking website in Madrid and booking rooms for four days at a penny
- The suspect, currently in custody, booked luxury rooms for just one cent, incurring losses of over KSh 3 million
- A section of Kenyans reacted to the incident, with many urging governments to incorporate such minds into institutions
Nancy Odindo is a Kenyan journalist at TUKO.co.ke with five years of experience covering politics, news, and features across digital and print media.
Police have arrested a 20-year-old man for allegedly hacking a hotel’s booking website to reserve luxury rooms for as little as one cent.
Source: Getty Images
The investigation began after an online booking website reported suspicious activity in early February 2026.
How did authorities learn of the Madrid hotel hacking?
At first, the transactions appeared normal, indicating that the suspect paid the full amount, but days later, they discovered irregularities when the payment platform transferred the actual amount paid to the affected company.
According to France24, the suspect, a Spanish national, allegedly manipulated the site’s payment system and altered the electronic payment platform’s validation process to falsely register bookings as fully paid.
Authorities stated it was the initial recorded instance of such a cybercrime.
“This cyberattack was specifically designed to interfere with the payment validation system, and this is the first time we have detected this kind of a crime,” the police said.
After the supposed cybercrime, rooms priced at up to 1,000 euros (over KSh 153,000) per night were available for just one cent.
At the time of his arrest, he was staying at a luxury Madrid hotel, having booked a four-night stay costing over KSh 608,000.
A police spokeswoman stated that his repeated stays at the hotel had resulted in losses exceeding KSh 3 million, as The Straits Times reported.
Police claimed the man also consumed minibar items during his stays and sometimes left without paying his bills.
How did Kenyans respond after the Madrid hacking?
Lyne Ojwang
“The hotel management should be grateful because he showed them the loophole.”
Wanjala Sostine
“Even the government is wondering about this generation.”
Josphat Kemboi
“He is an extremely energetic man whose style of operation, if it were to be emulated by some of us, would greatly improve the general performance of this world.”
Thomas Oguna
“I always recognise hackers as my heroes because it needs more and more brain to succeed in your mission. If I were in power and in government, such people should not be jailed but should be incorporated into government institutions to help the government strengthen its systems.”
Suspects linked to cross-border car theft arrested
In other news, two suspected cross-border car thieves were arrested in Loitokitok, Kajiado, following an incident in Mombasa.
Source: Original
One of the suspects reportedly approached a man in Mombasa, hired his vehicle with a promise of returning it after three days. They would later disable the car’s tracker and ‘sell it in Tanzania.’
After a search, he revealed to the owner that his boss had disappeared with the car. Authorities launched a manhunt leading to their arrest. However, the prime suspect remained at large.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
