August 5, 2014 -- Updated 1511 GMT (2311 HKT)
(CNN) -- Threatening your
guests rarely yields smiley happy reviews.
It's a
lesson Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York, learned Monday after the New York Post highlighted the hotel's attempt to fine
wedding parties $500 for any negative online reviews posted by any members of
their parties.
Hundreds
of people took to Yelp.com on Monday to complain about the policy and write
mostly fake, eviscerating reviews of the property. At one point Monday there
were more than 700 reviews on Yelp, but the company had deleted many reviews by
Monday afternoon because they didn't reflect "first-hand
experiences," according to Yelp.
"Trying
to prevent your customers from talking about their experiences is bad policy
and, in this case, likely unenforceable anyway," Yelp said.
Screen
shots of the policy, which had been removed from the hotel website as of Monday
afternoon, read "there will be a $500 fine that will be deducted from your
deposit for every negative review of USGH placed on any Internet site by anyone
in your party and/or attending your wedding or event."
Apparently
guests who don't like their stays at the guest house just don't understand the
historic buildings or region, according to the hotel website.
"Please
know that despite the fact that wedding couples love Hudson and our Inn, your
friends and families may not," the website says. "This is due to the fact that your guests
may not understand what we offer -- therefore we expect you to explain that to
them. USGH & Hudson are historic. The buildings here are old (but
restored).
"Our
bathrooms and kitchens are designed to look old in an artistic 'vintage' way.
Our furniture is mostly hip, period furniture that you would see in many design
magazines. (although comfortable and functional -- obviously all beds are brand
new.) If your guests are looking for a Marriott type hotel they may not like it
here."
CNN.com
called the inn repeatedly but only reached a busy signal, and an e-mailed
request for comment was not returned.
The inn
posted an explanation on its Facebook page, which was later removed. "The
policy regarding wedding fines was put on our site as a tongue-in-cheek
response to a wedding many years ago. It was meant to be taken down long ago
and certainly was never enforced," the post said.
But one
Yelp reviewer posted complaints about the policy last year after he posted a
negative Yelp review. "The management of this hotel had the gall to email
us twice to threaten us financially about the negative review!" wrote one reviewer, whose Yelp handle is Rabih Z.
He
continues: "Here is an excerpt from their first email: 'please note that
your recent on-line review of our Inn will cost the wedding party that left us
a deposit $500. This money be charged via the deposit they have left us
unless/until it is removed. Any other or future reviews will also be charged to
the wedding party (bride & groom) from the guarantee they have provided
us.'"
Other
parts of the hotel's website are a little cranky, too. One example: "We
reserve the right to cancel a reservation at any time for any reason."
Another policy about cancellations: "If your stay is longer than 3 days we
do not accept cancellations of any kind."
Positive
online reviews equal more hotel revenue, said Josiah Mackenzie, director of
ReviewPro, an online hospitality reputation management company.
"The
answer is not to fine guests but to use feedback to make changes in your operations,"
he told CNN. "That leads to guests having happier experiences and sharing
these reviews on these review sites."
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