Union Street Guest House charges $500 for each negative Yelp review

show ad

Foster dad who was high on cannabis only realized he had left his baby girl to die in a sweltering car when he heard a child crying on the Game of Thrones TV show he had been watching
Four suspects arrested in the New Jersey murders of straight-A prep school graduate and a high school graduate... and one is a sex offender wanted in another double slaying
Judge allows Jodi Arias to represent herself at September death penalty trial for murdering her boyfriend
Father 'shot dead his three daughters and wife in horrific murder-suicide'
Plane carrying 59-year-old American missionary worker infected with Ebola leaves Liberia for the US
Israeli official calls for concentration camps in Gaza and 'the conquest of the entire Gaza Strip, and annihilation of all fighting forces and their supporters'
Kyron Horman's stepmom DENIED in bid to legally change her name - four years after her son's unsolved disappearance
'I think he's dead!' Dramatic 911 call from friend who found American Idol Michael Johns' dead body is released as cops say he was 'drinking heavily' before he died
Michigan woman, 30, fighting cancer for five years dies one month after her wedding
NYPD officer charged for breaking into woman's apartment and beating her up just hours after receiving department's second-highest honor
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to be formally questioned on Wednesday in 'desertion' probe
'What's shocking is how Ebola patients look before they die': British doctor working in Sierra Leone describes the horror of deadly disease
Patient at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York being tested for Ebola after being admitted with high fever on return from West Africa
Cage-fighting, drug smuggling and rooming with prostitutes: Former Georgia pastor who faked his own suicide details his 18 months on the run
Horror as man has his finger bitten off at a Jay-Z and Beyonce concert while defending girlfriend from groper
'She had her life in front of her. I took that from her': Homeowner sobs on the stand describing the night he 'feared for his life' and shot dead unarmed drunken teenager on his porch
More than 300 workers at Mulberry luxury handbag factory in Somerset are tested for TUBERCULOSIS after two cases this year
Star witness testifying in ex-Virginia governor's corruption trial DENIES he had an affair with the former first lady after her racy text messages are read out in court
What would advertising look like without airbrushing? Photographer captures the scars, age spots and fat rolls we rarely get to see
Ex-Christian radio host admits he paid a 12-year-old boy then handcuffed him to a motel bed, raped him and photographed the sex acts
Kentucky man 'tortured his neighbor's dog to death by feeding it meat-wrapped razor blades... simply because it barked'
At the going down of the sun, the young Royals remembered: Kate, William and Harry lead tributes to World War One's lost generation
A blunt warning from Prince William, a century after war ravaged the continent: Ukraine crisis is a threat to all Europe
Malia Obama is spotted hanging out with friends (and her burly Secret Service detail) at Chicago music festival Lollapalooza

The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, NY doesn't allow negative Yelp reviews for wedding guests
Of the 572 Yelp reviews online, 554 of them were posted on Monday after media outlets drew attention to the hotel's policy
'Please know that despite the fact that wedding couples love Hudson and our inn, your friends and families may not, ‘says the website
Since guests wedding guests don't choose where they get to stay, the hotel doesn't think they should be able to give a poor review
Couples are charged $500 for every negative review and then refunded once the review is removed

Published: 09:07 EST, 4 August 2014 | Updated: 17:29 EST, 4 August 2014

120

View
comments

A hotel in upstate New York's Yelp rating plummets to one star after guests learn that they've promised to charge couples who book weddings $500 for every negative review a guest posts online.

The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, NY is known for its historic decor, strict cancellation policy, and its hatred of bad reviews, reports The New York Post.

The hotel has 572 reviews online, 554 of them were posted today and most of them are negative.

Scroll down for video

No room for reviews: The Union Street Guest House charges couples who book weddings at the venue $500 for every bad review posted online by their guests

Low rating: The hotel's $500 bad review policy cost them 4 stars

Viral Yelp: Hundreds took to Yelp today to give the hotel bad reviews

'Please know that despite the fact that wedding couples love Hudson and our inn, your friends and families may not, ‘says the hotel's website.

'If you have booked the inn for a wedding or other type of event . . . and given us a deposit of any kind . . . there will be a $500 fine that will be deducted from your deposit for every negative review . . . placed on any internet site by anyone in your party.'

Their policy goes on to explain how they charge for bad reviews because the wedding guests who are obligated to stay at the hotel may not understand what the hotel is like and therefore their negative reviews shouldn't be taken into consideration.

More...

The hotel says that their bathroom and kitchens are designed to look 'vintage' and that their furniture is 'hip' and 'period' other than the beds which are new.

'If your guests are looking for a Marriott type hotel they may not like it here,' says the website under their review policy.

For every negative review a wedding guest leaves, the couple will be charged $500.

If the review is taken down then the amount is refunded. The negative review policy is only for wedding guests.

Need some Yelp?: The hotel will have some reading ahead of them after over 500 Yelp reviewers took the time to rate their experience a the hotel

It'll cost you: If you stayed at the Union Street Guest House for a wedding and wrote a bad Yelp review it'll cost $500 until the review is removed

Friends may hate it: 'Please know that despite the fact that wedding couples love Hudson and our inn, your friends and families may not,' reads their online 'no bad review' policy

Ever since media outlets have been highlighting the hotel's negative review policy, an influx of even more negative reviews flooded Yelp.

'This was the worst hotel I have ever encountered. Rude customer service, unclean, terrible odor. Then they had the audacity to tell me they would charge me $500 from my deposit if I posted a negative review online....have they heard of freedom of speech? You cannot charge someone for stating their opinions in an open forum. Think twice about spending your money at this place,' wrote Yelp user Michael G.

The Post reports that the hotel responds to Yelp reviews by responding with things like, 'mean spirited nonsense' and 'she made this all up.'

After someone posted a review about bad treatment over a bucket of ice, the hotel wrote back: 'I know you guys wanted to hang out and get drunk for 2 days and that is fine. I was really sorry that you showed up in the summer when it was 105 degrees . . . I was so so so sorry that our ice maker and fridge were not working and not accessible.'

The Mail Online tried calling the hotel but no one was available for comment.