TripAdvisor has slammed a British hotelier who "fined" a guest for leaving a negative review on the review site after their stay.
A husband and wife staying at the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool got a surprise when they discovered an additional charge of £100 had been put on their credit card.
Booking documents from the hotel, according to the BBC, read:
"Despite the fact that repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not.
"For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review."
The travelling Jenkinsons have decided to report to the incident to Trading Standards, the UK's consumer protection group.
The Broadway Hotel has yet to respond to requests for comment.
TripAdvisor says it is thankful that the hotel's actions are "very rare".
An official says:
"It is completely against the spirit and policies of our site for any business owner to attempt to bully or intimidate reviewers who have had a negative experience.
"Where we find evidence of a business doing so, we will take action to protect the integrity of our site."
Interestingly, Broadway could be making quite a sizeable earning (though unlikely) from its policy to charge unhappy customers.
The hotel is ranked 858 out of 894 for hotels in Blackpool on TripAdvisor.
One review reads:
"I would rather stay in Bates Motel than this joint. terrible, terrible, terrible Breakfast tables felt tacky, carpets in desperate need of attention. At 10.15am told we would have to use stairs to 2nd floor as access to lift was now locked. Think it is worthy of a visit from the Hotel Inspector."
TripAdvisor says:
"It’s why millions of travellers keep coming back to the site each month. We built this community by giving customers a platform to share their honest opinions, whether good or bad. We strongly believe in their right to do so."