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UK Hotel Adds Hefty Charge For Bad Reviews Online

Bizzeh writes: A British couple has been "fined" £100 by a Blackpool hotel for leaving critical comments on Trip Advisor. The UK's Trading Standards organization is investigating the incident, saying it may breach regulations. The Broadway Hotel's booking policy reads (in small print), "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 organizer will be charged a maximum £100 per review."

9 of 307 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Broadway Hotel, 2-4 Burlington Road West Blackp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    BROADWAY HOTEL SUCKS

    You were lucky! Instead of breakfast they gave me a green paste of dubious origin. The room had no shower, if you wanted to get clean you had to stand under the rain. On the bright side, the holes in the roof helped do that while staying in. On the other hand, there were no windows, just holes in the wall (on one of the three standing walls, the fourth one was just a hole into the abyss.

    Of my two sons, one disappeared after going to the kitchen for dinner. We had to sell the other to pay the fine for this review.

  2. Re:Broadway Hotel, 2-4 Burlington Road West Blackp by korbulon · · Score: 4, Funny

    BROADWAY HOTEL SUCKS

    You were lucky! Instead of breakfast they gave me a green paste of dubious origin. The room had no shower, if you wanted to get clean you had to stand under the rain. On the bright side, the holes in the roof helped do that while staying in. On the other hand, there were no windows, just holes in the wall (on one of the three standing walls, the fourth one was just a hole into the abyss.

    Of my two sons, one disappeared after going to the kitchen for dinner. We had to sell the other to pay the fine for this review.

    "Eh, you were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in t' corridor!"

    "Oh, we used to dream of livin' in a corridor! Would ha' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! Hotel? Huh."

  3. Re:Meet Streisand by iapetus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I applied this back in the early days of Java development, when the giant list of terms and conditions for the SDK download was displayed in a text field.

    An editable text field.

    This has two main effects that I can see:

    1. I, unlike most people, am allowed to use old versions of Java to run nuclear power stations.
    2. Sun owes me $1m for each JDK I downloaded back in the day.

    To date I haven't received payment.

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  4. Re:Broadway Hotel, 2-4 Burlington Road West Blackp by Barny · · Score: 4, Funny

    And you try and tell the young people today that and they wont believe you!

    --
    ...
    /me sighs
  5. Re:Broadway Hotel, 2-4 Burlington Road West Blackp by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 4, Funny

    is the owner's name Fawlty, by any chance?

  6. money making racket by dr_blurb · · Score: 3, Funny

    They must do it on purpose: set up a crap hotel, put the 100 pound fine in the small print: profit!

    At http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/H... the place has 147 "terrible" ratings and 24 "poor" == 17100 pounds (about $26800) (!)

    If they're smart they'll diversify: Bad review on tripadvisor: 100 pounds. Badmouthing tweet to 1000 followers or more: 500 pounds. Negative letter to paper: 500 pounds and 20 lashes. Bad review in paper: you forfeit all your bank accounts.

    All hotels should do this. The Great Hotel Vengeance of 2015. In fact all reviews of any book, film, hotel, ebay seller, etc. should be included. Ah well anybody who says anything bad about anything ever. 100 pounds please.

  7. Re: Ask the credit card for a refund by TapeCutter · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is the comment section of slashdot, WTF has the article got to do with anything?

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  8. Re:The TripAdvisor URL by rfrenzob · · Score: 4, Funny

    I am a developer who dabbles in entomology as such I was simply thrilled to walk in and see a roach scurrying across the lobby floor. This set my hopes high for the room and I would not be disappointed! Some people read, watch the telly, play games, etc before bed. I enjoy getting out my equipment and studying insects. What can I say, we all have our hobbies.

    While visiting the States for a conference in Chicago last year, I had the pleasure of eating at Ed Debevics. If you have never eaten there, the servers are a bit on the rude side for comedic effect. Based on my conversation with the desk when attempting to get a new light bulb for my room I'm assuming the attendant worked at Ed's while studying abroad in Chicago. "There is a shoppe down the way. Go get one yourself."

    As far as the breakfast, it was simply delicious. The powdered eggs were served at a perfect 22C (72F). Not so hot as to burn the tongue but not so cold as to be crispy with a layer of frost. The pastries had a new green flavor enhancer on them. I have forgotten the name but it was excellent. Highly recommend.

    Don't believe the negative reviews! I definitely feel I got more than my £36 worth out of my stay at this fine hotel!

  9. Re: Ask the credit card for a refund by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually they do, but in the UK it's spelled with a small R and they are considered terrorists.