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 did n'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 do n't like their stays at the guest house just do n'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 . ''
A Rochester , New York , inn had a notice on its website imposing a fine for bad online reviews . Internet users responded with a lawsuit , posting negative comments and reviews on Yelp . Language about the $ 500 penalty for bad reviews was removed from the inn 's site . It was ` ` tongue - in - cheek , '' according to a blog post that was later removed .