Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

pagesix.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 249 posts

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#121

Post by TallGuyShort »

So I agree with what appears to be the overwhelming majority that this policy is probably legally unenforceable and was destined to backfire as soon as it was posted on the interwebs, but...

I think they have a legitimate problem and I'm wandering what alternate solutions we can come up with. The person planning the wedding (may or may not be the people actually getting married) thinks this is a good place for the wedding, but many of the guests do not enjoy it. The reviews exist to help that person make that decision. Whether or not guests usually hate it, is part of that decision, but I agree with the venue that what the people getting married want is the bigger part of that decision. How can the company manage expectations better?

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#122

Post by potatolicious »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #121

So I agree with what appears to be the overwhelming majority that this policy is probably legally unenforceable and was destined to backfire as soon as it was posted on the interwebs, but... I think they have a legitimate problem and I'm wandering what alternate solutions we can come up with. The person planning the wedding (may or may not be the people actually getting married) thinks this is a good place for the we…

It does seem a bit unfair, but at the same time the reviews aren't just a measure of how much the bride and groom will enjoy the place, it's also a measure of how much everyone else does as well.

Perhaps "many of your guests will hate this place" is a valuable signal to couples picking venues.

Honestly, if you've been a legitimate guest of a particular venue IMO it's perfectly fine to leave a review about it. The people that foot the bill aren't the only ones who get to chime in.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#124

Post by imgabe »

judk wrote: post #112

A bride is a business partner, forcing guests to stay at the hotel. How is this different from docking an employees salary for unsatisfied customers?

I've been to many weddings. I've never been forced to stay at any particular hotel. There are usually several in the area that the bride and groom suggest, and you're always free to seek out another hotel if you don't like those.

The bride is not a business partner, she's a paying customer. A business partner would be receiving a share of the profits from the transaction, a bride is not.

How is it different from docking an employee's pay? Well, to start with the bride has no employment agreement with the hotel and is not receiving any pay, so that's a pretty big difference.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#125

Post by cookiecaper »

JadeNB wrote: post #88
cookiecaper wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On what grounds would it be dismissed from a civil court? Similar clauses are in many contracts. I'm just curious if there's a reason to believe this is illegal other than simple unpopularity.

> Similar clauses are in many contracts. I'm not sure that I believe this. I can believe that there are some places out there that think that they can get away with enjoining you against posting negative reviews (until the law eventually settles down against that, as I'm sure that it will), but I find it hard to believe that there are many places that think that they can fine you for the actions of other people. Can…

If all we're saying is it doesn't pass the "reasonable person" test, then it's not obviously illegal. Some may feel it is reasonable to communicate the terms of the non-disparagement clause you've signed to the members of your party and that it is reasonable to expect the party's sponsor to pay a fine if the members fail to adhere to the rules.

I'm not a lawyer so maybe I'm missing something obvious. I would just like some substantiation. It seems that many people have the habit of automatically declaring something they don't like to "must be illegal" simply because they strongly dislike it. That's now how law works, and that's important to understand because many people seriously underestimate the powers that the legislature holds.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#126

Post by chasing »

PeterisP wrote: post #100
chasing wrote: post #84

Yes. And because of this you should definitely go to Yelp and give them a one-star review. And destroy their Facebook page. And maybe go take a shit on their doorstep. That's definitely the answer when a small business makes an error like this. They're frustrated by something they don't feel is fair and made a ham-fisted attempt to fix the problem. Ruin them. (The ice machine thing, though -- that actually seems like…

"makes an error" and "makes a malicious policy" are two entirely different things. You forgive accidental mistakes, but you should punish intentional morally unacceptable behavior.

My sarcastic point wasn't that they should be forgiven -- or that they shouldn't be punished. I was joking about how after reading an article like this some People on the Internet feel saying retributive things on Yelp and Facebook = social justice.

These hoteliers have a stupid (and likely unenforceable) social media policy. And they might be assholes. Fortunately they have almost no sway over your life. Fry bigger fish.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#127

Post by owksley »

cookiecaper wrote: post #72
owksley wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they know it's illegal / unconstitutional. They're banking on self-censorship by people who aren't certain where they stand legally.

...How is this "unconstitutional"? Not everything that is illegal is unconstitutional. I am also skeptical that this is illegal, but considering the jurisdiction may have many applicable laws, it's hard to say that it is or isn't illegal without significant research. But surely it has nothing to do with constitutional law. Similar pieces of other contracts are valid and common and are called "non-disparagement clause…

You're quite right. I hadn't realised that the constitution relates to actions between the government and the people only. Reading HN comments is always educational! I suppose it's more correct to say that it isn't in the spirit of the First Amendment, or free-speech in general.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#128

Post by peroo »

ctdonath wrote: post #108

Maybe it's the "star rating" system that's broken. When reviewing rated product/service offerings, I go straight to the 1-star reviews. Skimming those, I differentiate the "valid complaints" from flukes (a small failure rate is understandable), unrealistic expectations (it's a vintage hotel, not a new Hilton), tangential problems (Amazon didn't smash the box, the shipper did), hysteria (political opposition isn't a r…

As bad as the star system is, I'm not sure there's anything better. I think Amazon has the right idea with the "Was this review helpful to you?" buttons, though that may not work quite as well for Yelp if you consider the possibility of review-burying by owners.

Re: Hotel fines $500 for every bad review posted online

#130

Post by chris_wot »

baddox wrote: post #3

If the hotel is clear about these terms, then I don't see much of a problem with this. It makes it really easy to know to pick a different hotel.

Because they are asking you to police the comments of a third party who posts an opinion you may not have and you may not be able to convince to remove the post?
Post reply on HN