Couple fined for bad TripAdvisor review
Trading standards officers launched an investigation into a Blackpool hotel that fined guests after they left a negative review on TripAdvisor.
Broadway Hotel, which is ranked 858th out of 894 hotels in Blackpool by TripAdvisor, allegedly deducted £100 from a couple’s credit card for the review they posted following their stay in a £36 a night room.
Retired van driver Tony Jenkinson and his wife Jan, who only spent one night in the three-star hotel to break their journey from Whitehaven to Oxford, asked Trading Standards to take up their case.
Mr Jenkinson told the BBC that the warning of the fine was contained in the small print of the hotel’s booking form, but he said his wife wasn’t wearing her glasses so she signed without reading it
The hotel policy reads: "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."
A Trading Standards spokesman said the policy could be deemed unfair trading practice. Officers spoke to the hotel and it is believed to have since agreed not to impose any further fines.
Broadway Hotel in Burlington Road West has 256 reviews on Trip Advisor, of which 191 rated the hotel as "poor" or "terrible". If it charged each of the negative reviewers £100, it would have made £19,100 profit.
Mr Jenkinson, who described the hotel in his online posting as a "rotten, stinking hovel", said he was trying to recover the money deducted from his credit card from his card issuer.
TripAdvisor said it was investigating the hotel concerned. Spokesman James Kay added: "While thankfully such instances are very rare, 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.
"We take pride in the fact that consumers know they can rely on TripAdvisor to help them make informed decisions. 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."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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