Hotel fines guests £100 for leaving bad TripAdvisor review
Broadway Hotel in Blackpool outlines policy of charging for bad reviews in its terms and conditions
A hotel in Blackpool is being investigated by Trading Standards after it allegedly fined guests £100 for posting a negative review on TripAdvisor.
Tony and Jan Jenkinson, from Whitehaven in Cumbria, described the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool as a "rotten stinking hovel" on the travel review website after paying £36 for one night's stay in August.
The couple later found that £100 had been charged to their credit card – a fine that was apparently outlined in the terms and conditions they signed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"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 hotel stated on its booking form.
Out of 108 traveller ratings on TripAdvisor, nearly two thirds of guests graded the hotel as "terrible".
Tony Jenkinson, a 63-year-old retired van driver, wrote that he "couldn't believe the state of the room", which had no hot water, no phone (despite instructions on how to use it) and a broken chest of drawers.
"The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, the carpet was thin, dirty and stained. The bed was something else, it must have come out of the ark, the base was all scuffed and dirty and the springs in the mattress attacked you in the night," he wrote.
He described breakfast as "a joke" and warned other travellers to stay away.
The manager of the hotel, on Burlington Road West, is yet to comment, while John Greenbank, north trading standards area manager, told the BBC: "I have worked for trading standards for many years and have never seen anything like this."
The hotel describes its "cosy bedrooms" as "traditionally decorated", all with a private bathroom, telephone, television and radio.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published