--- title: Union Street Guest House Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review description: Since your dumb wedding guests probably don't understand how great this New York hotel actually is canonical: https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-04T14:29:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:46.254Z og:title: Union Street Guest House Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review og:description: Since your dumb wedding guests probably don't understand how great this New York hotel actually is og:url: https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b456cabb2858b8b/69869e4135ba6f101bc03489/hotel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4896 og:image:height: 2754 og:image:alt: Painted sign indicatiing an hotel og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Union Street Guest House Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review twitter:description: Since your dumb wedding guests probably don't understand how great this New York hotel actually is twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b456cabb2858b8b/69869e4135ba6f101bc03489/hotel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Historic' Inn Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 4, 2014 2:29 PM UTC  Painted sign indicatiing an hotel Painted sign indicatiing an hotelPicavet/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 4, 2014 2:29 PM UTC A hotel in Hudson, N.Y. that advertises itself as a great option for weddings and gatherings has some hidden fine print: if you or your guests post a negative review of your stay online, you’ll be charged $500. The PR tactic totally backfired, since the Union Street Guest House’s punitive online review policy has now been written up in the [New York _Post_ ](http://pagesix.com/2014/08/04/hotel-charges-500-for-every-bad-review-posted-online/)and [Business Insider.](http://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-fines-brides-for-negative-yelp-reviews-2014-8) And the wording of the policy is hilariously stuffy: --- > “” --- In other words, your idiot guests probably won’t appreciate how nice this hotel is, since they are Marriott-loving philistines who don’t understand “hip, period furniture” and “vintage” design. Therefore: --- > “” --- Consider it a fine for having friends without a sophisticated understanding of modern antiques. The hotel said it would refund the fine if the review was deleted, but guests/trolls are already flooding the Union Street Guest House’s [Yelp page ](http://www.yelp.com/biz/union-street-guest-house-hudson)to rage against the policy. 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