--- description: Since your dumb wedding guests probably don't understand how great this New York hotel actually is title: Union Street Guest House Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b456cabb2858b8b/69869e4135ba6f101bc03489/hotel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Historic' Inn Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 4, 2014 2:29 PM CUT  Painted sign indicatiing an hotel Painted sign indicatiing an hotelPicavet/Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 4, 2014 2:29 PM CUT 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/ "undefined")and [Business Insider.](http://www.businessinsider.com/hotel-fines-brides-for-negative-yelp-reviews-2014-8 "undefined") 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 "undefined")to rage against the policy. The Union Street Guest House could not be immediately reached for comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/"},"headline":"'Historic' Inn Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review","datePublished":"2014-08-04T14:29:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:46.254Z","description":"Since your dumb wedding guests probably don't understand how great this New York hotel actually is","url":"https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/","keywords":["Living","policy","Travel","Yelp","vacation","Hotel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b456cabb2858b8b/69869e4135ba6f101bc03489/hotel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b456cabb2858b8b/69869e4135ba6f101bc03489/hotel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Painted sign indicatiing an hotel","caption":"Painted sign indicatiing an hotel","creditText":"Picavet/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3079343/union-street-guest-house-negative-review/","name":"'Historic' Inn Charges $500 Per Negative Online Review"}}]}] ```